The text this morning is from The Acts of the Apostles, the fifth chapter:
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. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 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. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! And even with a risen Lord and Savior, Peter and the Apostles were stuck in a pretty precarious situation. Here they are in Jerusalem, having seen the work of the Holy Spirit converting thousands to the faith of Jesus Christ, having mass baptisms, having miracles done just by their presence, having the very beginnings of what we think of as the ancient Church begun, and they are arrested.
Peter and the Apostles are preaching the Word of Jesus Christ, the Good News that this Jesus, the Son of God, lived, died, and was resurrected from the dead for all mankind, and out of jealousy, the high priest of the Temple has them all arrested and put in jail. What’s cool is that in the middle of the night, and angel of God comes down, opens the prison doors, lets them all out, and tells them to go back to the Temple and start preaching again.
Can you imagine the look on the face of the high priest, strolling into the temple, humming to himself, and there are the twelve men he had locked up the night before? It must’ve been hilarious. Yet, it only served to enrage the high priest all the more and he had the twelve come before the entire council. And so here then comes one of the most famous passages of all Scripture.
The high priest told the apostles that he had commanded them to shut their mouths and not teach about Jesus. Yet, by the Apostles’ teaching the blood of Jesus Christ, the guilt of His awful and heinous murder was falling upon their heads. Can you hear the guilt? Don’t preach about Jesus, don’t tell people the truth, don’t tell anything about Him lest the people believe you, blame us, and take their revenge.
But that’s not what Christians do, do we? We don’t seek revenge. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” Seriously, Christians don’t seek revenge. God provides it, and He does it temporally, certainly, though we’ve no promise that He’ll give us what we want, and He does it eternally, forgiving the sins of the repentant and withholding the forgiveness of sins from those who hate God. That, I suppose is true vengeance, isn’t it?
I mean, I guess you would think that it’d be easy for the Apostles to be angry about their mistreatment. You can imagine that the Coptic Christians whose churches were blown up on Palm Sunday two weeks ago would be upset, angry, riotous. Yet, what happened in both these cases, the Apostles and the Copts, the ancient and two weeks ago? “We must obey God rather than men.”
The Apostles could not keep silent; they had to preach about Jesus, even if it meant their heads. And it truly, literally did. Most of the Apostles died because of their preaching about Jesus, and yet died with His name upon their lips.
And for our modern day, the Copts forgave the evil men who killed their brothers and sisters, their sons and daughters. And you know what they did? They went out into the street and started reciting the Nicene Creed together. No bomb, no knife, no gun, no threat, for the Apostles or for the Copts, or even for you, no weapon formed by man against the man of God can prosper. For you have one who died and who now yet lives for you.
We obey the Word of God. We confess the name of Jesus, the crucified. We do that which is good, right, and salutary. We read, mark, learn, inwardly digest His Word so that we might be strengthened unto everlasting life. The Apostles knew, despite the precarious situation that this may yet be their last day. And while that last day of breath came not that day, it would come. They had no fear of that day. They had no fear of man or weapon or beast, for the Crucified and Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, had already claimed them as His own.
And though churches may be rocked by explosions, though they may be riddled with bullet holes, though Christian bodies may be dragged through the streets, though the persecution of the brothers is happening in such force around the world today, a persecution to the extent the world has never seen before, there still is no fear in the gathering together to hear the Word of the Lord, to hear that Word rightly preached and to receive His Sacraments properly administered.
And what then happens, friends? The Apostles are beaten, they’re bloodied, yet they walk with their heads high, happy, rejoicing that they suffered in some small way that is similar to their Lord’s suffering. And the Copts? Again, they went to recite the Nicene Creed in the streets, rejoicing in the truth of God’s Word and His kindness to us that He should send His Son, that whosoever believes in Him should have eternal life in His name.
And what for us? When persecutions come, when famine and flood, pestilence and plague, sickness and disease, pain and heartache, abuse and neglect, when these things come, what shall we do? I pray that by the Word of God in you, that you, too, would rejoice that you are counted worthy to suffer dishonor, suffer hurt, suffer loss for the name of Jesus. And that every day, you would not cease to teach that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed Savior, the One for whom we’ve all been waiting.
Indeed, our Lord is good and gracious. Saved by His Baptism, fed by His Word, strengthened unto everlasting life in His Supper, the Lord will indeed give you this strength, this strength to give you the good confession, the confession of Him. He will bless you and keep you. He will make His face to shine upon you. He will give you His peace. You are His chosen, beloved people, and He shall give you all that you need that you may suffer knowing that a resurrection like His is coming. You may suffer all things, for in the glorious resurrection to come, our Lord will set all things right and shall make recompense for you. And you know this to be true, for He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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