Peter and John have been arrested for proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.  The religious establishment of Jerusalem demands to know on what authority they make such claims. The high priests Caiaphas and his family, along with all of the elders of Jerusalem, gather to question Peter and John.

Clearly, the disciples have had a remarkable effect among the people, and the establishment leaders are nervous. On the preceding day nearly five thousand people had come to believe in the power of the resurrection. Peter and John, a couple of uneducated fishermen from Galilee, have won the hearts of the masses, and the official religious leaders demand to know how.

“By what power or by what name did you do this?” the high priest Caiaphas asks.

A Question of Evidence

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we in the church might answer Caiaphas’s question, were he to demand an answer of us today. What evidence do we have of the resurrection? How do we know that it’s true?

I think the Christians of my experience would offer one of two answers to those questions. Some of us would pull out our Bibles, perhaps give them a thump, and proclaim that the resurrection is real because the Bible says the resurrection is real. I suppose that’s all well and good—but frankly it’s not very convincing. If someone doesn’t already believe in the authority of the Bible, then telling them to believe in resurrection because it’s in the Bible is really a very poor strategy.

Others of us would be so embarrassed if asked for evidence of the resurrection that we probably wouldn’t answer. Our rational minds tell us that resurrection isn’t possible, so we tend to think of it as some kind of theological abstract. A metaphor, perhaps. We believe it enough to get through the Apostle’s Creed, but when it comes down to it, we don’t really believe in resurrection. Also not very convincing.

The Disciples Respond

Peter and John take a completely different approach. In order to grasp what they do, we have to go back to the story that initiates this narrative sequence, which begins all the way back in 3:1. In that story, Peter and John are headed out to the Temple in the midafternoon, minding their own business. A man is there asking for spare change because he is unable to walk—a condition he has had since birth. Instead of giving him money, Peter and John say to him, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (3:6). And the man does. He begins to walk, and then to leap, and then to praise God (3:8).

Now when Caiaphas the high priest asks Peter and John for evidence of the resurrection, they simply point to the man who has been healed. There is your evidence, they say. That man could not walk—and now he can by the power of Jesus Christ. What more do you need to know?

In fact, this is also how Peter and John had converted the 5,000 new believers the night before. They didn’t go out into the streets shouting that people should believe. They didn’t have a megaphone and a sign proclaiming the impending day of judgement. They didn’t hand out Bible tracts or invite people to a special screening of God’s Not Dead 3.

Rather, they simply went out into the world healing people in the name of Jesus. They found a man who could not walk, and they gave him the power to walk. When the people gathered around saw what the disciples had done, they were astonished and asked, “How are you doing this?” Only then did Peter and John begin to tell them of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

First, they showed the power of the resurrection through their capacity for healing. Then, when the people asked, they proclaimed the Gospel.

Becoming Signs of the Resurrection

What a transformation it would be if the church would live this way—if the church simply became evidence of the resurrection! Instead of thumping our Bibles or shuffling our feet in embarrassment, we could instead become the bearers of resurrection life into the world. If we were out in the streets bringing healing and wholeness, people couldn’t help but believe. They wouldn’t have to demand evidence from us because they would know it to be true. They would be able to see the results right in front of their eyes.

People believe—or do not believe—based not on what we say, but on what we do. If we show signs of resurrection life to the world, people will believe in the power of resurrection. If, instead, we allow ourselves to be dominated by the powers of death, concerned only with status and social influence, all the preaching in the world will make no difference.

Heal first. Transform lives first. Bring forth life in the midst of death before all else. Only when people ask us by what power we do such things should we, like Peter, proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, so that all might have life and life abundantly.