Yep, Peter does seem to have gained a little backbone in his ministry. A lot of people attribute it to Peter’s receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And, I am sure that, that had a lot to do with it. However, a lot of people had the same thing happen to them at Pentecost and they didn’t take on the high priest, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees.

Too many people fail to give Jesus the credit He deserves in all of this. The Corinthian church had the Holy Spirit moving in their lives and they didn’t look like Jesus’ disciples after Pentecost. We aren’t going to face persecution head-on unless we let Jesus train and prepare us for the Holy Spirit’s power.