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TEXT: Acts 5:12-42
SUBJECT: Acts 5
Today, with the Lord's blessing, we'll continue our study of Acts. I pray God will open our eyes to its message, for Christ's sake. Amen.
WITNESS TO CHRIST, VV.12-16
We start with a summary of the Apostles' work at the time. Twelve men were chosen by Christ to be His special witnesses in the world. Are they doing the job? Yes they are.
They're witnessing by their words and their actions. The message is distinctly Christ-centered--"Him God has exalted to His right hand..."
The message is confirmed by miracles--"Many signs and wonders were done among the people". The miracles were not designed to entertain the people, to amaze them, or even to boost the popularity of the Apostles. What were they for? They were meant to show that the crucified Jesus was alive and well at God's Right Hand!
Thus, the miracles in the Early Church closely paralleled the wonders done by Christ Himself. A few weeks ago, the people saw a lame man healed. Ever seen that before? Yes they had. Who did it then? Christ. Who did it now? The same Christ. Now, we have hundreds of sick people and demoniacs brought for healing and exorcism. The sick are healed; the devils are cast out. The Apostle are now continuing the work of Christ (or, better yet, Christ is continuing His own work in the Apostles).
The results are encouraging. Many become Christians. Those who don't believe still hold the Church in high regard. Everyone admits that God is with them!
THE ARREST, VV.17-25
Well, not quite everyone. "The people esteemed the highly", but the Rulers of Israel are no so happy with them.
Annas, the High Priest, along with his party the Sadducees are enraged by the preaching of the Apostles. They arrest them, put them in jail, and silence the bold voices for a day, at least.
Or, so they thought! But that night, an angel breaks them out, and commands them to,
"Go, stand in the Temple and speak to the people all the words of this life".
Which they do.
When the Council met that morning, the first thing they did was send officers to the jail to fetch the Apostles. But they came back empty-handed. The doors were locked, the guards were awake; everything was in order--but the preachers weren't there!
Just then an amazing report came in. The Apostles were back at the Temple and still preaching Christ.
The police are sent to get them with a warning to be careful. The preachers are very popular; if they go in there swinging billy-clubs, they'll incite a riot, and get themselves in trouble with the Romans.
The officers follow their orders and bring the Apostles back to the Council. With great courtesy.
THE TRIAL, VV.26-32
But that was an outward show. The Council is "loaded for bear" and intends to shut these mouths--one way or the other!
Annas begins with a sharp interrogation,
"Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!"
Implied are two criminal charges:
1.Disobeying the Council--"We told you to stop preaching".
2.Discrediting the Council--"You're saying we killed the Savior".
Speaking for them all, Peter gives a decisive answer.
1.Have they disobeyed the Council? Yes they have, because "We ought to obey God rather than man". Human authority is real, but ends where God's Word speak contrary to it. God says, "Preach"; the Council says, "Don't preach". When forced to choose, the Apostles choose God.
2.Are they preaching to discredit the Council? No they're not, but to save it. The Man the Rulers are forbidding has been "Exalted to God's Right hand [in order to] give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins". If the Gospel condemns the Rulers, it's they who are wrong--not the Gospel!
Peter closes with a stinging rebuke. It's subtle to us, maybe, but the Council knew he meant. And didn't like it.
"We are His witnesses to these things and so is the Holy Spirit--whom God has given to those who obey Him".
Think about it: Who was Peter talking to? He was talking to the Sanhedrin. Who were they? In lieu of a king, they were the Rulers of Israel. Who appointed them? God. How would they rule in His Name? By the gift of His Spirit. The story is told in Numbers 11,
"The LORD said to Moses, `Gather to Me seventy elders of Israel...then I will come down...and will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them'".
The Council ruled in God's Name by God's Spirit. But now--Peter says--you have lost Him. The Lord has given the Spirit to those who obey Him--by putting their faith in Jesus Christ.
What a slap in the face!
THE RESPONSE, VV.33-40
The Rulers don't take criticism very well.
"When they heard this they were furious and took counsel to kill them".
They would have--had Jesus Christ been less than sovereign. But, of course, He is sovereign or almighty. Even His enemies act only within His eternal purpose.
Gamaliel--the most respected name in Israel--calls for patience and moderation.
"If this plan or work is of man, it will come to nothing".
He supports his case by recalling two rabble-rouser of the past. Forty years ago, a man named "Judas" stirred up trouble--but it came to nothing. A few years later, "Theudas" did the same thing--and with the same results.
"But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it--lest you even be found to fight against God".
This is a truism, of course. If God is in it, all our efforts to stop the church must fail. In short, let's wait and see.
The Council takes his advice. The Apostles are not killed. For the time being.
But they must learn to respect the Council and to obey its decisions. To "help" them learn their lessons, the Apostles are given forty lashes. That'll teach them!
THE AFTERMATH, VV.41-42
Or, so they think. But the Apostles are slow learners. Rather than cowering before the Rulers of Israel, the men leave the courthouse "Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of Jesus".
After a few good laughs, they went about their business,
"Daily in the Temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ".
THE MESSAGE
That's the story. And a stirring one it is. But what does it mean? How does it apply to your life? Here's how:
Faithfulness to Jesus Christ must provoke opposition. The Rulers of Israel were not "secular humanists", but deeply religious men who invoked the Holy Name of God and read the same Bible the Apostles did. You'd expect them to give the Gospel a fair hearing and at least tolerate it. But, of course, they don't! Jesus Christ offends them. They strike back at Him through His people.
Were the Rulers alone? No. A few chapters later, we find "the average Jew" doing the same thing. Still later, the Gentiles are opposing the Gospel with the same hatred and violence.
Why? Romans 8:7 and I John 3:1b explain.
This was the uniform experience of God's People in the New Testament. Paul said, II Timothy 3:12. The Early Church expected opposition. And received it in full.
They got fed to the lions, burned at the stake, and the like. Some today face similar persecution. In Saudi Arabia, conversion is punishable by beheading! In the Sudan, believers are regularly kidnapped and sold into slavery. In China, they're jailed. And so on.
The persecution American believers face is more subtle than these but just as real. I know a man who lost several promotions at work because of his faith. I know a woman disowned by her family for Christ's sake. Everyone who speaks up for the Lord has been laughed at It's easy to say, "These are nothing", but they are something; Hebrews 11:36 says so: "Still others had trial of cruel mockings".
Most people don't care if you're a Christian. As long as you're so compromised that it doesn't affect your life--or theirs!
But the "Real Thing" offends a Fallen World. It always has (see Abel); it always will.
That's one thing our chapter teaches us, but here's the real lesson: Persecution is no big deal!
Whippings hurt! The Apostles felt the pain as much as you and I would. But they didn't whine about it or find new and safer ways to preach the Gospel.
Quite the opposite: Persecution only stirred them to greater boldness.
Why? Because they weren't self-centered. They were Christ-centered. Suffering is Christ's way for advancing His cause in the world.
How did Jesus Christ live? Isaiah 53:3.
How did He redeem us? I Peter 1:9.
How are we made holy? Acts 14:22.
How does the Church grow?
Tertullian knew that:
"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church".
And so, let's stop worrying about what people will think of us if we speak up for Christ! How it will affect our jobs. Or, what friends we will lose. Or, what grades we'll get in school if we say to the teacher of evolution or moral relativism, "Jesus Christ says you're wrong!"
Persecution is no big deal. Not because it's painless (it isn't); not because we're superhuman (we're not), but because with it, we enter into a closer fellowship with Jesus Christ. And that more than makes up for the crosses we bear in this life.
That's the lesson of our story. God make us believe it. For Christ's sake. Amen.
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