Grace Church Roanoke, Virginia
Dr. Jack L. Arnold Lesson #14
ACTS
The Second Persecution
Acts 5:17-42
Can we be Christians and be totally
accepted by the world? Or to put
it another way, will the non-Christian world ever totally embrace Christ and
His teachings and therefore accept His followers? Or to put it still another way, can the Christian ever go
through life free from persecution for His Christian convictions? The Biblical answer is ÒNo!Ó Christ Himself said the world would
hate Christians.
ÒIf the world hates you, you know that
it has hated Me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you. Remember the word that
I said to you, ÕA slave is not greater than his master.Õ If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours alsoÓ (Jn. 15:18-20).
Suffering social and physical
persecution is part of every Christian's life and this will always be the case
because Christians Òmust obey God rather than men.Ó
It is not easy to take any kind of
persecution for Christ's sake but it is absolutely necessary if we are to grow
spiritually in Christ. No
Christian likes to be considered odd, strange, different or peculiar. We want to be liked and respected by
all but this is never possible, for a true Christian because the world,
controlled by Satan, is in opposition to Christ, and the unsaved by nature hate
the claims and teachings of Christ.
Therefore, Christians will suffer but this is how they grow strong
spiritually for Christ. ÒThat I
may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His deathÓ (Philip. 3:10).
SUPERNATURAL DELIVERANCE Acts 5:17-33
Indignation (5:17): ÒBut
the high priest rose up, along with all of his associates {that is the sect of
the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy; . . .Ó -- The Sadducees were the leaders in Israel and were also the
religious rationalists. They
denied many of the supernatural elements in the Jewish religion, and they were
jealous of the Apostles' success as they were preaching that Christ was Messiah
and, by placing one's faith in Christ who died for sins and rose from the dead,
a person could have eternal life.
The Sadducees denied the resurrection and all the supernatural. Yet they saw the miracles the Apostles
were performing (5:12) and many people were becoming Christians (5:14). This was a threat to the theology and
pocketbooks of the wealthy Sadducees who had control of all the finances
surrounding the temple sacrifices.
Sadducees are equivalent to our modern
day liberal theologians in Christendom.
Liberals are tolerant of everything but Biblical truth. When the truth of scripture, especially
any supernatural element, is presented they react with indifference or violent
emotion. Liberals can tolerate any
area of academics except Biblical truth.
They will discuss calmly and rationally existentialism, empiricism,
rationalism, pragmaticism, evolutionism, the views of other religions. Almost anything or any philosophical
theory can be discussed until Christ and the Bible are mentioned and then these
things are laughed out of court.
This merely proves that in the human heart there is a rebellion to the
truth of a supernatural Christ.
Why do liberals fight so hard against Christ? The truth of Christ convicts and condemns men and Christ
demands that men have changed lives to follow Him. Liberal theologians who think man is basically good and
autonomous do not want Christ to rule over them.
Incarceration (5:18): ÒAnd
they laid hands on the apostles, and put them in a public jail.Ò -- In the first persecution, only John and Peter were
arrested. Now all the Apostles are
arrested for their faithful preaching of Christ. Why were they put in jail? Because they were preaching a supernatural Christ who gave a
supernatural salvation. These
truths were like waving a red flag in the face of a bull as far as the
Sadducees were concerned.
Emancipation (5:19): ÒBut
an angel of the Lord during the night opened the gates of the prison, and
taking than out he said, . . .Ó
-- Why does God use an
angel to open this prison? Why not
an earthquake or something a little more palatable to the rational mind? It seems harder to believe an angel
opened the prison. Why? God used an angel as an instrument to
supernaturally release the Apostles because the Sadducees did not believe in
angels. He used an angel to prove
to the Apostles that the doctrine of the Sadducees was wrong. God certainly does have a sense of
humor and He just laughs at the rationalistic, antisupernatural and humanistic
reasoning of unbelieving people.
God wanted the Apostles to preach
Christ and there is no problem for God to get men out of jail. Sometimes, as in the case of the
Apostle Paul, God chooses to leave Christians in jail but still the Word is
not bound. Unbelieving men cannot
stop the Word of God. They cannot
stop the power of God. God's Word
and God's power are not held by prison walls, gates, bars and chains. Nothing can stop the almighty power of
God and if He needs to use supernatural phenomena to get His Word preached, He
will! Arresting and threatening
Christians will never stop the Word of God from making its impact on this
world. The Word of God is not bound!
