“Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”
Acts 5:14-16 NIV
The demise of Ananias and Sapphira, in such a shocking way, rather than dampen the spread of the church, had fanned the flame inti a blaze. The healing of a lame man, a miracle so spectacular that the news about it spread everywhere without the help of “social media”, was God’s instrument to spark the fire. Not even the untimely death of two of the members of this new movement could halt its spread.
Well! If healing was on the programme, everyone wanted to be in on it. This unplanned healing campaign drew people from far and wide, and the Holy Spirit, through His chosen instruments, flowed in unlimited power, even through Peter’s shadow! Yes, the same Peter who blustered his denial of his Master in the high priest’s courtyard…this same Peter was now the “stone”, solid, immovable, and anointed, through whom the Holy Spirit spoke and did remarkable things.
The authorities were alarmed…so alarmed that they acted…again…immediately. This thing had to stop now…before their authority, their power over the people evaporated. Warning the perpetrators of this “rebellion” and ordering them to stop didn’t work! They must step up the pressure.
“Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.”
Acts 5:17-18 NIV
Shut them up in jail! That might silence them.
God was not fazed. He simply sent an angel to release them!
“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
The odds against the opposition were unfair…men against God can never win!
The ringleaders of God’s campaign were incorrigible. I think that they were enjoying this skirmish. After all, they had divine support in this battle so…they couldn’t lose. Jesus was with them all the way.
Where did the officers find them the next morning? Not in the jail cell where they were the night before! Back in the temple…doing what they had been forbidden to do!
“At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.”
Acts 5:19-24 NIV
Now what! No amount of action against them was stopping these “defiant” men! Wait a moment. Were they defying delegated authority or obeying a higher authority?
Paul’s instruction is clear…they must obey the governing authorities…
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Romans 13:1-2 NIV
Should the apostles have obeyed the instructions of the Sanhedrin?
The record of the outcome of their “defiance is once again the story of grace…God the Holy Spirit moulding their hearts and reactions to mirror the Lord Jesus in His response to unjust treatment…
Were they defiant?
“Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”
They were indicted!
“The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
They were compliant!
“Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!”
They had witnessed!
“The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
They were sentenced!
“When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.”
Their accusers were cautioned!
“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. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or 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.” His speech persuaded them.”
They were punished!
“They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.”
They were delighted!
“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
They were obedient!
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”
Acts 5:25, 27-30, 32-35, 38-42 NIV
In this remarkable story…where hell was pitted against heaven…where grace overwhelmed injustice…where fallible humans, indwelt by the infallible Spirit, absorbed evil without retaliating…obeying the Spirit without missing a beat…we see the pattern of the power to overcome…just as Jesus had done!
“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
1 Peter 2:23 NIV
And the church soldiered on, learning…growing…and maturing in its trust and obedience in the midst of the war, and doing serious damage to the dominion of darkness in the process.
To be continued