God miraculously freed the apostles from
prison so they could continue telling people about their new life in Christ. However,
they were persecuted even worse the next time.
Acts 5:27-33 27 The
apostles were brought in and made to 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 human beings! 30 The
God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging
him on a cross. 31 God
exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might
bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and
so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they
heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
As the Sanhedrin met to decide their punishment, they decided to
have the apostles flogged instead of killed (vs. 34-40). The Sanhedrin gave the
apostles orders again to not to speak about Jesus.
God had
specifically told the apostles to go back to the temple to share the good news.
They could have wondered why God would allow their arrest again (with flogging
this time) after they obediently did exactly what He told them to do. However,
instead of questioning God or getting mad at Him, they rejoiced.
Acts 5: 41-42 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 Messiah.
Do you and I
rejoice when we face difficulties with something God has specifically asked us
to do? I know I don’t. I do pray for help, express my confusion to God and ask
for eyes to see how He might use the difficulty (such as with being told we had
to move the “See You at the Pole” offsite earlier this year).
Like the
apostles, let’s obediently and joyfully persevere in what God has asked us to
do, no matter what persecution, opposition or challenge comes our way. He can
help us rejoice through it and see the blessings!
No comments:
Post a Comment