Acts 5:17-42, "Rejoicing on the Hard Road"

They say in times of intense pressure, what’s inside comes out. When you and I are afflicted, mistreated, persecuted, what’s inside will come out. What’s inside you and me? Is it the life of Christ that comes out in times of trouble as joy? Or is it jealousy, selfish ambition, fear, desire for control, or guilt that will come out in a time of trouble as rage?

When we look back on Christian history, we have so many examples of Christians who were persecuted, tortured and killed for their public proclamation that Jesus Christ is the true king and all others are pretenders.

From Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: ‘Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna, hearing that persons were seeking for him, escaped, but was discovered by a child. After feasting the guards who apprehended him, he desired an hour in prayer, which being allowed, he prayed with such fervency, that his guards repented that they had been instrumental in taking him. He was, however, carried before the proconsul, condemned, and burnt in the market place.

The proconsul then urged him, saying, "Swear, and I will release thee;--reproach Christ."

Polycarp answered, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath saved me?"’

‘When the Christian graves (in the catacombs of Rome) have been opened the skeletons tell their own terrible tale. Heads are found severed from the body, ribs and shoulder blades are broken, bones are often calcined from fire. But despite the awful story of persecution that we may read here, the inscriptions breathe forth peace and joy and triumph. Here are a few:

"Here lies Marcia, put to rest in a dream of peace."

"Lawrence to his sweetest son, borne away of angels."

"Victorious in peace and in Christ."

"Being called away, he went in peace."

Remember when reading these inscriptions the story the skeletons tell of persecution, of torture, and of fire.

But the full force of these epitaphs is seen when we contrast them with the pagan epitaphs, such as:

"Live for the present hour, since we are sure of nothing else."

"I lift my hands against the gods who took me away at the age of twenty though I had done no harm."

"Once I was not. Now I am not. I know nothing about it, and it is no concern of mine."

"Traveler, curse me not as you pass, for I am in darkness and cannot answer."

There might be no better test of what’s inside than the moment of death, that final tribulation we all face. Recently, a nurse who has cared for many people at this moment told me that she has seen no real difference in the way Christians die from the way others do. If I claim to be a Christian, am I truly experiencing the life of Christ and rejoicing in affliction or am I filled with the values and cares of the world and when I’m tested, my attitude demonstrates I’m holding on to control and pride and fear?

In the last two weeks we saw the believers in Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit and boldness, we saw Ananias and Sapphira filled by Satan to lie to God, and today, the high priest of Israel and his party filled with jealousy. Acts 5:12-16, the verses just before our passage, tells us the power of God has broken out through the Christians to from physical and spiritual conditions. There’s only one problem. No one asked permission from the men in power in Jerusalem.

The high priest and his party are filled with jealousy. How could the power of God be given to common men and women no one has ever heard of? So they arrest the apostles, the people who are publicly preaching Jesus is the Messiah. And even after and angel miraculously breaks them out of jail, they are undeterred in their mission to stop the apostles. They call them before the Supreme Court, called the Council, or the Sanhedrin (the “Seventy”).

These men are the most powerful men in Israel. And they are filled with hard feelings. Look at the words Luke uses.

They are filled with jealousy (5:17).

They are afraid of the people (5:26).

They are “charged up” against the name of Jesus (5:28, 40).

They are fighting guilt for Jesus’ death (5:28).

They are enraged, “cut to the quick” over Jesus being God’s exalted leader and the disciples of Jesus being granted the Holy Spirit (5:33).

As the old, wise Gamaliel says, they may even be found opposing God (5:39).

The same Jesus they had crucified is alive, on the loose, and out of control. They are filled with jealousy and selfish ambition, and a lot of hard feelings.

What a contrast to the apostles. They are healing people, freeing them from spiritual oppression, preaching words of life, good news, obedience to God, repentance and forgiveness from Jesus the Messiah, and they are experiencing joy in suffering.