Dr. Josif Ton, one of the leaders of
the Christian movement in Communist Romania told me a story about one of the
many times he was before a Communist interrogator for his Christian faith. Interrogation goes on for hours and for
days. This particular time God
gave Dr. Ton the words of Christian hymns to run through his mind as they were seeking
to brainwash him. He said he
remembered the words of hymns that he thought he had forgotten. As he quoted the hymns to himself, God
gave him perfect peace and his interrogator became very angry. Finally, the interrogator broke down
after eleven days, having a nervous breakdown, and Dr. Ton took a few days rest
at the beach. God supernaturally
brought the words of these hymns to his mind.
Occupation (5:20): ÒGo
your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this
life.Ó -- The angel, commissioned by God, told
the Apostles to go back to the temple and continue to preach the same
message. The angel told them Òto
goÓ, for this has always been the command to Christians: ÒGo ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature.Ò
They had just seen an angel and there must have been some curiosity but
the angel said, ÒGo, go, go!Ó
There would be a whole eternity to settle idol curiosity about angels
but only one lifetime to spread the gospel. We must use the time God has given us to preach and teach
Jesus Christ. The angel also said,
ÒStandÒ; that is, they were to stand up for Christ wherever they were and in
what ever they were doing. The
angel also said, ÒSpeakÒ. The
Apostles were to give a verbal witness.
We Christians are always to speak out to others about Christ. What are we to speak? We are to speak Òthe whole message of
this life.Ó Christians proclaim a
life not a creed. Christianity for
the Apostles was not just a list of creedal statements but it was a life. Christianity is a vital relationship
with Christ based on the facts of Christianity. ÒWe must preach Christ - His deity, His humanity, His death,
burial and resurrection; His offices of prophet, priest and king; His
substitutionary atonement for sin; His life which He gives to all who trust Him
as their personal Lord and Savior.
Christians are to preach the Òwhole messageÓ without com- promise. We must not add or subtract from the
truth or hold the message of Christ in reserve. If the truth offends the natural minds of unsaved men, so be
it. Truth offends because it
speaks to the sinful nature of man and tells him his need to be saved. Often when truth is the most offensive,
it is the most effective. Christ's
timeless message to the church is:
ÒGo, stand up and speak!Ó Are we doing this?
Consternation (5:21-28)
(1) ÒAnd upon hearing this, they
entered into the temple about daybreak, and began to teach.Ó -- These were brave men.
In obedience, they did what God commanded them to do, trusting God to
protect them.
(2) ÒNow when the high priest and his
associates had come they called the Council together and all the Senate of the
sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison-house for them to be
brought. But the officers who came
did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, saying, ÔWe
found the prison-house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the
doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.Õ Now when the captain of the temple guard
and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them
as to what would come of this. But
someone came and reported to them, ÔBehold, the men whom you put in prison are
standing in the temple and teaching the people!ÕÓ -- Surely God
has a sense of humor. The whole
Council was ready to try the Apostles but they were no where to be found. They are told they are back preaching
in the temple. These intelligent
thinkers must have been scratching their heads and in total confusion over this
whole process.
(3) ÒThen the captain went along with
the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence; (for they were
afraid of the people, lest they should be stoned).Ó -- The Apostles
had wide support at this time among the common people and the temple police
arrested the Apostles cautiously lest they should be stoned by the people. Notice that the Apostles never resisted
arrest and trusted God to take care of them.
(4) ÒAnd when they had brought them,
they stood them before the Council.
And the high priest questioned them, . . Ò -- Notice
carefully that these clever Sadducees did not ask how the Apostles got out of
prison. They knew it was by some
supernatural means and they did not want to be embarrassed and have their
theology of antisupernaturalism shot full of holes.
(5) ÒSaying, ÔWe gave you strict orders
not to continue teaching in this name, and behold you have filled Jerusalem
with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.ÕÓ -- The Council, in the first confrontation of the Apostles with
the authorities over the healing of the lame man, told the Apostles never to
preach the name of Christ again.
The Apostles, of course, had to disobey the authorities. They continued to fill the whole city of
Jerusalem with their teaching (doctrine).
Notice the Apostles were teaching doctrine to the masses - doctrine
about the resurrected
Christ who is God, Savior and
Messiah. The Apostles were
preaching Christ everywhere, for the whole city was filled with their
teaching. Are we filling our city
with the teachings of Christ? The
Council also claimed that the Apostles were trying to charge the Sanhedrin with
the death of Jesus, bringing the blood of Christ upon them. Peter and the Apostles did accuse the
Sanhedrin and the whole Jewish nation with the death of Christ and they
themselves called for Christ's death just a few months before this time.
ÒPilate said to them, ÔWhat then shall
I do with Jesus who is called Christ?Õ
They all said, ÔLet Him be crucified!Õ And he said, ÔWhy, what evil has He done?Õ But they kept shouting all the more,
saying, ÔLet Him be crucified!Õ
And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a
riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the
multitude, saying, ÔI am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves.Õ And all the people answered and said, ÔHis
blood be on us and on our children!ÕÓ (Matt. 27:22-25).
