Apr 13, 2014

Acts 5:26-42

Even though the church had been warned by the religious establishment “not to speak nor teach in the name of Jesus” the apostles blatantly defied these warnings and the cause of Christ spread all the more. Note: Luke tells us the impact was now beginning to spread outside Jerusalem into the “surrounding cities.” 

Because of this, as we approach the end of Acts 5, a line of demarcation has been crossed prompting these religious leaders to finally take action. As we saw last Sunday all 12 apostles were arrested and thrown into prison to stand trial for insurrection.

But, as they’re waiting to be brought before the Sanhedrin at first daylight, Luke’s account takes an interesting turn. He records that in the middle of the night “an angel of the Lord” breaks the apostles out of prison instructing that they return to the Temple in the morning to preach to the people all the more. 

How this prison break occurred we’re not sure, but we do know that when the guards arrive in the morning they not only discover the cell empty, but word quickly spreads that the apostles are back in the Temple teaching the people. 

---

Acts 5:26-28, “The captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “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!”

---

We touched on this last Sunday, but we should remember that none of this story was occurring outside of Jesus’ direct and providential control. 

Jesus freed the apostles by sending this angel not because He wanted to provide a way of escape (His orders for them to return to the Temple and preach would no doubt land them back in jail). Jesus freed them because He wanted to boost their confidence that He was always in control of their circumstances.

Once again Luke sets the scene in order to hammer home the reality that this new movement was creating real ripples throughout Jewish society. Though the “captain and the officers” went to rearrest the apostles, it’s equally clear they were very careful in the way they went about things. The last thing anyone wanted was a riot in the city.

“You have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine!” - What a wonderful accusation!

“Doctrine” is the Greek word “didachê” meaning “that which is taught.” 

The Greek word “filled” means “to cause something to abound.”

This means it was through the teaching of God’s Word and believers practically living out their faith that the Gospel of a resurrected Jesus had taken over the city. And this was a reality that even these religious leaders had to affirm!

Notice the next accusation…. “You intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” 

As we’ve mentioned in our examination of Peter’s pervious sermons, the apostles were clear that the Jewish religious establishment had played a pivotal role in Jesus’ death. 

I am sure the high priest brings this to their attention in an attempt to deflect full responsibility. (Which is ironic since they told Pilate in Matthew 27:25 for “His blood to be upon them and their children?”)

But I think there is another way to read this…. Did the apostles want Jesus’ blood to be on them? Absolutely! Consider what Paul told the Romans 3:21-26, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Before we move on please note what’s omitted by the high priest…. Never once in his entire accusation does he use the name Jesus. This fact seems to present a man who was doing everything he could to resist God’s work in his life.

---

Acts 5:29-32, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

---

In essence there is really nothing new to Peter’s response from the one he initially provided in Acts 4. He’s telling them again that not only did they have an obligation to “obey God rather than men,” but that “as witnesses to these things” it would be impossible to detach themselves from the impact Jesus had on their lives.

Note: Peter isn’t providing a defense nor is he appealing for mercy. Peter is simply presenting an explanation for their actions. Again I believe these men are standing before these religious leaders because Jesus wanted them to hear the Gospel again!

You know there is a real difference between being a “man pleaser” verses being a “God-pleaser.” When it’s all said and done whose opinion of you really matters?

Though the Bible speaks at length when it comes to submission, understand it’s never presented as an absolute. Yes, we’re commanded to submit to government, church leadership, parents, bosses, wives or husbands with the one caveat that God’s commands supersede the directives of man.

“We are His witnesses to these things” which continues to affirm the essential position of the church concerning the veracity of the historical account that Jesus had been “murdered” by crucifixion, but “the God of their fathers raised” Him up and “exalted Him to His right hand to be Prince and Savior” so He might “give repentance” and the “forgiveness of sins.” 

Peter is telling them this was not only the “doctrine” they taught the people, but was an actual, literal event they had each practically experienced. 

Peter continues by validating this reality by saying the evidence of their salvation had been the filling of “the Holy Spirit whom God gives to those who obey Him.” (This was OT symbolism these religious men would have understood.)

---

Acts 5:33, “When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.” 

---

The scene has moved from tense to now being explosive! This phrase “they were furious” indicates the were literally “sawn through.” These religious leaders were “rent with vexation” over the implications of what these 12 men were saying. 

It’s a reality that the Gospel of Jesus either produces the response of contrition leading to repentance or the fury of active resistance. A cord has clearly been struck! Sadly, the result of this conviction was that they immediately “plotted to kill them.”

---

Acts 5:34, “Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.” 

