Acts 5:33-42
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
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.
The apostles were not afraid to
spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and were even willing to go to jail for
it. In the verses prior to these, the
Sanhedrin council was angry because the apostles claimed more power through Jesus
than through their rule. They claimed
that they would teach as the Holy Spirit led them, not be silent as the
Sanhedrin had commanded. Because of the
apostles claims the Sanhedrin council was ready to kill them. Then, God gave wisdom to a man on the council,
Galilean, who urged them not to kill these men because if they were a hoax they
would disappear soon and if they were not, they would be men sent by God and
you wouldn’t want to mess with God’s plan!
So, the apostles got a flogging and were sent on their way being told
not to speak of Jesus anymore.
How do we respond to
circumstances in life? I first need to
use Galilean as an illustration of how we should look at things in life. I love the phrase, “But if it is from God, you will
not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against
God”. How many times in life do
we try to solve problems on our own? I
have been guilty of trying to fix everything on my own, wishing people would
just listen to what I have to say rather than turn a deaf ear to me. Yet, if God is in control, I should not be
upset at that deaf ear because I know God is doing a mighty work, I just can’t
see it. When life brings us questions we
cannot answer, we need to step back and watch God work. The other thing I like about this verse is
the fact that it is yet another proof of the deity of Christ! How many years ago was this written? Is the Word still being taught? Does the very Bible that so many tried to
destroy still get produced and distributed throughout the world? Yes, it does!
You may say, “Well there are other religions that are still here today,
it doesn’t make Christianity right.” But
yes, all the more proof. We are told
that we need to be sensitive to other religions, not offend them. We are even told that we need to say, Happy
Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas”.
There is an attempt by man to fade out the Christian life and an attempt
by man to make other religions dominate.
However, even with the silence, Christianity has remained solid. Even with others trying to fade it out,
destroy it, Christianity has gained strength.
God said there would be divisions.
Those coming from the same lifeline would be enemies and that has become
true. When Abraham tried to take control
and had a baby with his servant a lifeline began that would attempt to destroy
Christianity. The battle is still in
existence today and man is still trying to solve it.
The other verse I have highlighted
is an encouragement to me. These men did
not go away feeling sorry for themselves.
These men went away rejoicing that they could suffer for the Lord and
they NEVER stopped sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. When we get beat down how do we respond? When people say we should not share what God
has placed on our hearts and we listen to them, we are not obeying our Father
in Heaven. There is a time to obey man
but if it contradicts the will of the Father then we need to do as the apostles
and obey God over man. In essence if man’s
laws are acceptable to God then we obey them but if they go against God then we
need to ignore them and follow in the path of Christ and His apostles. No matter what response others may give us,
we need to obey God and rejoice if that obedience results in man’s
punishment. Wouldn’t it be better to be
punished by man rather than punished by God?!
When we get beat down by man because we upheld our faith and obeyed God,
we need not feel sorry for ourselves yet rejoice because we got to share in the
suffering of Jesus Christ.
As you seek Him may you find the
strength to stand firm in your faith no matter what man says or does to try to
get you to turn from your faith.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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