The Apostles Heal Many
12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 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. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.
~ Solomon’s Colonnade was a portico or a covered porch off of the temple where the believers in Jesus used to meet and where Jesus had previously spoken openly about himself. It was open to the public, evidently, yet the people did not dare associate with the committed believers in Jesus Christ, even though the people highly regarded the believers as followers of Christ. The reasons for this non-association were probably for fear of the Jewish leaders, or perhaps out of fear of God due to the recent deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, who had lied to the Holy Spirit and were immediately struck dead by God.
This strikes me as something that happens yet today. Many who are truly serious about their faith in Jesus Christ and are committed to following the Lord with their whole hearts, minds and strength, are often or are frequently shunned, ignored, and/or shied away from by professing believers who, perhaps, have a more shallow experience with the Lord, have a more casual approach to Christianity, and/or who may still be holding on to their old lives in some respect, etc. This non-association with true believers in Jesus may also be at the hand of non-believers. Either way, when we decide to truly give it all to Jesus, we will or may experience people in our lives not associating with us anymore for whatever the reason.
Yet, there is hope! The passage continued with a “nevertheless,” which means that in spite of the previous fact, more and more people believed in Jesus Christ, and the sick were healed. So, even though we may face rejection, persecution, and non-association from people we know - from our acquaintances, our friends, our family members or even from other believers in Jesus Christ - we can know that God will honor our faith and obedience and that lives will be changed because we dared to stand out and make a difference.
The Apostles Persecuted
17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
~ The religious leaders were filled with jealousy, but why? What would make them jealous? Encarta Dictionary defines “Jealous” as: “Feeling bitter and unhappy because of another’s advantages, possessions, or luck; demanding exclusive loyalty or adherence.”
Ok, on this last point, we know that scripture teaches that God is a jealous God, desiring us for himself alone, and for us to not follow after other gods. He has that right. He made us and we are to be His alone. So, that is a righteous jealousy. God’s relationship with us is often compared to that of a husband to his wife, so there is a sense in which a wife or a husband can also be jealous with a godly jealousy that desires his or her spouse be loyal and faithful in the intimate relationship of marriage to the spouse alone. Yet, this was not the kind of jealousy that was being experienced by these religious leaders, not in a godly way, anyway. They were jealous, though, of the disciples’ freedom, joy in the Lord, followers of Christ (converts), success in ministry, calling out and confrontation of sin, and because they were taking followers away from them. And, they had no right to be jealous because the people did not belong to them but to the Lord.
Yet, there is hope! These jealous leaders put the disciples in jail but an angel of the Lord set them free and told them to go stand in the temple courts and to tell the people the full message of this new life. The phrase “full message” is entirely significant here as it is the reason that the religious leaders were jealous of the disciples and it is the reason they were persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. If we take a casual approach to Christianity or if we water down the gospel message to make it more palatable to people or if we hold back part of the message so as not to offend people with words like “sin,” “repentance,” and “judgment,” then we are not a threat to the people or to the leadership. Yet, when we are fully committed, not only to serving the Lord and to walking in full faith and obedience, but to sharing the “full gospel message,” we will or may face jealousy from other believers in Jesus Christ and even from those in positions of religious authority over us, and they may even become bitter with us and want to get rid of us in one way or another.
So, in a real sense, they will try to imprison us with their own prisons (bondage), yet Jesus came to set us free! So, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to set us free of these man-made prisons that put us under a spirit of bondage to man, and we need to go stand - to take a spiritually upright position; to get up on our feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel; to be situated and positioned in a right relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance and obedience; to fight resolutely this spiritual battle against our true enemy, Satan; and to be Christ’s witnesses by sharing the “full gospel message.” [Taken in part from Encarta] And, we need to stand in the temple courts, i.e. in public and with the church and not let the jealousy of others intimidate us to cower and to hide our lights under a bushel.
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
…Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
27 Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “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.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
~ Sometimes religious leaders will use pressure tactics, even lies, deceit, manipulation, etc. to try to get the people of God to accept less than what God intended for them, i.e. to try to get them to submit to man’s rules over God’s rules by quoting scripture out of context or by teaching man’s rules as though they are equal with scripture and that somehow we are bound by them, but we are not. They will often even ignore the clear teachings of scripture in order to try to suppress the truth of God’s word so that they can fulfill some man-made goals or objectives for “church growth.” This is why we need to know the truth because the truth will set us free to obey God instead of man when man tries to usurp his authority over the authority of God and the authority of scripture in order to manipulate man into doing what he desires instead of what God desires. When we know the truth of God’s word, then we can live the truth out in our daily lives and we can walk in the freedom of the Spirit.
33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 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. 35 Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 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 his followers were scattered. 38 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. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40 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 let them go.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 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 Christ.
~ Amen! The Lord Jesus has given us an advocate, as well, and that is the Holy Spirit within us who stands for truth. He will give us the courage to endure persecution and rejection and he will give us the knowledge and understanding of the truth of scripture so that we can walk in faith and obedience even in the face of great opposition to the “full message.” The religious leaders were advised to “leave the men alone,” and they did let them go, but not without first giving them a flogging and a command, again, not to speak in the name of Jesus. Again, this is intimidation tactics. They may set us free from our man-made prisons and yet beat on us on our way out the door to try to make us feel guilty as though we were the ones who caused all this. We cannot let this get to us! We cannot take the guilt of man upon us and to hold us down and to keep us from doing the will of God. If they reject us, fine! Let them go!! And, go right back out and take your stand for Jesus Christ. We should take upon us the attitude of the disciples in rejoicing that we have been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name of Jesus. And, we should NEVER stop teaching and proclaiming the good news – the full message – that Jesus is the Christ! Amen!!
My Jesus, As Thou Wilt! / Benjamin Schmolck / Carl M. von Weber
My Jesus, as Thou wilt! Oh, may Thy will be mine!
Into Thy hand of love I would my all resign.
Through sorrow or through joy, conduct me as Thine own;
And help me still to say, ‘My Lord, Thy will be done.’
My Jesus, as Thou wilt! Though seen through many a tear,
Let not my star of hope grow dim or disappear.
Since Thou on earth has wept, and sorrowed oft alone,
If I must weep with Thee, ‘My Lord, Thy will be done.’
My Jesus, as Thou wilt! All shall be well for me;
Each changing future scene I gladly trust with Thee.
Straight to my home above I travel calmly on,
And sing, in life or death, ‘My Lord, Thy will be done.’
No comments:
Post a Comment