---

It’s interesting Luke mentions that “one in the council (which was clearly dominated at this time by liberal Sadducees) stood up a Pharisee.” Though the Pharisees (the right wing religious and political party in Israel) were the primary opposition of Jesus during His earthly ministry oddly enough this is the first mention of them in the book of Acts.

Though the Gospels present the Pharisees as the primary opponents of Jesus, it’s now the Sadducees who are leading the charge against the church with this other major political party surprisingly absent. We must consider why the Pharisees who dominated the Gospel of Luke have now disappeared in the book of Acts?

I believe the reason we don’t have the Pharisees opposing the church in Acts is that many of them actually converted and were now followers of Jesus. 

Though they had resisted everything Jesus had done and stood for, the one bit of evidence impossible to discount had been His resurrection! (Unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead.) 

Before you accuse me of pure speculation, there does seem to be some Biblical evidence to support this particular theory. In Acts 15:5, Luke mentions that “some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up….” 

Though by Acts 23 (some 25 years later) the Pharisees will have reemerged as a pervasive force in Jewish politics, it would seem at this point in history the party in and of itself had largely abandoned Judaism and followed Jesus. Well…. All except this one Pharisee named “Gamaliel” and presumably all those under his tutelage (according to Acts 22:3 this would have included Paul). 

The Talmud and Mishnah (extra-Biblical Rabbinical writings) claim that Gamaliel was the grandson of the renown Hebrew scholar Rabbi Hallel…. Which might explain why he was “a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people.”

Following Peter’s bold defiance (and the reality he continued to present the truth of the Gospel to a group of men bent on resisting it) the Sanhedrin explodes in furry. And in a pure act of unfettered emotion this group of respected leaders begin to discuss openly how they’re going to kill these men. 

Note: The apostles are still standing before them which is why the first thing Gamaliel does is to order these men be removed so that cooler heads might prevail.

---

Acts 5:35-39, “And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

---

Gamaliel reasoning was twofold: 

1. If this was “a work of men” it would die a natural death. 

To validate his position Gamaliel points to two previous examples whereby men (Theudas and Judas of Galilee) “rose up claiming to be somebody,” even gained a following, but were ultimately “scattered and came to nothing.”

His logic was that if a work of man done in the name of God proves successful then one must logically accept that God was indeed behind that work. Basically, Gamaliel argues that success validates authenticity. 

Ironically, his logic was not exactly true…. Islam, as an example, has proven very successful, but we don’t consider it a genuine work of God.

2. If this was “a work of God” there was nothing they could do to stop it.

To this point Gamaliel was correct in his assessment. If this was a new work of God, he reasoned it would be unwise to oppose and prudent in how they ultimately handled it! If God is for it who can be against it?

Over the centuries and in countries across the world many have tried to stamp out Christianity only to then watch it metastasize and spread all the more.

Tragically, though an expert in the Scriptures, Gamaliel was your prototypical fence sitter. His entire approach was let’s wait and see - then make the right conclusions. 

What further evidence did he need? The Scriptures pointed to Jesus! Prophecy pointed to Jesus! His three year ministry presented more than enough evidence. Not to mention evidence pointing to His resurrection was undeniable. 

If you’re not a Christian today, may I ask you to consider why? Is there not enough evidence that He loves you? Is there not enough evidence for you to believe? As David Guzik challenged in his commentary on this passage, “Gamaliel proposed the test of time, but we should consider the test of eternity.”

---

Acts 5:40-42, “And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

---

Though they all agreed with Gamaliel, something still needed to be done to reinforce the reality they were not to “speak in the name of Jesus” without fear of repercussions. 

Luke tells us the apostles were “beaten” or in the Greek “derô” meaning “to flay or skin.” This seems to indicate each of these men was sentenced to 39 lashes using a Roman flagrum or “cat of nine tails” in the very same manner of Jesus.

Imagine the reaction when an angel didn’t arrive. They were beaten viciously, threatened severely, but ultimately released; and what was their reaction? Luke tells us “they departed rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” 

More often than not when we find ourselves suffering for the cause of Christ we’re inclined to sulk or seek pity. Some of us might even demonstrate an anger and disappointment that Jesus didn’t intervene when we know He could have. 

Even if we’re able to find some type of inner resolve to endure, we tend to “ham it up” in order to gain attention or posture some sense of internal spirituality or holiness.

And yet these men didn’t complain. They didn’t question God’s love. They didn’t seek the attention of others nor did they sulk in their obvious pain and discomfort. Instead, these men rejoiced…. It really is other-worldly! As they’re leaving the “presence of the council” these men are singing and glorifying God! 

Note: They weren’t rejoicing because their lives had been spared. They rejoiced because they saw their suffering as validation of a much greater reality.

This word we have translated “were counted worthy” literally suggests their joy was found in the reality they had been “judged worthy” by God to be afforded the honor and privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ.