Luke tells us that after this mistreatment by the Sanhedrin, the apostles

Acts 5:41 (ESV)

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

The apostles had a powerful message. Jesus was the Author of Life (3:15), He died for the sins of the world, and was raised from the dead, and God exalted Him to be leader, savior, and Messiah. Believers in Jesus’ name, which means His authority as Savior and King, receive repentance, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit. This message is summed up in verse 20 as “words of life”. Being filled with the life of Christ by faith is the fullness of joy and peace, it’s a full life, with an eternal quality. This life cannot be taken away by the rejection of powerful people. Their persecution only bring us closer to Jesus as we share in His sufferings and shame.

As the apostles preach, more and more people are fining their life in Christ, and the community on mission continues to grow.

The message to Luke’s readers is very simple. Jesus is alive in our world, healing, saving, forgiving the repentant, granting eternal life, and leading His followers by the Holy Spirit. Those who trust in Jesus’ name, in other words, grant Him authority in our lives to rule as King, are given life that will have affliction along with joy. Those who oppose Jesus’ name are given a life of affliction along with a troubled soul.

This is where the message of this passage hits home. What’s inside you? Is it the life of Christ? Is it jealousy, selfish ambition, fear of others, and a desire for control? The pressure of affliction or mistreatment by others will show you as you experience either the joy of Christ’s presence in your suffering or the hard feelings of jealousy, fear, and rage.

Compare the attitude of the early Christians with Christians you know, or better yet, with your own.

Hebrews 10:32–34 (ESV)

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

‘In the third persecution Pliny the Second, a man learned and famous, seeing the lamentable slaughter of Christians, and moved therewith to pity, wrote to Trajan, certifying him that there were many thousands of them daily put to death, of which none did any thing contrary to the Roman laws worthy of persecution. "The whole account they gave of their crime or error (whichever it is to be called) amounted only to this-viz. that they were accustomed on a stated day to meet before daylight, and to repeat together a set form of prayer to Christ as a God, and to bind themselves by an obligation-not indeed to commit wickedness; but, on the contrary-never to commit theft, robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word, never to defraud any man: after which it was their custom to separate, and reassemble to partake in common of a harmless meal."

In this persecution suffered the blessed martyr, Ignatius, who is held in famous reverence among very many. This Ignatius was appointed to the bishopric of Antioch next after Peter in succession. Some do say, that he, being sent from Syria to Rome, because he professed Christ, was given to the wild beasts to be devoured. It is also said of him, that when he passed through Asia, being under the most strict custody of his keepers, he strengthened and confirmed the churches through all the cities as he went, both with his exhortations and preaching of the Word of God. Accordingly, having come to Smyrna, he wrote to the Church at Rome, exhorting them not to use means for his deliverance from martyrdom, lest they should deprive him of that which he most longed and hoped for. "Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus!" And even when he was sentenced to be thrown to the beasts, such as the burning desire that he had to suffer, that he spake, what time he heard the lions roaring, saying: "I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread."’

Christians don’t seek persecution. We seek life in Jesus Christ. We seek truth, goodness, and beauty. We seek justice and righteousness and the kingdom of God. And we should expect these to cause friction with the kingdoms of this world and those that have jealousy and selfish ambition and seek power in their own name.

But as believers in Jesus, we are receiving a life that cannot be taken away. Even if they take away my liberty, my property, my right to free speech, or my right to vote, this will only draw me closer to Jesus, who did not stand on His rights as God, but chose the path of humiliation and shame in obedience to God to suffer for my sins. And He is risen and alive, and giving me life as I use times of affliction as a remembrance of what He has done.

Communion

Questions for Discussion

What are pressures of life that we are experiencing right now? What attitudes have you noticed coming out of us as a result?

Who are examples to you of people who have rejoiced in suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus?

What do we learn about ourselves as we compare the apostles with the chief priests and Sadducees?

What are some feelings the apostles would have been experiencing after being arrested, then released miraculously, then told to immediately go preach in public?

What are the “words of this life” the angel told the apostles to preach? In what ways are they giving you life?

What are some ways we must obey God rather than men in our own context?

How would you compare the apostles’ reaction in verse 41 to the attitude of Christians in our context? What can we learn from this?

How will you respond to this passage this week?

Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?