Acts 4:14

14 but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright - so healed! - what could they say against that?

Acts 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 4:14

And beholding the man which was healed
Who either was taken into custody, and brought before the sanhedrim, along with the apostles; or rather, who came here of his own accord to be witness for them: for he was standing with them;
in company with them, and close by them, and on their side; and so they could, and did point and appeal unto him, who was ready to justify, that it was not by the use of medicine, or of magic art, or in the name of Satan or Beelzebub, but by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that his cure was wrought: they could say nothing against it;
they could not gainsay the fact, for the man was before them, perfectly well, whom they personally knew, by his lying so long at the gate of the temple; they knew that he had been lame from his mother's womb, who was now above forty years of age; and they could say nothing against the manner of his cure, who was present to attest it; nor could they say anything against them; the apostles, as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read; they could not blame them for doing it, it being a good deed, nor charge them with fraud and imposture.

Acts 4:14 In-Context

12 Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one."
13 They couldn't take their eyes off them - Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus,
14 but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright - so healed! - what could they say against that?
15 They sent them out of the room so they could work out a plan. They talked it over:
16 "What can we do with these men? By now it's known all over town that a miracle has occurred, and that they are behind it. There is no way we can refute that.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.