In Acts 4.30 we see the believers praying that signs and wonders will be performed through the name of…Jesus. Today in 5.12-16 we see those prayers being answered:
“Now many miraculous signs and wonders came about among the people through the hands of the apostles. By common consent they were all meeting together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high honour. More and more believers in the Lord were added to their number, crowds of both men and women. Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets, and put them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow would fall on some of them. A crowd of people from the towns around Jerusalem also came together, bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits. They were all being healed”.
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We read that many miraculous signs and wonders came about and that this created a buzz among the people. More than creating an exciting environment that people wanted to be a part of, we see that more and more believers in the Lord were added to their number. Seeing the supernatural has stirred them to believe in the source of the power. When we see miracles in Scripture there is always a reason, there is always a ‘why‘ to the wonder.
People are so sure that there is something supernatural happening within this group that they believe that simply the shadow of Peter falling on some of them would heal them. In their minds, to be overcome and overshadowed by Peter’s shadow was to experience the presence of God and therefore be healed.
This remarkable and amazing time of Divine healing is establishing the new movement, reaffirming the faith of those present, and drawing new believers to the truth. The apostles, though, rather than taking the adulation that being a conduit for supernatural events can bring, knew where the power for healing and miracles came from (3.12, 4.30) and no doubt used each and every opportunity to proclaim the truths of Jesus.
James Travis 