Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. You will remember that last week in our study of Acts chapter 5 we talked about the arrest and imprisonment of the apostles by the Sanhedrin, who were upset that they were proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. But that night an angel came and set them free; and he told them to go right to the place where they were arrested and to continue proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which he calls all the words of this Life. And that’s because the Good News of the Gospel is that though we were spiritually dead, Jesus Christ came into our world to give us abundant and eternal life (cf. John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 1 John 5:20). And (without hesitation or fear; and with a courage empowered by the Holy Spirit) it says in…
Acts 5:21a (ESV)— 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Right Back To It— So [Before the Sadducees were even aware that they had been released they were back preaching.] And it says…
Acts 5:21b (ESV)— 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.
Before The Sanhedrin— Now “council” and “senate” are both referring to the high Jewish court of the land known as the Sanhedrin. This was the court that Peter and John had just appeared before and was the very court that was responsible for the death of Jesus, which Peter will highlight. But they send for the apostles to have them brought in order to stand trial. However, there’s a problem. It says…
Acts 5:22-23 (ESV)— 22 But when the officers {(meaning Levites of the temple police)} 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.”
They’re Gone!!!— In other words: [Everything was as it should have been with one exception—the prisoners were gone!])} Now can [you imagine the surprised looks on the faces of the guards when they discovered that their most important prisoners were gone.]? But even more so the religious leaders! It says…
Acts 5:24 (ESV)— 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.
Greatly Perplexed— I mean [Here they were trying to stop the miracles, but their actions only multiplied the miracles!] Up until this point they had been besides themselves trying to figure out how to stop this new movement that was spreading so rapidly. And it was becoming quickly apparent to them (and to everyone) that their efforts were proving futile, which caused them great alarm. And the reason that they were so alarmed was that the apostles were openly defying their authority and proclaiming what was to them a heretical doctrine (a resurrection, which would have been bad enough; but a resurrection of one of the men they had killed; and not only that, BUT THE MESSIAH!!!). So at every point the apostles were undermining their credibility. And even though the signs that were being performed through the apostles were powerful confirmations that God stood with and was working through the apostles (and were drawing people from all over Jerusalem and the surrounding regions), the Sanhedrin seem resolute in their decision to ignore the signs entirely, as we see they will do here as well. Now when they hear of the apostles’ escape, they are really at their wits end as to what to do. What could have happened to the men they had securely locked away? But then their ruminations are interrupted by some very unexpected news. It says…
Acts 5:25 (ESV)—25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”
Open Defiance— Now this compounded the problem because (once again) it was an open defiance of the authority of the Sanhedrin. [Had the apostles gone into hiding after their escape it would have been bad enough. That they had the audacity to go right back into the temple and resume preaching was the ultimate act of insolence.] And so these religious leaders take immediate action. It says in…
Acts 5:26 (ESV)— 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.
Proceeding Cautiously— Now they no doubt wanted to take extreme measures to quell this rebellion, but found that they could not lest they themselves be stoned by the people. And that just shows the level of support from the people; that the people were so convinced that God stood with the apostles that they would even be willing to stone the High Priest if he should lay hands on them; I mean that in itself is incredible. And so the religious leaders proceed with extreme caution. Now another reason the Sanhedrin found it difficult to move against the apostles more strongly was that although the apostles were defying their orders, they were not resisting arrest; neither had Peter and John. Even in the midst of their civil disobedience they are modeling respect and submission. And that’s because their goal is not to defy the Sanhedrin; but to obey God. And so they comply with the Sanhedrin as much as they can on those points that are not in conflict with what God has told them to do. And that is an important point to distinguish. We can practice civil disobedience without displaying a universal rejection of all we are being asked to do. We ought only to disobey at those points that are in conflict with what God has told us to do or not to do. And in doing so we can still demonstrate a Christ-like submission. So the apostles (in that submission) are brought. And the stage is set for the apostles’ second sermon before the Sanhedrin. It says…
Acts 5:27-28 (ESV)— 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.”
2 Indictments— Now the high priest here opens the proceedings by giving the first indictment against the apostles; and that was that (in spite of the Sanhedrin’s having given them strict orders not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus, the apostles had instead proceeded to fill all of Jerusalem with their teaching. They had defied the court, which was true. And then he proceeds with the second indictment. And that was that the apostles were trying to bring this man’s blood upon them. And that was true as well. [Peter and the rest had boldly indicted the Jewish leaders for their role in Jesus’ death (cf. 2:23, 36; 3:15; 4:10–11).] And rightfully so. The Jewish leaders had been the ones who instigated and led the crowd to cry out for the death of Jesus.
You have filled Jerusalem— Now this opening rebuke by the high priest is fascinating. Because even though it is a hateful indictment against them, it reveals that in the midst of all of this the Church has already evangelized the entire city of Jerusalem. He says you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,; quite an amazing admission when you think about it. Even the wrath of the Sanhedrin was being used to bring praise to God (Ps. 76:10).
Doesn’t Mention The Escape— Now the reason that people are coming to faith in Jesus is because of the signs and wonders being performed through the apostles, who are healing all who come to them with various sickness, diseases, and evil spirits. And this last sign (their being released from prison by an angel) is a mighty climax to all that the disciples have been doing up until this point. Yet, as we talked about last week, any mention of the apostles’ escape from prison is conspicuously absent from the High Priest’s address. And this was because the Sadducees could not explain it while at the same time maintaining their pre-conceived worldview and belief system (which rejected belief in a resurrection, an afterlife, and angels). And so, because they had already made their minds up, they didn’t want to be confused with the facts, so to speak. So they just simply choose to ignore the miracle entirely, just as they had done with the crippled beggar whom Peter and John healed.
No Name— Now notice that also absent in the High Priest’s address is the name of Jesus. Nowhere is the name of Jesus mentioned by the High Priest. He won’t do it. He uses the phrases “this name” and “this man’s blood”, but he is careful not to defile his own lips by speaking the name of Jesus. And there is also some strategy in this. You start mentioning somebody by name, it personalizes them. They aren’t “the criminal” or the “heretic”; he doesn’t say Rabbi Yeshua Ben Joseph of Nazareth; the one in whose name people found physical and spiritual healing; the one who left behind a grieving mother. The High Priest is very careful to keep Jesus nameless. It is a subtle way of de-valuing and de-personalizing Jesus while at the same time distancing himself from Him. But you know what is so fascinating is that here in Luke’s account the high priest himself is not named in the passage. Notice that? Luke (I think very intentionally) leaves his name out, emphasizing that while the High Priest may choose to forget the name of his Messiah (Jesus), the only name that really counts at all is the name of Jesus; the very name the High Priest would not mention. Do you know that we don’t even know who Luke is referring to in this passage by that title. It could be either Caiaphas or Annas; both were going by that title during this time. And so we don’t know who is even speaking here. But you know, I think that’s intentional. This past Wednesday in my personal devotions I studied carefully Proverbs 10. And I came across this phrase in…
Proverbs 10:7 (ESV)— 7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
Remember His Name— Let me ask you something before we close today. How many of you know (or even heard of) anyone else named Annas or Caiaphas? I bet you can’t name one. But you know what, I bet every one of you listening today could name a handful of men named John and Peter. You know what I see in that? A fulfillment of Proverbs 10:7. And what that says to us is that if we are willing to stand with Jesus; to remember His name in the midst of a culture that is desperate to forget it, we will be blessed; and more than that, we will be a blessing to the world. Let us remember (always) to proclaim His name. Amen.
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