Picture yourself, you are doing the job that you were supposed to do, and along comes some enemies, someone who is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than you are. They grab a hold of you, speak a lot of threats, and then fortunately let you go. You know that they could really clobber you if they wanted to, but this time they let you go. Would we do whatever we could to avoid any further trouble? If they told us to keep our mouth shut, is that what we’d do to avoid a fight? We remember that they are more powerful, so would we lay low and try to be less conspicuous? In our Scripture today, which continues the account of the early days of the Apostles, following Jesus’ Ascension and Day of Pentecost, when they first ran into trouble from the Sanhedrin, the Jewish legal authorities. Let’s continue with this narrative of the very early days of the Apostles and the Church, and see how they responded to some serious threats against them.
Earlier, in chapter 3 of Acts, Peter and James had healed, in the Name of Jesus, a poor man who had been crippled from birth. This miracle had attracted a large crowd, and Peter used the opportunity to speak to the group about Jesus. However that did not sit well with the religious leaders, who quickly took the two into custody. There they questioned them, threatened them, and sternly warned them to stop speaking to others about Jesus. They were then let go with further warnings to not preach in the Name of Jesus.
These weren’t exactly idle threats that the Sanhedrin made to Peter and John. This was the group that just a couple of months earlier had arrested the Lord Jesus, and convinced the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to have executed. They were a very powerful group, and the apostles had absolutely no power against them. This was just the beginning, as opposition against the Lord Jesus and the Church existed right from the very start. The two returned to their fellow believers, and told them all that had happened, and what the chief priests and elders had said (vs. 23).
The disciples now had a choice to make. Would they obey the Sanhedrin and just keep quiet about Jesus? After all, as many say, religion is a personal matter, and they could just let their lives “speak” a message. They could pack up and leave town, and maybe have better luck in Galilee. The disciples did the right thing, and that was to get down on their knees and bring this situation before the Lord in prayer (vs. 24-30).
Peter and John’s experience did not frighten or discourage the other disciples, but exhilarated them. They took confidence in God’s sovereign control of all events, including suffering. In prayer the disciples first praised God. Then they told Him their specific problem, asking for His help. The disciples saw what had just occurred as a fulfillment of Psalm 2:1-2 (vs. 25-26). They didn’t ask God to remove the problem, but to help them deal with it, which is a model to follow.
This is a prayer that we can learn from when we might face opposition to our work for the Lord. They did not pray for God to bring destruction on the religious leaders. We might be tempted to pray something like that against our enemies, those who oppose us or bully us in any manner. However, that’s not how these early Christians prayed. Nor did they ask God to take them out of their time of trouble. Instead, they asked God to consider the threats they faced, and for Him to give them boldness to speak out further. They did not want to hide in fear, keeping their mouths shut, and they did not want to escape out the back door. The Lord Jesus had given them a commission to go into the world and preach the Gospel, and so they asked Him for more boldness in the face of threats and opposition. Boldness is not impulsive recklessness. It is courage to press on through our fears, and to do what we know is right.
When the disciples were through praying, God showed them in a very specific way that He had heard their prayer and would answer it (vs. 31). He filled them with the Holy Spirit, and also shook the building they were in, like a mini little non-damaging, non-harmful earthquake. This was reminiscent of what had occurred a few months earlier on the day of Pentecost, and reminded them that the Holy Spirit was present with them (Acts 2:1-4).
The disciples were not afraid, they were not going to run scared, but instead the Holy Spirit gave them boldness to speak the Word of God. When we face opposition for doing the work of the Lord, for speaking out to others in the Name of Jesus, we can come to Him in prayer, as well, and receive similar boldness and fearlessness. The disciples knew, as we can know, as well, that God is sovereign and always in control.
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