Acts - 15

Acts - 15

Acts 5:17-32

Introduction

In a military context, the Chain of Command is a designated line of authority and responsibility, through which orders are given and executed. Orders originate at the top by a high-ranking member of the unit, then passed down through a series of subordinates until it reaches the soldier who is to carry out the order. This unbroken chain is critical in ensuring that what needs to get done actually gets done and that soldiers do not step out of line.

One of the hallmarks of the Chain of Command is that it does not transfer from one unit to another, with the exception of extraordinary circumstances. For example, a high-ranking officer from Unit A cannot command lower-ranking soldiers from Unit B because those soldiers are not in that officers Chain of Command. This containment of the Chain keeps units in total unity and coherence without outside forces dangerously influencing their mission.

Great authority in one area does not automatically translate to great authority in every area. This is the lesson that the Apostles learn, and teach to a group of leaders who had tremendous authority in one area, but not in the area where they are issuing orders.

In Acts 4, the Apostles Peter and John were arrested for preaching the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. They were ordered to stop preaching. Acts 4:18-20 - 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Peter and John respond respectfully but clearly…we are not going to obey your orders. Jesus walked out of the grave! We have to tell everyone about this! We can’t NOT tell people about the hope that Jesus offers.

The leaders further threaten them and send them on their way. The men go right back to preaching the Gospel to all who will listen. And things are going well in the Church. I mean, God killed a couple people for hypocrisy, but otherwise, everything is growing. Multitudes of people are being converted to faith in Christ. People are being healed. Lives are being changed. The crowds have a form of respect for the faithfulness of these believers. But not everyone is thrilled with how God is working in the Church.

Acts 5:17-32 - 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

TS - this is a great text that is highly instructive for us today. It is filled with irony and humor. And once again we see the boldness, the faithfulness, and the fearlessness of the followers of Jesus. The text is presented to us in three distinct sections:

JEALOUSY (V. 17-18)

One of the truths we saw in the previous text is how there was a dual response to all the good things happening in the Church. Acts 5:13-14 - 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women…Some of the crowd reject what is happening, but others repent. To some it is alarming, to others it is appealing. But there is even more to this dual reaction.

Here, the crowds hold the Church in high esteem. They have a form of respect for them and their faithfulness. But not everyone in the world is going to feel that way about the Church. Some will respect, others will resent. Some will love, others will loathe. While the crowds here hold them in high esteem, the religious leaders don’t feel that way. V. 17-18 - 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

Remember, the Sadducees are part of the Jewish ruling class. They are the highly educated who run the Temple in Jerusalem. They comprise the ruling council as we see here. They hold all the power, influence, and money. They are theologically loose, not believing in angels, the resurrection, Heaven & Hell, and deny almost all the Bible as God’s Word. This is why they want to shut down this preaching as quickly as possible…the apostles are preaching that because Jesus rose from the dead, He can give you the hope of eternal life. Not a popular message for those who don’t believe in Heaven, Hell, or resurrection.

So let’s settle something here at the outset. People typically go to this text to show a right opposition to a secular government. And they are right to do so, which we will talk about in a minute. This group of Sadducees is a governing force in the land. But that really isn’t the problem. I would submit to you that the real enemy of the Gospel is not the secular government, but the religious establishment. That is who these men are primarily.

They represent the religious status quo. They are theologically liberal, loose with what they believe, denying most of Scripture…again, it is those who claim to be Christian, who have a form of religion that masquerades as faithfulness, but who deny the truth and trustworthiness of the Bible, dismiss key and core doctrines of the faith, and set out to undermine faithful Christians…they are doing far more damage to the faith than the government.

There will be those in the world who respect you, admire you, even inquire about your faith. God will open those doors for you to share the Gospel. But there are others, even in and among God’s people, who deny the core of your faith, who pretend to be something they are not, who are the most danger to you. Once they are exposed for what they are, avoid them at all cost. They are wolves among the sheep. Jealousy drives them. Your life change sets you on a different/better life course. And some are so insecure, or so lazy, so apathetic, so resistant to change, they will try to undo God’s work in your life just to feel better about themselves. Be on guard.

PERPLEXITY (V. 19-28)

While the authorities have arrested and locked up all the apostles, an even greater authority is at work. V. 19-21a - 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

God delivers them from their captivity and instructs them to do something outlandish…He doesn’t tell them to flee the city. He doesn’t tell them to go hide until the tensions ease up a bit. He tells them to go right back into the most populous, crowded area of the city in the Temple, and keep on preaching. “Go and stand in the temple…” that word for ‘stand’ is a Greek word that means ‘to establish, to take your stand, to hold your ground.’ Go, dig in your heels, and ready yourself for the fight.

Again, notice their bravery, their faithfulness, their fearlessness. They’ve now been arrested twice for preaching Jesus. They’ve been threatened by murderers who already put Jesus on the cross. But without a moment’s hesitation, without even a whisper of delay, they march right back into the temple to preach. And they are to preach the ‘words of this Life.’ Notice that ‘Life’ is capitalized. Because it is shorthand for Jesus Himself.

