A Study of Acts: The Persecution Intensifies
Acts 5:17-32 - We must obey God rather than men.
“But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, saying, “We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.”
Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this. But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).
When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.””
Acts 5:17-32 NASB1995
Of course opposition to the apostles rears its ugly head again. The triumphs and miracles of the early church are met, again and again with persecution (and with increasing frequency and more punitive actions) by the religious leaders. The Sadducees are filled with jealousy (some translations use “indignation”) because the actions of the apostles are bringing people to the new faith and away from their influence. They lay hands on the apostles and put them in jail.
An angel of the Lord comes to the jail during the night and opens the doors to free the apostles and tells them to go and stand and speak to the people about this “LIFE” (being the life of Jesus). So they go back to the portico at dawn and begin to teach again.
Enduring Word has excellent commentary about these actions and the ultimate fate of the apostles:
Then the high priest rose up: The meeting of Peter and John with the religious leaders in Acts 4:5-22 ended well for the early followers of Jesus. Yet that was not the end of the matter, and the religious establishment again pushed against them.
“Luke alternates between a picture of the church by itself…and a portrait of the church as it exists in its relationship to the world. The second portrait increasingly deals with persecution.” (James Montgomery Boice)
They were filled with indignation: The apostles, like Jesus whom they represented, were persecuted because their good works and popularity were a threat to those who had an interest in the status quo of the religious establishment. Sadly, the religious establishment of that day left the people worse off, not better.
Put them in the common prison: Seemingly, this included all the apostles (on the apostles). It wasn’t the first time that Peter and John had been imprisoned (Acts 4:3).
An angel of the Lord opened the prison doors: This was easy for God to arrange. Angels are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). God sent forth this angel to minister for the apostles. Locked doors are nothing for God or those who He uses.
An angel of the Lord: Possibly, they only understood this was an angel in retrospect. Angels often come in human appearance, and it may not always be easy to recognize an angel (Luke 24:3-7, Hebrews 13:2).
“There is some divine humor here, too, because the Sadducees [Acts 5:17] did not believe in angels.” (R. Kent Hughes)
Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life: Their rescue from prison was wonderful, but for a purpose – so they could continue their work. God didn’t set them free primarily for their safety or comfort. They were set free for a reason; and after this they were not always delivered.
The later history of these apostles – and others associated with them in the early church – shows that sometimes God delivers by a miracle, sometimes He does not. According to fairly reliable church history and tradition, miraculous angels did not always deliver them.
Matthew was beheaded with a sword.
Mark died in Alexandria after being dragged through the streets of the city.
Luke was hanged on an olive tree in Greece.
John died a natural death, but they unsuccessfully tried to boil him in oil.
Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome.
James was beheaded in Jerusalem.
James the Less was thrown from a height then beaten with clubs.
Philip was hanged.
Bartholomew was whipped and beaten until death.
Andrew was crucified and preached at the top of his voice to his persecutors until he died.
Thomas was run through with a spear.
Jude was killed with the arrows of an executioner.
Matthias was stoned and then beheaded – as was Barnabas.
Paul was beheaded in Rome.
This reminds us that we should trust God for miraculous things and wish to see them more and more; but knowing that He also has a purpose when He does not deliver with a miraculous hand. We also see that we, like the apostles, are set free for a purpose – not merely to live for ourselves.
“The angel of the Lord opened the prison door and set free the preachers, but might not be a preacher himself. He might give the ministers their charge, but he had no charge to preach himself.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Some key points in this commentary:
The angel gives the task of preaching and teaching to the human apostles and is not the agent to preach. God has tasked His earthly creation (sinful beings) with the role of evangelization.
The miraculous rescues ended at a certain point for all of the apostles listed in the commentary. Most of them died as martyrs in horrible ways. The strength of these men to continue to spread the word in spite of persecution is one the strongest pieces of evidence for the truth of Christianity, which is why secular forces will work like “the devil” (so to speak) to impugn their legacies and even try to spread the lie that they never even existed.
God may free us from difficult situations, but that is not for our comfort or safety. It is so we can continue to spread the word and serve His purposes.
So the apostles stand before the people again in the place they were arrested outside the temple and boldly preach the Word. Meanwhile, the High Priest and members of the Council and other functionaries come together and send orders for the arrested apostles to be brought before them. The officers go to the jail and find out that no one is there! Then the word comes that the men that were put in prison are back outside preaching to the public!
The religious leaders are “perplexed”, to say the least. How in the world did this happen?? The captain of the guard and the other officers go and round up the apostles again (without violence, as they feared being stoned by the crowd) and bring them back before the religious leaders. Notice that the apostles don’t appeal to the crowd for help, but are led away peacefully. They face the council again and are accused of preaching in “this name” (not even mentioning His name) when they have been told to stop and they have filled Jerusalem with this teaching (a great thing). Then the council states their real fear, that they will bring the blood of “this man” on them. The collective guilt and fear permeates this group, who viciously ensured the death of Jesus mere weeks earlier.
Peter answers them: We must obey God rather than men! This commentary from Enduring Word is a great way to explain the words of Peter:
We ought to obey God rather than men: This was a testimony of great boldness, in contrast to the Sanhedrin, who were more concerned about man’s opinion than God’s opinion.
The apostles’ response to the council was not a defense, nor was it a plea for mercy; it was a simple explanation of action. In general, the New Testament teaches that we should submit to those in authority over us. Yet submission on the human level is never absolute, and never is more important than submission to God.
We should obey rulers, but not when they contradict God: “Therefore, if a father, being not content with his own estate, do essay to take from God the chief honour of a father, he is nothing else but a man. If a king, or ruler, or magistrate, do become so lofty that he diminisheth the honour and authority of God, he is but a man. We must also thus think of pastors.” (John Calvin)
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus: This was a testimony faithful to the foundation of the Christian faith. Peter spoke of:
Man’s guilt (Jesus whom you murdered).
Jesus’ death (hanging on a tree).
Jesus’ resurrection (Him God exalted to His right hand).
Man’s responsibility to respond (to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins).
Peter referred to the cross as a tree because he drew an association from Deuteronomy 21:22-23, where it says that a person hanged from a tree is cursed by God. Peter brought attention to the magnitude of their rejection of Jesus, pointing out that they killed Him in the worst way possible, both from a Roman perspective (the cross) and a Jewish perspective (the tree association).
“While xylon [tree] was used in antiquity and in the LXX variously for ‘a tree,’ ‘wood’ of any kind, ‘a pole,’ and various objects made of wood, including ‘a gallows,’ it is also used in the NT for the cross of Jesus.” (Richard Longenecker)
We are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit: This was a reliable testimony, because it was based on eyewitness testimony, which was also confirmed by God.
So Peter, the cowardly denier of Jesus three times the night of His trial, has now publicly avowed and boldly defended the Lord’s divinity more times than that the early days of the book of Acts. He speaks boldly to the religious leaders, which will naturally lead to more persecution. They are quite furious.
However, a voice of reason (in the person of Gamaliel, a Pharisee) speaks up to the council members, as we will see in my next devotional, exploring Acts 5:33-42.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please give me the strength and courage, through the Holy Spirit, to always obey You and not other people. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.