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A
knight and his men returned from a hard day of fighting to report to the king.
"How'd it go," asked the king. "Sire, replied the knight, "I have been robbing
and pillaging on your behalf all day, burning the towns of your enemies to the
west!" "What!? I don't have any enemies to the west!" shrieked the king. "Oh,"
replied the knight. "Well, you do now."
Why make enemies when it is to everyone's advantage to make friends?
Apostles Peter and John were faced with that dilemma as they stood before the
angry and agitated leadership of Israel after a dramatic healing. They could have
backed down and said little about Jesus having anything to do with the whole situation,
but instead they chose to speak the truth and make the enemies.
The truth can be very convicting! Peter quoted and applied "the stone
which the builders rejected, which has become the capstone" referring to Jesus
Christ (v. 11). His listeners only got more frustrated. They could not answer
his argument, deny the healing, nor stop the coming tide.
A message can be very powerful. The Message of the Gospel is that
Jesus Christ died for your sins and mine so that we could have them forgiven.
However, you must respond to that message, as Peter called on his audience to
so long ago.
All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
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~ The
Message 
