The Church Faces Stiff Opposition From The Jews

Are there any history buffs here this morning?

I have always loved learning and teaching history. One part of history I have always enjoyed was the Roman Empire, and the past few years, I have begun to enjoy learning more of the first few hundred years AD, since so much of this history is also Church history.

Emperor Diocletian, in the year 303 AD, launched one of the fiercest persecutions in Roman history,

churches were torn down,

Scriptures burned,

believers punished. He was determined to erase Christianity from His empire.

But history tells a different story.

Within a decade,

Constantine professed faith in Christ and,

soon after,

Christian worship was legalized.

Within a few generations,

Christianity moved from outlawed to favored,

and by 380 it was the empire’s official faith.

We don’t have to look that far back to see God’s preserving hand though. In the former Soviet Union, decades of state atheism shuttered churches and drove believers underground.

When restrictions eased in the late 1980s and 1990s,

people were already there waiting,

faith was kept alive in homes and families,

quietly passed down.

There was actually surprise in some areas how many Churches were able to open so quickly in the coming decade, because people were eager to worship their God in the open.

But we need to give a disclaimer here.

The point isn’t that persecution makes the church grow, or that churches always grow under harsh persecution.

That isn’t always the case,

But when His people live with holy fear And bold faith,

speak the truth,

and stay faithful to His commands,

opposition of some kind is likely to come.

Jesus said as much did he not?

But even then, God is still at work.

Now, if you’ve been reading Acts with us,

and I hope you have,

you have maybe felt that same rhythm:

Someone preaches the Word.

Often Miracles are performed.

People accept the teachings.

And Persecution follows.

That’s the drumbeat of the early church,

And it is what we will see throughout this book.

So with that in mind…

Let’s begin to look at today’s passage.

Instead of catchy point titles today, we are going to just go through the story together and see what it is teaching us along the way.

But to help us organize where we are, we will break this narrative story down into five scenes.

Let’s begin now in Acts 5:12-31 scene 1.

This puts us in verse 12.

I. Scene 1 Acts 5:12–18

Here, the scene opens with the apostles.

They are in Solomon’s Portico,

the big public walkway at the Temple.

They are together.

They are visible.

And God is doing many miracles through them.

The whole of Jerusalem were hearing about them and they were at this time largely respected by the people.

verse 15 shows us that people were even bringing out their sick into the streets so that they would be healed.

But we have to ask, why all these miracles? many see the miracles at this time and are disappointed at the fact that they don’t see as many of this level today.

Miracles still happen today, but if we are fair and honest, I think we will agree that we do not typically see miracles happening to the extent today as we see in the New Testament.

but why is this?

Well the miracles we see in our text were a sign that God Himself was behind their teachings.

The Holy Spirit was authenticating the new revelation of Jesus and the apostles.

This is how God has always moved at the big turning points.

In truth,

You see extremely few miracles in the Bible outside of 5 time periods where God is giving new revelation.

Law given (Moses)

Prophets confirmed (Elijah/Elisha)

God’s sovereignty in exile (Daniel)

Messiah revealed (Jesus)

Gospel confirmed (Apostles)

Over three quarters of redemptive history given in scripture have no miracles recorded, they, even in scripture, are by nature rare. and yet God was still actively working through His people.

So you can see why people were amazed and excited can’t you?

These were not common place things taken place.

It was, well, miraculous.

God was boldly showing everyone that just as the message of Moses,

Elijah,

Elisha,

and Daniel were confirmed by Miracles,

so too now are the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.

So verse 14 shouldn’t come as much of a surprise should it?

More than ever, people are coming to Jesus.

Men and women.

Whole crowds.

People are seeing the miracles of God as His approval of the Apostles teachings.

Their eyes are being opened to the Mystery of God and how the whole of their scriptures were pointing to Christ and His Church being born.

And right there,

at the moment of this growth,

Hostility comes on the scene.

the enemy was not going to allow this to go unchallenged.

We see this starting in verse 17.

Acts 5:17–18 ESV

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.

They saw the same miracles.

They knew the scriptures better than anyone.

But why did they not accept the truth as many others were doing?

Because this is more than knowledge problem.

It is a spiritual problem.

The apostles preached a risen Jesus,

the very Jesus that they put to death.

In their jealous pride,

their eyes remain closed.

So they arrest the apostles and put them in the public jail.

