Persecuted and Protected

“Persecuted and Protected”

Acts 5:12-42

Copyright 2003 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche, April 6, 2003

As Americans, it is difficult for us to understand what it means to be persecuted for our faith. To us, persecution means,

Not being able to pray out loud at civic and educational eventsBeing made fun of in the mediaBeing threatened with punishment if we say certain behaviors are sin

Compared to the persecution faced in other countries and by the early church, what we face is more inconvenience than anything else. In Acts chapter five we see the tensions building in Israel. The disciples were once again brought before the authorities. They had been told not to preach or teach about Jesus, but they continued to do so. They were arrested, thrown in jail, re-arrested and came very close to being executed.

It’s a fascinating historical account and with all these accounts we need to note only examine the fact, we must look for the principles we can learn. I suggest three lessons this morning.

THE DEADLY POWER OF JEALOUSY

We are told in verse 17, “then the High Priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees were filled with jealousy.” It was jealousy that motivated the arrest of the disciples.

Why were they jealous? Of course it is impossible to know for sure. But consider what things cause the monster of jealousy to raise up in our lives,

Someone gets noticed instead of usSomeone gets an opportunity we wantedSomeone is given a promotion we felt we deservedSomeone has a success we didn’t shareSomeone makes a purchase we can’t affordSomeone is given a gift we would have liked to have receivedSomeone gets credit instead of us

It’s likely that the Sadducees were jealous because people were talking about Jesus, and listening to the disciples instead of them. And to make it worse, these people were joyful and happy.

One of Aesop's fables is the story of the dog who saw his image reflected in a pool of water beneath his feet. Though he already had a bone, he was jealous of the bone he saw in the "other" dog's mouth. He opened his jaws to snarl and snatch at the bone's reflection and of course lost his bone when it fell into the water.

Jealousy (and it’s cousins: resentment and envy) is a powerful force; it is potent fuel for man’s depravity. Because of jealousy,

Marriages are destroyedNations go to warChurches divideWinning teams crumbleBusinesses face hostile take-oversWe buy what we cannot affordWe spotlight negatives rather than positive in othersWe fight rather than work together.

Pastors are not immune to these feelings of jealousy. We like to compare attendance figures and want the people in a community to choose our church over the others. One minister reflected on his own jealous feelings toward another,

I shall never forget the sense of guilt and sin that possessed me over that business. I was miserable. Was I practically saying to the Lord Jesus, "Unless the prosperity of thy church and people comes in this neighborhood by me, success had better not come"? Was I really showing inability to rejoice in another worker's service? I felt that it was sin of a very hateful character. (From A Minister's Obstacles, by Turnbull, pg. 39)

Jealousy always becomes a barrier between the Lord and us. It causes us to focus on the temporal rather than the eternal. When we are jealous toward another we are guilty of seeking our glory rather than the glory of the Lord. And if jealousy is not recognized and dealt with, we will find ourselves heading down a very dark and deadly road.

THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF GOD

The second lesson has a different focus. Where the first point focuses on the depravity of men, the second spotlights the power of God. We see His power revealed in three different parts of the record.

The power of the miracles. In verses 14-16 we read,

14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing  sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

God was doing an incredible work through the apostles. People were being healed even by the shadow of the apostles! We are told that all sorts of people with all kinds of diseases were healed. The text says “they were all healed”.

Let’s be honest, we don’t see this kind of thing happening today. There is no miracle worker who heals everyone. No one’s shadow has any power today. Why?

As we study the Word of God we see that at different periods there were great outpourings of God’s power. We saw it during the time of the Exodus, during the days of the prophets of Elisah and Elijah, in the life of Jesus, and in the days of the early church. It seems that these were unique and special outpourings of God’s power. The cluster of miracles was designed to testify to the validity of the message and the messenger.

But, if these demonstrations of God’s power were effective then, why doesn’t God continue to “flex his muscle”? Don’t get me wrong, we still see miracles today, but not with the same frequency and power. Why? Let me suggest several possible answers.

· First, anytime something becomes commonplace it loses it’s power. A miracle by definition is uncommon.

· Second, miracles were always a means to an end, not the end themselves. God wants us to come to Him because He is worthy, good and loving instead of coming to Him because He will give us what we want or make all our problems go away. He wants us to commit to the truth of Scripture rather than run after anything that will bring us relief and pleasure.

· Third, deep faith is nurtured in the furnace. As precious metals are purified and strengthened by fire, so our faith is made strong by learning to trust Him in the difficulties. If our problems were always taken away, if difficult times were kept from us our faith would never develop roots. We would be like spoiled children who never learn to deal with the realities of life.

But even as we accept these things we must remember that God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. There is no mountain that is too big for God to move. There is no illness God cannot cure. There is no problem God cannot solve. We must turn to Him and trust Him with the broken pieces of our lives. Sometimes He will remove the source of our pain. At other times He will give us the strength to deal with the pain.

Release from jail. The second illustration of God’s power is my favorite. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor? The Jewish leaders put the disciples in jail and in the middle of the night an angel came and let them out without the guards knowing anything about it. I don’t know how it happened. If it was important to know I guess we would have been told.

The next morning the leaders gathered. They were prepared to show their force and power to intimidate the disciples. They sent for the prisoners and the guards returned to report that the cell was locked but the prisoners were gone!

Everyone scratched their head wondering what kind of an escape plan this could have been. Someone reported, “The men you arrested are in the temple teaching about Jesus!” The Jewish leaders said, “Check” and God said, “Check Mate”.

