The
Unbreakable Spirit of the Apostles
[Acts
chapter 5, verses 29-42]
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Last
week as we left off at verse 28 of Acts chapter 5, we found Peter,
Luke and the other apostles back in trouble again with the rulers of
Jerusalem, which was (and still is) the Sanhedrin. They had been
found preaching and teaching the Gospel, this time after healing
many, which made the temple authorities furious. So they were carried
off to jail for disturbing the peace and contempt of court, only to
be let out in the middle of the night by an “angel of the Lord”
(see chapter 5 verse 19). At daybreak the apostles came to the temple
and – once again – began to preach and teach about the Good News
of Christ Jesus. There was nothing on earth, nor in heaven or hell,
that could stop the apostles from spreading the Gospel!
This
week as we take up where we left off, the Sanhedrin has once again
been convened in order to put the apostles on trial. Having been
found shortly thereafter preaching at the temple, the apostles have
been brought back before an enraged Jewish ruling council. It is only
after getting a severe dressing down by the head of the council (who
at this time was Caiaphas, the same high priest that had handed Jesus
over to Pontius Pilate) that the apostles are given a chance to
respond. So let's begin our study of part 3 of Acts chapter 5,
beginning at verse 29.
“Peter
and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than men!
The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead – whom you killed
by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as
Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of
sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy
Spirit, who God has given to those who obey him.' When they heard
this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a
Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all
the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put
outside for a little while.”
Acts 5, verses 29-34
“We
must obey God rather than men!” Peter and the other apostles
time-honored retort is a Biblical example of speaking truth to power!
We have a modern word for people who do this – they're called
'whistle-blowers'. Peter and the other apostles were blowing the
whistle on the Sanhedrin, that they had in fact taken the Son of God,
the promised Hebrew Messiah from the Scriptures, and had put him to
death. And so Peter is still identifying who Jesus actually was. “God
exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might
give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses
of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, who God has given to
those who obey him.”
Peter was telling the disbelieving Pharisees that the reason they
knew Jesus was “the Christ”, or the anointed One, from the very
Scriptures from which they taught was because of the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, Peter was stating, that same Spirit lived within the hearts
and minds of all who believed ever since Pentecost, which at this
time had only been several weeks prior. The Pharisees and teachers of
the Law found the teachings of the apostles to be very offensive.
“When
they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored
by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men
be put outside.” So
here we have the same Sanhedrin, led by the same high priest who had
handed Jesus over to be crucified, prosecuting the apostles. Like
before with Jesus Christ on Golgotha hill, the ruling council were
ready to kill the apostles, only this time without enlisting the aid
of their Roman captors. At this time steps forward a man who does
something to get his name mentioned in the Bible – a rare honor
indeed. Gamaliel, who was our equivalent to a seminary professor,
stood up in the middle of the uproar and appealed for calm. Since
this was evidently a gentleman of good repute who had earned
everyone's respect, everybody listened to him.
“Then
he addressed them: 'Men of Israel, consider carefully what you do
with these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be
somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed,
all of his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and
led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all of his
followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise
you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their activity is of
human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be
able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting
against God.'” (Acts
5, verses 35-39)
I'm
seeing a couple of different aspects to Gamaliel's speech. First of
all, Gamaliel was evidently the only person in the room who suspected
that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah, meaning he was probably
the smartest one of the entire bunch. From time to time there had
been people who tried to reestablish the kingdom of Israel in the
tradition of King David. All had been Jews, and all had met with
violent deaths. 'We crucified this 'Jesus' dude', Gamaliel was saying
to his peers, 'but the Movement he represented has lived on and
become widespread.' He also pointed out that the followers of the
apostles numbered in the thousands, and so if the apostles and their
teaching were from God, they should dare not oppose Him. Revolutions
and uprisings of various kinds are bound to crop up from time to
time, Gamaliel was saying, but if what we now call Christianity was
from God – and it most certainly was and is – then the combined
forces of the entire Sanhedrin would not be able to stop it. And he
was absolutely right.
“His
speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them
flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and
they let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because
they had been found worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day
after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never
stopped teaching and proclaiming the news that Jesus is the Christ.”
(Acts 5, verses 40-42)
In
the sometimes-mean old world in which we live, we take solace in the
fact that truth and justice will win out in the end. It sure did in
this case! “The
apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been found
worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
Like a resounding verdict at the climax of a courtroom drama, the
wisdom of Gamaliel won the day. The apostles were called in and
ordered to be flogged, and you can all be sure those floggings were
hard and mean. Then they were told, mostly for the record since the
Sanhedrin must have known the apostles would disobey it, never to
speak in Christ's holy and most revered name ever again. And then
came the joyous verdict – after the flogging and our equivalent to
a court order; an immediate release!
Did
the apostles throw a party to celebrate their victory? No, they went
and discharged their duties as ministers and apostles of Christ. “Day
after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never
stopped teaching and proclaiming the news that Jesus is the Christ.”
At the very end of each of the gospels there is what we call, “the
great commission”, where Jesus, just before he ascended into heaven
told the Eleven (Matthias had not yet joined them) to preach the
Gospel, “to the very ends of the earth”. This is exactly what the
apostles had set out to do, and they were letting nothing stop them
from accomplishing their mission. Notice, too, how quickly they put
their episode with the Sanhedrin behind them. They didn't let being
jailed, or being beaten bloody with whips, or the threat of death
itself stop them from their appointed duties. Not as master teachers
who had spent three and a half years with the Lord, although they
could have legitimately claimed that right. No, the apostles saw
themselves as mere servants as they imitated Christ, who washed their
feet as the lowliest of servants on the night of the Last Supper. So,
if we want to be like Jesus, we must acquire a servant's heart. Let's
all spend the remainder of this week working out ways to do that in
our own minds that would be pleasing to God. And next week we'll
start on chapter 6.
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