Peter has just finished explaining to the Sanhedrin that the lame man has been healed by the power of Jesus Christ. He goes on to say, "Jesus is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.'" (Acts 4:11) Peter quotes from Psalm 118, a psalm believed to have been written by King David, in which he says, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it it marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad." (Psalm 118:22-24)
The stone (Jesus Christ) that the builders (the religious leaders) rejected has now become the cornerstone (the foundation, the anchor, the bedrock, the center, the core, the strength, the support, the source) of the Christian faith. This is marvelous in our eyes! Let us rejoice today and be glad that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and that, because He lives, we have eternal life in Him and redemption from our sins.
Peter quotes the words of King David because now, following the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, he understands their prophetic meaning. "Cornerstone" is an architectural term and this is the stone that should be set first, before any other foundation stones are laid, for it maintains the true line and the correct shape of the building. Without the cornerstone the building may veer off course, causing the stonework not to fit together properly and creating an altogether sloppy example of architecture. But with the perfect and holy Son of God as the cornerstone of our faith and of our lives, we need not worry about veering off course. As long as we keep our eyes on Him and follow in His footsteps, we will never be sloppy examples of what we were intended to be. Instead, in Christ, we are like a beautiful temple fit for His service, "The whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit." (Ephesians 2:21-22)
Peter explains why God the Father has made God the Son the cornerstone of our faith, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) If Jesus wasn't who He says He is, our faith would be in vain and we would have no solid foundation for our lives. But God has made Jesus, who gave His life a ransom for us, the cornerstone upon which everything depends and rests. Because the Lord Jesus gave His life to save the souls of mankind, the Father has given Him the name above all names, and His is the only name by which we can be saved. (Philippians 2:5-11)
The Sanhedrin can't believe the bravery Peter and John possess. They are surprised by their grasp of the Scriptures as well, for they know these men spent their lives fishing the Sea of Galilee and not studying under a rabbi---at least not until they became disciples of Jesus. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13) The world around us should always be able to tell whether we've spent time with Jesus. They ought to be able to see that we are storing up the word of God in our hearts and that we are growing in our faith. The Sanhedrin have no explanation for why poorly educated men such as these now have such a stunning command of the Scriptures; they have no explanation for this except "they had been with Jesus". If we've ever spent any time with Jesus we are going to want to spend more time with Him. We are going to want to spend more time in the Scriptures and in prayer. The more we know about Him, the more we are going to want to know about Him. And those around us will be able to tell that we've been with Jesus because we are going to become more and more like Him.
The religious leaders want to punish Peter and John for healing and preaching in the name of Jesus, but they are at a loss as to how to accomplish this. "But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 'What are we going to do with these men?' they asked. 'Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.'" (Acts 4:14-17) The healed man is the living proof that something miraculous has been done. People going up to the temple witnessed the miracle and no one is going to be able to convince them they didn't see a great thing. The Sanhedrin themselves recognize the healed man as the same man who was born lame. They can't refute what has been done, so they intend to do what seems to them the next best thing: sweep it all under the rug. They say among themselves, "Let's order these men never to speak in the name of Jesus again. As time goes on, people will forget about the miracle performed here today and go on with their lives as usual. Nobody will be able to explain exactly what caused the lame man to be healed, but eventually even this happening will become an oddity that is seldom talked about. We can't beat or imprison Peter and John or have them crucified for healing a man, so let's just order them to go away and never mention Jesus again."
"Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'" (Acts 4:18-20) Peter and John boldly reply to the order to cease and desist, "We are not going to hide the saving power of Jesus Christ from the world! Jesus commissioned us to preach the gospel to every nation under heaven, and we intend to obey Him. His authority is higher than your authority. We are going to listen to Him."
The religious leaders have no basis for continuing to hold Peter and John. There's little they can do to them at this time, so they make a bunch of empty threats and release them. Continuing to hold them, or passing any judgment against them, could result in a riot of the people who witnessed the miracle. They would then be unable to give an explanation to the Roman authorities as to why such an uproar occurred in Jerusalem, so in fear of the authorities and in fear of their own people they set Peter and John free. "After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old." (Acts 4:21-22)
I too am above forty years old, and if I had been born lame it would take either a miracle from God or an astonishing breakthrough of modern surgical techniques in order to make me able to walk today. No modern surgeries were available to the man Peter healed. Nothing on this earth could have healed him by natural means. But the name of Jesus Christ, the name above all names, supernaturally accomplished something that no one who witnessed it could deny. The enemies of Christ want to stop the establishment of His church, but it can't be stopped. Peter and John leave the presence of the Sanhedrin and continue doing what they know is right: telling the gospel to a world that desperately needs to hear it.
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