When we know we’re doing what we feel the Lord wants us to do, we might think that things should go smoothly. We’re being obedient to His plans and will for us, so we should have a clear path. We may think that, but sometimes that is not the case. Sometimes when we are following the Lord’s clear instructions, we will still face opposition and problems. This is the case with the early disciples in our Scripture today from the Book of Acts. Let’s see what we can learn from this Scripture passage.
After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles went throughout the city of Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel message of salvation, and performing various miracles of healing. That is where we find ourselves as our passage opens. One place that the disciples would often gather was Solomon’s Porch (vs. 12), which was a colonnade in the Temple’s Outer Court. It was a large, open area where they could witness and teach the people about Jesus.
This was exactly what the Lord had instructed them to do right before He was taken back into heaven - preach the Gospel and bring others to a saving relationship with Jesus. However, before too much time passed, the High Priest and other religious leaders became enraged about what they were doing. They thought that once they had Jesus killed, that would have stopped all of His teachings. Now His apostles were preaching that He rose again, and were continuing teaching His message. People were flocking to them and getting saved. This infuriated the High Priest and religious leaders, so they had them arrested and thrown in jail (vs. 17-18).
Most of us would probably find that very discouraging. Here we are, doing what the Lord instructed, and being rather successful, and then the religious leaders throw us in jail. However, God had plans, and they needed to trust Him to work this all out for His glory. That very night God sent an angel to open the prison doors and set them free. Their instructions were to continue to preach the salvation message of Jesus to the people (vs. 19-20). They were not to alter their message to make it more pleasing to the High Priest and Jewish religious leaders. They were not to placate them. God instructed them to continue preaching “the words of this life”, the message that Jesus died for their sins, and only faith in Him will bring eternal life. God did not break them out of prison so they could escape to safety. He freed them so they could go right back to what they had been doing - preaching salvation.
The next morning the Sanhedrin planned on bringing these apostles to trial, and summoned them to be brought out of their cells and before them. The whole counsel of the Sanhedrin was going to try them. This was not going to be a little or minor trial. They would stop at nothing to permanently silence the new Christians. Imagine their shock when they found that the prisoners were not in their cells, yet the prison doors were still securely locked! Minutes later they heard that the apostles were back outside preaching again (vs. 21-25).
Immediately the High Priest ordered the men quietly rearrested (vs. 26). They didn’t want to look like they were making a big fuss in front of the crowds. The Sanhedrin feared their reputation and standing in the eyes of the people, yet they did not fear God, whom they should have. Once they had the apostles before them, the Sanhedrin commanded them to stop preaching in the Name of Jesus (vs. 27-28). They did not want the crowds to hold them guilty of the Blood of Jesus, whom they had crucified. Yet at His trial before Pontius Pilate a few months earlier, they had cried that His Blood should be on them and their children (Matthew 27:25). Now, though, many people were turning to this new faith, and the council didn’t want to be held responsible.
Peter responded that they needed to obey God rather than man (vs. 29). Peter was not sanctioning civil disobedience, as he made that very clear in his first epistle in I Peter 2:13-17. Paul also stated that in Romans 13:1-7. We are to obey civil government. But when it goes contrary to the explicit commands of God, we must obey God first, and be ready to suffer the consequences.
The apostles and early disciples of Jesus were not afraid to spread the message of salvation, even if it meant persecution from others. When we are convinced of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, and have experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we can have the confidence they did to speak the Gospel of salvation in Jesus.
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