Turning the World Upside Down: Persistent Faith Endures Persecution: Acts 5:17-42

I. The Arrest vs. 17-21a

A. Now the Sanhedrin can’t hide their jealousy, and quit trying to because they don’t even bring up charges to the Apostles.

B. The angels (whom the Sadducees didn’t even believe in) rescues the Apostles.

C. They are told to preach the “whole message of this Life” because only the whole gospel brings life and life more abundantly.

D. The Sadducees were behind this but the Pharisees reason won out in the end.

II. The Re-arrest vs. 21b-26

A. The leaders were perplexed. I wonder if they thought they were going to have to pay off these guards as well. They wouldn’t even consider that it was God doing this.

Matthew 28:11–15 NASB95

Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

B. The Sadducees could not even call Jesus by name. Even in the Talmud, they called Him Peloni which means so and so. This shows their hatred of Jesus.

Genesis 37:4 NASB95

His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

C. They were afraid of the people, and they were knowingly working against them. (Televangelist ex) “Fear is both the method and the reward of tyranny”- R. Kent Hughes.

III. The Punishment vs. 27-42

A. They had to obey God rather than men, much like what’s happening in Canada right now.

B. The Jews didn’t believe that they needed to repent of anything.

C. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection.

D. All of this, including the murder charge was a slap in the face to them.

E. Gamaliel led the liberal faction of the Pharisees. His advice was pragmatic and came from a lost person’s perspective. (John MacArthur and Strange Fire ex).

F. The Apostles were beaten, and praised God for it, and then continued to defy the tyrants daily!