I Appeal To Caesar!

Certain news has reached into the four corners of the city; despairing people have heard a hopeful invitation: they have been told that followers of Jesus will pray for them at the Temple, and perhaps healing will come to their ailing bodies. Now they hasten toward the great structure because others have been healed, first by Jesus and now by His followers. These claims are not in question because many of the healed are friends or acquaintances!

“What about me?” each sick person hopes with

nervous excitement.

From person to person, evangelistic Christians spread the announcement of the meeting, knowing that the High Priests would forbid any public statement or advertising. Upon hearing that healing prayer would be offered, some in distress decide to go early, rushing to spend the night on porches outside the northern courtyard. They must not miss their opportunity for physical healing! Two years earlier, Jesus and His followers had healed many in the Temple precincts, much to the consternation of the worldly-minded, unbelieving High Priests and other authorities. That same springtime, the Jewish senate sentenced Jesus to death for His actions and pronouncements. Under pressure by these same Jewish leaders, Pontius Pilate, Roman Governor over Jerusalem and Judea, executed the final decision and Jesus was crucified. * * * * * During this intervening two years, a large number of Jewish people in Jerusalem came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the Lost and the Healer of the