However Peter also called for the
nation of Israel to repent of this awful deed of the crucifixion of Christ and
to be forgiven and cleansed through Christ's blood that was shed.
Obligation (5:29): ÒBut
Peter and the apostles answered and said, ÔWe must obey God rather than men.ÕÓ -- Here is one of the great statements of all scripture: ÒWe must obey God rather than men.Ó The Apostles clearly understood that
their ultimate allegiance belonged to God and not to man. ÒMustÓ is an imperative; it is not
something we can take or leave in our Christian experience. It is not just knowing the will of God
but doing the will of God.
Christians must learn to obey God in everything. We must obey God above the State; we
must obey God in our personal lives; we must obey God in our local
churches. The place of blessing is
in obedience to God. We must obey
rather than compromise the Word of God to reach numbers of people or to please
men.
No one likes to be called fanatical but
we must face up to the fact that the masses of Christendom today have obeyed
men rather than God. Anyone who
stands for Christ is going to be thought of as fanatical.
Proclamation (5:30-33)
(1) ÒThe God of our fathers raised up
Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross (wood, tree).Ó -- According to the Old Testament law, to be hanged on a tree
brought a curse (Deut. 21:23). In
other words, by crucifying Christ on a stake of wood, the Jews inflicted the
utmost disgrace upon Christ. They
disgraced Christ but God exalted Him by raising Him from the dead.
Peter again shows tremendous courage in
preaching so boldly to the Sanhedrin who had the power to put him to
death. Certainly Peter was not out
to win friends and influence people but to be faithful to God in proclaiming
Christ.
(2) ÒHe is the one who God exalted to
His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins.Ó -- Jesus Christ is a Prince in that He
ascended into heaven and sits at the Father's right hand. He is also a Savior in that He is the
only one who can save or deliver people from their sins. Jesus is the Savior who saves from past
sin. ÒFor the Son of Man has come
to seek and to save that which was lostÓ (Lk. 19:10). Who saves from present sins. ÒHence also He is able to save forever those who draw near
to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for themÓ
(Heb.7:25). Who saves men from
future sin. ÒFor our citizenship
is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus ChristÓ
{Philip. 3:20).
Christ died that He might give
repentance to Israel. It is God
who grants men repentance through Christ.
No man can earn eternal life by his good works. Salvation is a gift from God and this
verse clearly teaches that repentance, which is a necessary act sinners must
perform to be saved, is also a gift from God. Salvation (every aspect of it) is given and not earned. Salvation cannot be earned by religion,
good works, education or culture.
Salvation is given by God to all who repent (change their attitude) and
trust Christ, and even the repenting and trusting is a gift from God so that no
human can boast of salvation. ÒFor
by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boastÓ (Eph.
2:8,9).
(3) ÒAnd we are witnesses of these
things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.Ó -- The Apostles were personal witnesses concerning the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ.
What they were speaking was absolute truth, but men do not come to
Christ because of the historicity and accuracy of Christianity alone. There must also be the internal witness
of the Holy Spirit who gives men spiritual understanding of Christ, brings them
under conviction of sin, draws them to Christ and efficaciously regenerates
their souls so they will believe in Christ. This same Holy Spirit comes into the life of all who obey
Christ. A person obeys Christ when
he keeps Christ's command to believe on Him as God, Savior and Messiah.
(4) ÒBut when they heard this, they
were cut to the quick and were intending to slay them.Ó -- The Sanhedrin did not come under conviction for their sin,
but they were further hardened and this produced even a greater anger towards
Christ and His followers. Their
intention was to kill all twelve of the Apostles. Why did they get so mad? They became furious when the truth of Christ was presented
to them. Why such violence and
enraged fury? Men in their unsaved
state have a natural hatred of Christ and the gospel. We must remember that the gospel of Christ not only attracts
and re- deems some men but it also enrages others. It is not only that men are sinners and want their own
independent way but they are controlled by demonic forces. Our battle as Christians is not just
with the forces of sin but ultimately with the forces of hell. ÒFor our struggle is not ,against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world-forces
of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly placesÓ
(Eph. 6:12). It is evil beings who
are sitting in positions of power behind the scenes and they are manipulating
men, keeping them under control and using them as puppets. Thoughts are being placed in the minds
of men who oppose the gospel by invisible evil forces.
When non-Christians oppose our witness
to them about Christ, they are only acting naturally and out of control by
demonic spirits. Only God can
cause an unsaved man to see. Our
job as Christians is to make sure that the unsaved receive the gospel and we
must pray for them. It is God's
task to save souls.