For these men persecution was seen as validation. Suffering was viewed as an indictor of God’s pleasure in the way they were handling themselves. It was a badge of honor…. proof that they were really being the witnesses Jesus had called them to be!

John 15:20-21, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”

1 Peter 3, “If you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed…. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit….” 

2 Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution.”

Philemon 1:29, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake….”

According to the “Pew Research Center” and corroborated by “Open Doors Ministry” 75% of the world’s Christian population live in areas with severe religious restrictions. 

Though it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact number of Christians martyred for their faith each year (I’ve included a few articles that place the number as high as 100,000 or as low as 1,200), one thing is clear…. According the “Berkley Center for Religion” located at Georgetown University, “More Christians face more persecution in more countries than any other religious community.”

In discussing Christian persecution, I could point to story after story where Christians are being brutally slaughtered, churches are being burned to the ground, believers are forced to meet in secret, and pastor’s are being imprison simply for their faith in Jesus. 

And while we all need to be aware we live in a minority of believers who can worship God without fear of martyrdom (and we should pray for the persecuted church), I want to take a different approach this morning because I believe the American church is beginning to see the emergence of an entirely different type of persecution.

Though our society was founded on the freedom of speech and religion, there is clearly a growing tide of opposition to the freedom of religious speech. 

In an attempt to silence and diminish Christian beliefs in the public square, many “secular progressives” abandon the free and honest exchange of ideas for instead the disingenuous mischaracterization of Christians and our Biblical positions.

You see instead of disputing the merits of truth, many who resist the Gospel would rather unfairly attack the speaker of said truth, brand him or her as being intolerant or worse bigoted, all the while avoiding any form of honest, respectful discourse.

For example: If you speak out in favor of traditional marriage, you will be unfairly branded as bigoted and hateful towards gays (you can even loose your job). If, as a Christian business owner, you take a pro-life stance concerning “Plan B” and thereby refuse to include it in the employee health plans you’re paying for, you will be accused of being anti-women and ostracized from the business community. If you espouse a belief in an intelligent design of the universe, academics bypass a genuine scientific debate of the facts and instead brand the individual as being an intellectual dunce unfit for academia at large. 

Instead of a conversation on the merits of each of these positions and an allowance for conflicting moral beliefs to exist in a free society, Christians are verbally attacked and intentionally mischaracterized through the misinformation of dishonest debate. 

Charles Simmons said, “Bigotry and intolerance, silenced by argument, endeavors to silence by persecution, in old days by fire and sword, in modern days by the tongue.”

The secular movement in America, which has preached tolerance for all, finds itself today, in their blatant intolerance of the Christians they disagree with, increasingly guilty of the same cardinal sin they’ve always stood in opposition too. 

And you know why Christians are the only ones targeted? A human resisting God will always be tolerant of a lie and will admittedly reject the truth. As illustrated by our text, when debate avoids honest dialogue concerning the truth it will quickly manifest into active antagonism towards the purveyors of such truth. In Acts 4, the opposition began with verbal hostility. In Acts 5, it’s translated into physical persecution.

VP Henry A. Wallace provides an interesting warning the church should remember…. “A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends.” 

Though these religious leaders verbally and physically persecuted these men because they rejected the truth of what they were saying, Luke closes the chapter by telling us that “daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

These men were beaten, but they refused to back down. They stood on conviction. They continued to proclaim the truth. Note: It cost them everything!

According to reliable church history and tradition…. Matthew was beheaded with a sword. Mark died in Alexandria after being dragged through the streets of the city. Luke was hanged on an olive tree in Greece. John died a natural death after they unsuccessfully tried to boil him in oil. Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome. James was beheaded in Jerusalem. James the Less was thrown from a height then beaten with clubs. Philip was hanged. Bartholomew was whipped and beaten until death. Andrew was crucified. Thomas was run through with a spear. Jude was killed with the arrows of an executioner. Matthias was stoned and then beheaded – as was Barnabas. The Apostle Paul was ultimately beheaded in Rome.

Friends, it’s a fact that American society is growing increasingly hostile to the truth of God’s Word (and this hostility is only going to grow worse). So may I ask…. What will it take for you to stop standing for the truth of God’s Word? 

Will you cave if your friends unfairly brand you a bigot? Will you back down if they threaten to fire you from your job or take away your livelihood? Will you cower in fear if society ends up ostracizing, alienating, and labeling you as being intolerant?

It would be wise to consider these things, because the day is coming where standing for the truth will actually cost you something! 

I pray that when that day fully comes we are all prepared to not only stand for truth, but rejoice that we’ve been “counted worthy” to suffer for the sake of Jesus!