Doing what the angel of the Lord says...

“Speak to the people...”

(Acts 5:17-26, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 12, 2011)

17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers 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.” 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. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 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.

17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

Throughout the gospels and here in Acts we read about a group called the Sadducees. There is one important fact that you should know about this influential group of religious leaders. They no longer exist. With the eventual destruction of the temple in AD 70 by the Romans, this group, which was so closely associated with power in the temple precincts in Jerusalem, lost the place that gave them their influence.

This group had been against Jesus, and they were now against His church and the apostles whom Christ had chosen to lead. The Holy Spirit revealed something important here. The Sadducees were jealous. (The word can also mean zealous, but zealous for what? You decide if there is anything good here.) If they envied the apostles, it was not on account of the church's money or political influence. They had neither. What the church had was the power of God sending blessings from heaven upon the desperate in the Name of Jesus Christ. They could not pay their way into the higher strata of life in Jerusalem, but they could say this with credibility, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” This greatly disturbed the Sadducees.

What the Sadducees had was apparent power, particularly in the temple precincts. In their mad battle against the Christian Jews, they determined to use their power to arrest the apostles and to put them in the public prison.

19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

This “we'll-see-who's-in-charge-here” moment quickly backfired. The tight spot that the apostles found themselves in was an ideal opportunity for the powers of heaven to show the proud of the earth who was really in charge. During the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, bringing the apostles out of their brief captivity. Even when Christians are not released from prison by angels, God is able to demonstrate the way that His almighty power works well through human weakness. That general principle was quickly and conclusively demonstrated here through the miraculous deliverance of the leaders of the church.

Their freedom came with a word of direction. “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” In other words, at least in this instance, the word from God was not “Flee to the mountains!” but “Stand your ground!” or maybe more accurately, “Stand on My ground.” Though the time of the Old Covenant was completed in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the church through the ascended Christ, God still had a claim upon this city and upon this place of worship that Jesus had once referred to as “My Father's house.” He would use the Roman armies to take it down, but not in Acts 5. The day of Acts 5 would be a day of a more ironic victory, where the church, devoid of the weapons of this world, would be able to stand firm against the enemies of Christ. They would win through the weakness of the cross and through the frank statement of the truth. This makes perfect sense for the followers of Christ, who belong to a kingdom where the King showed His formidable power through weakness.

The instruction of the angel of the Lord was plain: Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” Go. Stand in the place where the message of teaching the truth should be heard in Jerusalem. Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them all the words of this Life. Tell them about Jesus Christ, who died for us, and has risen from the dead. Tell them that He is our saving Lord. Tell them that He is our joy, our Life, not only now, but for all ages. When the sun came up, they went to the temple, and they began to teach.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers 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.” 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.

Of course this story of deliverance from prison would be well known very soon, and the Sadducees would find out. The high priest sent for the prisoners, and... no prisoners! The officers were “greatly perplexed about” the apostles, “wondering what this would come to.”

25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 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.

The Sadducees were embarrassed in front of the whole council, which included some of their rivals, the Pharisees. The facts of what the apostles were doing, teaching the people in the temple, precisely what they had been warned to not do, came to the council from a person called here by the word “someone.” Very embarrassing. The Sadducees, who were already jealous of the church and of the Lord Jesus, were exposed as those who were not in charge of these events.

The captain and officers arrested their prisoners again, bringing them before the council, but “not by force.” Men that have somehow found their way out of the custody of the priestly powers, men that were disobeying their direct orders, had to be led to the council gently, almost as if they were visiting dignitaries. The Sadducees would have loved to treat them roughly, but they were concerned about the people.

The church would not be stopped by the powers of men. The word of forgiveness based on the blood of Christ had been spoken to them, and it would be spoken through them. They believed, and they were filled with that Spirit that causes men and women everywhere to say, “Send me!” Such people may hear the threats of the powerful, but they will not be stopped by them.

1. Why did the authorities arrest the apostles?

2. What are “the words of this life?”

3. What was the initial reaction of the leaders to the empty prison?

4. Why were the officers afraid of being stoned by the people?

OT Passage: Isaiah 6