NATURAL DELIVERANCE Acts 5:34-42
Moderation (5:34-39)
(1) ÒBut a certain Pharisee named
Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the
Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.Ò -- Gamaliel was a famous teacher in Israel and was a teacher of
the Apostle Paul before he was converted to Christ. While Gamaliel was a wise man, he was a formalist. He was a theological opportunist. He was a moderate who believed in
straddling the fence, an advocate of the middle of the road policy. Little did the Apostles know that God
would use the moderate, Gamaliel, to get them delivered out of the hands of the
Sanhedrin. God used a natural
deliverance under His divine providence to free the Apostles from the Council.
(2) ÒAnd he said to them, ÔMen of
Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For sometime ago Theudas rose up,
claiming to be some body; and a group of about four hundred men joined up with
him. And he was slain; and all who
followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the
census, and drew away some people after him, he too perished, and all those who
followed him were scattered. And
so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them
alone, for if this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but
if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even
be found fighting against God.ÔÓ
-- Gamaliel's reasoning was
that if this Christian movement is of man it will ultimately collapse. If it is of God, it will survive, and,
if opposed by the Jews, the Jews will be fighting against God. Gamaliel's advice was not to join the
Christians but to leave them alone, and above all don't persecute them or kill
them for this will just give them more reason to push their movement.
Gamaliel was an unbeliever and he too
was controlled by evil forces. Yet
God overruled in Gamaliel's life and caused him to make a decision which would
be favor- able to the Apostles.
All evil forces are subject to the sovereign workings of God. This incident of Gamaliel shows how God
uses the very forces opposed to the gospel to fight against themselves and
restrain themselves and ultimately to help the cause of Christ.
About ten years ago the Christian youth
leaders in Communist Yugoslavia wanted to meet together to discuss strategy for
reaching their country for Christ.
They had been trying for months to get a permit from the government for
this meeting. Finally, they just
gathered together without a permit, trusting God to take care of them. About two hundred leaders and youth
showed up for this meeting. On the
second day, the commissioner and the police showed up at the rally and told the
Christians in charge of the rally they had to stop the meeting or be put in
jail. A wise Christian leader told
these Communists, ÒSir, just last night I was telling these young people how
wonderful it was to live in a country where Christians are permitted to gather
like this. Now, Sir, if you wish
to tell them the meeting is stopped, you go in and tell them yourself.Ó The commissioner knew this would cause
a great complaint, so fearing the people and the political consequences, he
left them alone. These Christian
youth leaders have met every year since that time. God used natural means in His divine providence to let these
Christian leaders meet together.
Retribution (5:40): ÒAnd
they took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and
ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus; and then released them.Ó -- They took Gamaliel's advice not to kill the Apostles but
they did flog them with thirty-nine lashes to the back and sent them on their
way.
Adulation (5:41,42)
(1) ÒSo they went on their way from the
presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to
suffer shame for His name.Ó
-- The Apostles did not
quit. They did not
compromise. They did not stop preaching
when persecuted. They counted
themselves blessed to suffer dishonor for Christ. Part of being a Christian is sharing in Christ's
sufferings. ÒThat I may know Him,
and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being
conformed to His deathÓ (Philip. 3:10).
Each Christian has been sovereignly given faith to believe in Christ and
part of his walk is to suffer for Christ.
ÒFor to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe
in Him, but also to suffer for His sakeÓ (Philip. 1:29). Suffering for the gospel is an
intricate part of our Christian experience. It is not something unusual or reserved for a few; it is for
all.
(2) ÒAnd every day, in the temple and
from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the
Christ.Ó -- Nothing could stop the early Christians
from proclaiming Christ. Men and
devils have not been able to overthrow Christianity for nineteen hundred years
which is living proof that Christianity is of God and not merely a religion of
men.
Note also that the early Christians met
in a large group in the temple and small groups in the homes. It appears that these meetings were
evangelistic in nature because they were Òteaching and preaching Jesus as the
Christ.Ó
CONCLUSION
Saved. Christian, the early church had three
basic keys that made them effective and the same keys are available to us
today. They had a principle: ÒWe must obey God rather than men.Ó They had a practice: ÒWe are witnessesÒ; they had a changed
life which caused them to speak boldly for Christ. They had a power: ÒThe Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey HimÒ;
this power cannot be obtained in a university or in a seminary, or in a book
about the Holy Spirit or in a creed.
This power of the Holy Spirit is only for those who obey and submit to
His power.
Unsaved. Are you a
non-Christian? We have learned it
is God who gives faith. It is also
God who gives repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Perhaps God will be gracious and grant you faith this day. How will you know He has done
this? When you trust Christ as
your Savior and Lord by an act of your will, that is the evidence that God has
worked saving grace in your life.
Believe that Jesus is Prince and Savior, and you shall be saved.