This is the pattern we see throughout the book of Acts,

Church history,

and even today.

When God gives His church boldness to preach,

when word and deed stand together,

and people’s lives begin to be transformed,

the enemy will not stand idly by.

But what are we to do when persecution comes our way?

How are we to respond?

Well,

not with any power or strength of our own but through the provision of the very God we are being persecuted for.

And that brings us to scene 2.

II. Scene 2 — Acts 5:19–21;

Notice how God answers the hostility of verses 17–18.

The authorities thought they could stop the teachings of Jesus by hanging Him on a cross,

So they now resort to arresting His messengers in order to silence them.

But as we see in verse 19, that did not work either.

Acts 5:19–20 ESV

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.”

God sends an Angel to set them free from bondage,

But why was this provision given?

so they could go and be given riches for their work?

To tell them that He will keep them from persecution?

No, quite the opposite actually.

The Angel tells them to go back out and do the exact same thing that put them in jail to begin with!

His provision was meant as a means for His Gospel message to continue to be spread and His Glory be sung upon the lips of more and more people.

And what was the response of the Apostles?

Did they say “No God, you ask too much.”

You know how mad the authorities are going to be if we are caught doing this again?

Would it not be better if we snuck out of the city and lived in safety?

Choose another way God!

No,

Verse 21 tells us that they entered the temple at daybreak, and began to teach.

They followed the instructions of God given through the angel exactly as they were told.

If we had not read this story before,

and we were to finish the story using our desires

, prayers,

and honest assumptions on how God should operate,

we would probably say that when the high priest and all with him saw the prison locked

with the guards still standing outside

but with nobody in the cells,

Would have had their eyes opened.

If we were writing this story,

we would probably say that they were so impressed with the boldness of the apostles teachings that they all repented and turned to Christ,

allowing the apostles to live in peace.

But as we are about to see in scene 3, that’s not how this story goes?

III. Scene 3 Acts 5:27-

They were arrested again and brought back to the council.

We see the charge against them in verse 28.

Acts 5:28 ESV

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.”

The council was mad because they told them to stop teaching in the name of Jesus, and yet the whole city was filled with that very same message.

But it is in the last part of the verse that we see their real issue with the Apostles.

Their teachings were shaming those in power.

You see, Jesus was put to death at the request of this very same council.

Everyone knew that they were the ones who pushed for His crucification.

They would have done it themselves if it was legal for them to do so.

And these men were teaching not only that the man they killed was now alive again,

but that the high priest and Sanhedrin’s had gone against and killed the very Messiah their prophets had spoke of.

They said that the Apostles had brough Jesus’ blood upon them,

but it was their very pride that hardened their hearts to send Him to the cross.

It was this same pride,

This same hardened heart,

blinding them from the truth staring them right in the face

that had them refuse to repent

but rather continue to work against the Will the God they claim to serve.

And what was the Apostles response?

Let’s read it in Acts 5:29–30

“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.”

First, he makes it clear where their allegiance stands.

Keep in mind that these were Jews.

This council was the highest Jewish authority.

This was no mere commoner.

As a Jew, the high priest served as both their religious and political leader.

this would be like Me as an American standing before the Supreme Court,

Or like a Chinese citizen standing before the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee.

Or like a South African standing before the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg.

And yet Peter still declares that their authority,

although real and important,

is still not to be obeyed over God.

What a great example for us today.

Yes, as we discussed in Ephesians,

we are to obey earthly authority,

from parents,

to bosses,

and to the government.

Romans 13, which we will study next year, tells us that all authority comes from God and we are to submit to it, and that absolutely includes the government.

But we must also be as Peter,

willing to boldly listen to the words of God over the words of man.

So when you are told at work that you must lie on a document,

obey God rather than man.

When your parents demand you marry an unbeliever, or get an abortion,

Obey God rather than man.

When a government tells you to stop teaching the name of Jesus,

Obey God rather than man.

IV. Scene 4 — Acts 5:33–40

But know, as we enter scene four,

that the response of the high priest and others in the council is the same response we can often expect today when we choose to obey God rather than man.

Verse 33 tells us..

Acts 5:33 ESV

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

This will not be the last time we see such a response either.

Next week, We will see Stephen, the first Christian to be killed for His faith.

We will then see over and over again God’s people being persecuted,

arrested,

stoned,

beaten,

and killed as we study this book.

It does not stop in Acts though.

