“To stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, the rulers, elders, and teachers commanded Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. [They had already] seized them and put them in jail.” 

(Acts 4: 17-19, 3)

Recall a time you tried to effect some positive change. Did that go smoothly?

Maybe you suggested a clothing or hair style change for a preteen child. (How’d that go?!) Maybe you chaired a committee, only to see opposition sprout up and actively subvert your mission. Maybe you suggested a positive change at work, only to be told, “we’ve never done it that way.” Just look at government - for every bill proposed, other voices clamor to derail it.

Opposition doesn’t have to come from a person. Nature intervenes and curtails your mountain climbing goal. SAT scores force a college change. Invisible viruses abruptly stop church ministry. 

Especially when we’re doing productive work, resistance seems to strike, threatening to sideline our mission and obstruct our vision. Just ask Peter and John. They met the opposition of religious and political rulers who threw them into prison for healing, yes healing, a lame man. They ask, bewildered, “are we called to account for an act of kindness shown to a cripple?” (Acts 4:9). 

How do we respond to opposition? Self-righteous defensiveness? Angry blame-shifting? Submissiveness while silently seething? How did Peter and John respond? 

They stand their ground, but not in anger or self-righteousness. Peter questions the rulers, accuses them of killing Jesus, then preaches to them (4:12). Ordered to stop talking about Jesus, Peter boldly replies, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”(4:20).

People (even viruses) have always tried to “stop this [evangelizing] from spreading further” (4:17). 

You may have encountered resistance, challenge, or opposition when someone found out you attend church or when you’ve shared your faith. Maybe you’ve seen someone react negatively when Jesus’ name came up in conversation. Instead of getting defensive, we must (like Peter) keep our vision paramount: “Salvation is found in no one else” (4:12). This is ultimately all that matters, so our responses to opposition need to align with that mission. And that’s hard work since persecution can follow, no matter how well we phrase our defense. Just ask the apostles; this is not the last time they’ll see a prison cell.

Peter’s message and our mission haven’t changed. When challenged by a resistant pre-teen or workplace drama, how can we keep our focus on the ultimate vision and not just a short-term goal such as winning this confrontation? We stay plugged into the Source who can handle any opposition: “after they prayed, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (4:31). After all, it’s the Holy Spirit who enabled Peter to confidently defend himself and share the gospel with the very rulers who threatened him (4:8).