John 1:4 - 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 14:6 - 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The very message that got them into trouble is the very message they are to continue to preach. Why? It is the only message that matters. Jesus Christ is Life and Jesus Christ offers life. He is Life because He is risen from the dead. He offers life to all who will place their faith in Him. And meanwhile, while the guys continue their preaching tour in the temple, the liberal elite gather for the court hearing.

V. 21b-28 - Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

What a humorous moment! The pious, the powerful, gather with their authority, all the while they have no idea what is actually happening. The cell was in perfect order…minus the 12 prisoners. Doors locked. Guards at their posts. But empty. Because a greater authority has overruled them. And now the mighty are mistaken. The powerful are perplexed.

Al Mohler - This entire episode is full of irony. The apostles are released by an angel whom the Sadducees, their imprisoners, deny the existence of. The political class, who like to be known for their wisdom and knowledge, have no idea what has happened to the apostles. The leaders of the people are so frightened by them that they fear being stoned if they injure the apostles in any way (v 26). The ironies in this story are evidence of God’s sovereign hand at work. This passage shows us that nothing can befall God’s people if he does not ordain it. God can turn the greatest powers of this world into bumbling fools who fear the very people they rule. God can send angels to open prison doors to ensure his gospel continues to be proclaimed. God’s plans cannot be stopped and the advance of his kingdom cannot be thwarted; and so his people must not be silenced.

Once the leaders get a feel for what is happening, that these men are back out preaching, they re-arrest them and bring them in for questioning. Note that they don’t ask how they got out of prison. The last thing they want is to have to deal with the reality of another miracle. And note that they refuse to even speak the name of Jesus out loud. V. 28 - “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name…” The language here is strong. It literally translates as ‘we commanded you with a word of command.’ Stop teaching about Jesus. We’ve had enough of Him. We killed Him, but He keeps coming back!

And though their commands were issued, the apostles have “filled Jerusalem” with the teaching about Jesus. When the Church is successful, there are always those who want to take it down. And the lack of self-awareness among these leaders is shocking. “You intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Again, unwilling to speak His name. They have noticed a theme in the apostle’s preaching that maybe you have picked up on so far in Acts…they are to blame for the death of Jesus.

Acts 2:23 - 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Acts 3:15 - 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

Acts 4:10 - 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.

How dare the apostles put the guilt of Jesus’ blood on them! Apparently these leaders have selective memory. Just a few months prior while Pilate was trying to release Jesus, the people (including all these leaders) respond in Matthew 27:25 - 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Oops!

CLARITY (V. 29-32)

Now we come to the crescendo of the event. Arrested twice. Threatened by murderers. Now re-arrested and called before the powers-that-be, the law-of-the-land. These powerful, willing-to-kill, leaders are offended at their message, pointing to the fact that they killed Jesus. How do you respond to that? This is a precarious moment. And just as Peter has stepped up to deliver before, he does not flinch now.

V. 29-32 - 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

After confronting them with their murder of Jesus three times already, and being called to account for doing so…how does Peter respond? V. 30 - The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. He does it again! The message does not change based on the level of its popularity. How could he defy the authorities like this? How could he rebel against the government like this? The Sadducees have tremendous authority. But there is just one factor they don’t yet realize…they are not in the Chain of Command.

For years I served at a church five miles from an Air Force base. We had countless pilots, officers, and military members everywhere. But there wasn’t just Air Force stationed there. There was Air National Guard. There was Navy. And for a few years I had two high-ranking military officers serving together as elders. We had a full-bird colonel in the Air Force, and we had a Captain in the Navy. Both have tremendous authority. But one cannot issue orders to the other. Wrong chain of command.

The Bible makes it clear that God has endowed the governing authorities in our land with their authority. Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, Matthew 22, all teach the profound authority the government has…all within the realm of authority God has granted to them. But that authority has borders. There are clear limits to it. The governing authorities do not govern everything. Most of the time Christians are called to be good citizens who respectfully and willingly submit to that authority. That is, until the government oversteps its bounds. When it comes to our faith, when it comes to the Church, they are not in our Chain of Command.

Peter makes this abundantly clear in v. 29 - “We must obey God rather than men.” When anyone, including a government, misuses its God-given power by commanding what God forbids, or by forbidding what God commands, then it is our duty to disobey. When all is said and done we will stand before only One in eternal judgment. It is not a Governor, a President, or the Supreme Court. We stand before God, the Creator of all things, and the Righteous Judge over all creation.

Just like the apostles did then, we have a message to proclaim, no matter the resistance. And it is the same message Peter proclaimed on that day. God has raised Jesus from the dead. Though he was crucified (hanged on a tree) as a humiliation, God has exalted Him to the highest place. Jesus is Leader and Savior. He alone grants repentance and forgiveness of sins. And to all who obey Him, He grants His very own presence in the Holy Spirit, to be with them, and to empower them to proclaim the message of salvation to the world.