We will see in a second that they ended up not killing them at this time,

however Church history tells us that…

Peter — crucified was crucified in Rome upside down.

Andrew — crucified on an X-shaped cross.

James (son of Zebedee) — beheaded

Bartholomew (Nathanael) — flayed and/or beheaded;

Thomas (Didymus) — speared to death

Matthew (Levi) — “killed by sword”.

Thaddaeus/Jude (Judas son of James) — martyred in Persia, often said to be killed with a club/axe (tradition)

Matthias — stoned and then beheaded

Even after the time of the Apostles, and throughout Church History,

we have seen people boldly willing to die in order to obey God rather than man.

Justin Martyr (c. 165) — publicly confessed Christ before Roman officials and refused to offer sacrifice to the emperor. He was Beaten and beheaded.

He chose to obey God rather than man.

William Tyndale (1536) — translated Scripture into English so ordinary people could hear God’s Word for themselves, despite repeated bans and threats. For this, he was strangled and burned. he chose to obey God rather than man.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1945) — A pastor-theologian who resisted the Nazi regime, he refused to bend his conscience to an evil state.

Imprisoned and finally hanged, he accepted the cost of obeying God rather than man.

Lawan Andimi (2020, Nigeria) — Kidnapped by Boko Haram, he recorded a calm testimony of trust in God and refused to renounce Christ. For obeying God rather than man, He was executed.

And this violence continues in Nigeria just this week, thirteen oChristians were reported killed by Islamic groups bent towards destroying the worship of God in the name of Jesus.

Yet they don’t deny Him, they obey God rather than man.

My point is that Persecution has been the hallmark of the Church since the beginning, and it does us no good to hide from that fact.

Even I the other day was tempted to downplay this truth when talking to an unbeliever who I was wanting to share the gospel with.

He was asking me what the purpose of Christianity was, and what did it give me.

He was confused because he saw Christians still struggle so he failed to see the point of it.

I realized pretty quickly in the conversation where his question was coming from.

He saw religion as transactional.

If He was going to become a Christian, he wanted to know what benefits God would provide for him.

He was thinking of the physical and not the spiritual, so my answer needed to deal with both.

I could have avoided what he was referring to and spoke purely to the amazing love,

joy,

and Grace that comes with being a Christian.

I could have spoke purely to having my shame removed by an Merciful God.

And those things needed to be said.

But I also found it important that he first have his preconceived thoughts of religion removed so He could better understand the truth.

His face was in utter confusion when I said that Jesus never promised an easier life,

and that He even said we will often be persecuted and suffer for our faith in Him.

But I pray that knowing what Christianity isn’t has helped him better understand what it is.

and I pray the same for each of you in here.

If you are here thinking that coming to Church,

giving, trying not to sin,

or serving in the Church means that God will see that and give you nice things in return,

you are sorely missing the point of the faith.

God does not promise us prosperity.

God does not promise us safety.

God does not promise us good health.

If he did, do you think Pastor Rick would have had major surgery this past week?

V. Scene 5

However He does promise us imense joy when we are in His will and desiring His Glory.

John 15:11: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Romans 14:17- “17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control….

Psalm 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

The Christian life doesn’t equal all your problems going away, but it does equal immense joy in the midst of it all when we submit the the Father’s will.

And is that not exactly what we see in the fifth and final scene of our narrative this morning.

Acts 5:40–41 ESV

40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

Humanly speaking, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Verse 40: They were beaten

Verse 41: They rejoiced

WHAT???

How is this possible?

What is there possibly to rejoice in?

Well, we see this in the second half of the verse.

“rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”

Their view of God was so great,

Their love of their Savior was so intense,

That they found suffering dishonor as something to rejoice in because they knew that God was glorified through this.

When we put aside our human desires for power,

money,

and whatever else,

and see that our ultimate value,

worth,

purpose,

and joy

is found in Christ and Christ alone,

then we too will be able to rejoice with joy in the face of persecution.

When we see that He is Sovereignly in control,

and trust in His plans,

even when they make no sense,

then we too can receive joy in the hardest of times.

My question to you Hutong is are you in a place that you can respond to persecution not with anger,

not with cries of bitterness,

but with immense joy?

If not, let us work on that. R let us repent of our lack of faith, and ask Him for stronger faith to boldly teach others who he is. Let’s strengthen each other this morning in prayer by coming together and praying for each other.