God is able to rescue His people from any situation. A Pastor from the Rock Island area told about his recent trip to Mexico. He, along with several others, had gone there on a preaching mission. While they were returning their van developed mechanical problems. After jacking up the van, the pastor crawled under to check out the problem. The jack collapsed. He suddenly felt the crushing force upon his chest. His companions quickly grabbed the bumper to lift the van. They weren't able to budge it. He cried out: "Jesus! Jesus!" Within a few seconds, a youthful looking Mexican came running toward them. He was thin and small in stature. His face was smiling. As he reached the van, he grabbed the bumper and lifted it. The others also joined him and said that it went up like a feather. As he was freed, the pastor said that he felt his chest expand and the broken bones mend. The visitor then lowered the van, waved to them, and ran in the direction from which he came, until he disappeared on the horizon.

The power to use the foolishness of men. These religious officials were so intoxicated with power that they figured they could just have these men killed to shut them up. The stopped this was a speech from a Pharisee named Gamaliel.

Gamaliel was a well-respected and even famous rabbi who was the man who instructed the Apostle Paul. In verses 35-39 we are told what he said,

“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.” [5:36-39]

It is hard to know whether Gamaliel is defending the new faith or not. I suspect he was not. Basically, all Gamaliel said was, “If you’d stop stirring the pot, things would settle down and probably this whole Christian movement will disappear”. In some respects his words are prophetic but in other ways his advice is foolish. Gamaliel implies that false teaching will disappear. But we know that isn’t true. There are lots of religious groups around us who continue to flourish long after their leader has died.

Gamaliel’s words are not recorded because they are wise, they are recorded to show that God can sometimes save His people by using even non-Christian people! God can use the foolishness of men to bring about His righteous purpose. In Jeremiah 32:27 God reminds us that “He is the God of all mankind, is anything too hard for Him?” This is an important reminder as we go through the hard times of life.

THE PRACTICAL PRICE OF DISCIPLESHIP

We’ve talked about the great things that took place but don’t miss the price paid by the disciples. They faced slander and intimidation, and they also were flogged. This probably means they were each whipped 39 times. Their skin would have been torn and bleeding. But notice their response,

they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

The disciples were whipped and they rejoiced! They had proclaimed the gospel and were honored to be able to suffer in his name. There is no record that these men ever said, “Why me, Lord?” No record of them crying out, “Why don’t you rescue us?” They rejoiced. Kent Hughes writes,

When Richard Wurmbrand was in a Romanian prison, his tormentors ripped chunks of flesh out of him, and he had the scars to prove it. He was sentenced to solitary confinement, and for weeks or even months on end no one would speak to him in his tiny cell. Amazingly, during all of that there were times when he was overcome with joy. He would actually stand up in his weakened state and dance around his cell, confident that the angels were dancing with him.

He was released from prison unexpectedly, and as he left the prison dressed like a scarecrow, with his teeth rotted and in terrible shape, he met a peasant woman on the road carrying a basket of beautiful strawberries. When she offered him one, he started to take it but then said, “No thanks. I am going to fast.” He went home to his wife, and they prayed and fasted as a memorial to the joy he had experienced in prison, asking God for the same kind of joy outside prison.[1]

There is an incredible joy that comes from standing with Jesus—even if it is to stand with Him in persecution. The joy comes from Christ and not our circumstances. The joy comes from our faithfulness and not our comfort. These men knew what it meant to face the world and say, “Throw at me what you will—as long as I am with Jesus, it doesn’t matter.” Paul wrote in Romans, “I do not think that our present sufferings are worth comparing with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” [Romans 8:18]

According to church tradition Matthew was martyred by the sword; Mark was dragged through the city of Alexandria; Luke and Philip were hanged; John was scarred in a cauldron of boiling oil and survived; Peter was crucified upside down; Jams was beheaded in Jerusalem; the other James was thrown off a cliff and then beaten with a club; Bartholomew was whipped and beaten until he died; Thomas was run through with a sword; Jude was shot with arrows.

These men all died confident that God could save them but they were willing to bring Him glory in martyrdom if that is what God should so choose. They trusted God enough to trust Him in whatever circumstance came their way.

CONCLUSIONS

So there you have it, three important lessons: the deadly power of jealousy, the incredible power of God and the practical price of discipleship. I wonder, which is the lesson you most need to hear today?

Is jealousy eating you alive? Is a jealous spirit causing you to turn from others and justify your hatred? Are you missing out on joy because you are measuring yourself by the experience of others? Do you find yourself not being able to focus on what God has called you to do because you are too distracted looking at everyone else? Is your jealousy slowly poisoning your life? Are you becoming a person who tears others down rather than building them up? If so, it is time to repent. Get rid of the poison of jealousy and enjoy the goodness of the Lord.

Are you facing some giant obstacle? Perhaps it is financial, emotional, or maybe physical. Maybe your mountain has to do with your job, or a relationship, or decisions that need to be made. Do you need to be reminded of God’s awesome power? Instead of turning to your schemes, turn to Him. Instead of relying in your “horse sense” trust His wisdom. Instead of running from God, run to Him. He can deliver you or enable you. He can get you out of the situation or give you the strength to get through the situation. Trust Him.

Are you looking for an easy faith? Do you get angry when difficult times come into your life? Do you find yourself compromising the faith in order to keep from offending anyone? My friend, your job is to tell them the truth. Your job is to point others to the one who has been risen from the dead. Our job is to proclaim the one who died for our sins and now lives to plead our case before the Father.

If we do this, some will believe and be granted eternal life. Others will resist and possibly strike out against us. We are not responsible for how people respond—only for telling others the truth in love. And if we will stand on His truth and trust His power, we will be able to rejoice—no matter what comes our way.

ÓCopyright 2003 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche, April 6, 2003

[1]Hughes, R. K. (1996). Acts : The church afire. Preaching the Word (Ac 6:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.