Riding the Waves of Opposition (Acts 5:17-42)

When: July 29, 2001

Why: To demonstrate that through the waves of persecution experienced by the church, God was in control; in spite of opposition to the Gospel and who we are as God's children, we can still be filled with victorious joy.

Text: Acts 5:17-42

Introduction

The church had been aggressively proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. They were fulfilling their need to proclaim the truth about Jesus so that others would know that He was the fulfillment of their hope as the Messiah. Jesus was the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation for mankind. He was far more than a good man and miracle worker. He was who He claimed to be- the Son of God, one with His Father. When we look to Him we see the Father. His sovereignty and rule over all things was convincingly demonstrated when He conquered death- just as He had predicted. The apostles and other disciples were witnesses of these things. And Christ had fulfilled His promise to send His Spirit to them- the Holy Spirit of God who would give them power to fulfill the mandate given to them by Christ, equip them to bring glory to God, and guide them into all truth.

No sooner had the church begun living in the power of the Spirit than opposition arose. They were proclaiming the good news of Christ, and even experiencing wonderful miracles which validated His presence and the truth of the message the Christians were sharing. Persecution started which undoubtedly was motivated and driven by Satan. Satan is the fallen angel who has always wanted God's glory and has stood opposed God's plan to redeem people and bring them back into relationship with Him.

The opposition came from outside the church through persecution from the established religious system. And it came from within the church through Ananias and Sapphira's deception as they made a show of surrendering their all to Christ, when in fact, they were holding back for their own selfish purposes.

One thing that we come to realize as we read Scripture is that we are not alone. God's creation is more than the physical world we see and feel around us. There is also a spiritual creation made up of angelic beings who were created to serve, glorify and praise God. There is a tremendous spiritual battle constantly being waged for authority and glory. We usually aren't always in tune with the battle, but it is there none the less.

We live in a time of history when more and more people are aware of the spiritual side of life. They have been dissatisfied with the perspective that all things can be analyzed and measured scientifically in the physical realm. For the Christian this can be a good thing. People are more open to God and spiritual things. But it can also be challenging because so many conceptions about what the spirit world is like and about who God is develops from a limited human perspective rather than based on Scripture. You end up with ideas like "may the force be with you." You end up with this notion that we all are a part of god and ultimately become god united with as a cosmic force. The life-force that is god in this view saturates all things and can be manipulated to achieve one's purposes. But it is impersonal. It is not the God of the Bible.

Scripture talks of a created universe in which our sovereign God rules over all. He is a person, three persons yet one, great and awesome, worthy of worship, adoration, and obedience. He created mankind in His image to bring Him glory through an obedient, loving relationship with Him. He created the spirit world to bring Him glory through service and obedience. One third of that angelic spirit world rebelled against Him and now stand in opposition to God's purposes and glory.

So we can see the early church in this battle. As God's presence and glory is manifested through their obedience and faith in Him, waves of opposition role on them trying to overwhelm them. Through it all, they demonstrate an incredible bouyancy. Instead of being overwhelmed we see the church riding the waves.

Transition

We had a wonderful time on vacation with Rita's side of the family in Massachusetts. One of the things we love to do when we are back east with the cousins is to go to beach.

I'm sure we've all had opportunities to play in the surf at the beach on the ocean. One day we had some real nice waves rolling in. I carried Shannon out in the surf and it was a bit disconcerting to see the water rising up, rushing at us. In fact, Shannon and I discovered that if you don't handle things just right you can get a breaker that will smack you right in the face, burn your eyes and make you gag. But you could also float over the waves. Or dive through them, like cousin Danielle, just as they were breaking. Or best yet, you could be like Stephen and get a boogie board and ride the waves all the way in to the shore.

As we turn our attention to Acts 5:17-42, we see waves of opposition continuing to roll toward the church. Yet with each wave we can see something distinctive and true about our God. Because of the truth about God upon which the Christians lives and actions were based, they were able to experience an incredible bouyancy which was able to carry them through the waves opposition.

The First Wave (5:17-25)

During the first wave we can see that God is sovereign over our circumstances. He is in control.

God had been working wonderfully through the Christians. People were getting saved. Miracles were being performed. Prayers were being answered.

5:17. ¹⁷ Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

The high priests and his guys were upset. They were motivated by one of the most base emotions that self-seeking individuals can have- jealousy. Jealousy is a very destructive force. It seeks its own. It doesn't care about others.

The religious leaders wanted the attention. They wanted the crowds following them. They wanted the power that came with the people being impressed by who they were. They were jealous and threw the apostles in jail.

When the Holy Spirit is at work, waves of opposition really don't slow down God's purposes. Even jail didn't rob the apostles of their joyful sense of God's control and their experience of His grace. If what happened at the jail later in Philippi with Paul and Silas Acts 16 is any indication, they were probably having a praise and worship time in that dark, rat-infested cell. Suddenly an angel stood among them and commanded them, Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life. The full message. Don't hold back now.

It must have been exciting and dramatic for the apostles- all twelve?- to slip quietly out of jail as locked doors swung open, and then closed behind them. At dawn they did just as they were told. They went to the temple and started preaching the good news about the resurrected Son of God.

Meanwhile, the full Sanhedrin gathered. They sent for the apostles. Whoa! What's this? The cells are securely locked and they are empty. On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this (5:24). Then they get the word that the guys they arrested were standing in the temple courts preaching! So much for their authority and control and power.

I think that God wants us to know that He can deliver us from waves of opposition anytime He sees fit. He delivered His servants in the similar ways on two other occasions: Peter (Acts 12:6-11) and Paul and Silas (Acts 16:26ff.)- except that with Paul and Silas He didn't want them out of jail, but wanted them to stay in so everyone could get saved!

God will accomplish His purposes to His glory as He wills! This is a tremendous encouragement to us. It helps us to stand up and do the right thing. It let's face waves of opposition knowing that should God want to deliver us He can and will. Otherwise, He gives us the grace to be His person in any circumstance so that His grace and glory can still be evident to all.

All of these men ultimately faced difficult deaths, knowing that God could deliver as He done in the past should He so desire. "If church traditions are correct, Matthew knew the reality of an angelic presence when he suffered martyrdom by the sword. So did Mark when he died in Alexandria after being dragged through the streets of the city. Luke experienced the same when he was hanged on a large olive tree in Greece. It was John's realization when he was scarred in a cauldron of boiling oil and lived his last days banished on an island. So it was with Peter as he was crucified upside-down in Rome, James as he was beheaded in Jerusalem, James the Less when he was thrown from a high pinnacle and beaten to death with a club, Philip when he was hanged, Bartholomew when he was scourged and beaten until he died, Andrew when he was bound to a cross and preached at the top of his voice to his persecutors until he perished, Thomas who was run through with a lance, Jude who was killed by executioners' arrows, Matthias who was stoned and then beheaded, Barnabas who suffered the same fate at Salonica, and Paul who was beheaded in Rome. On and on and on it goes" (Hughes).

Today, God could deliver Martin and Gracia Burnham from the Muslim terrorist group, Abu Sayff. Instead they remain hostage. Praise God that the latest word (as of July 19) is that they are still alive and well. One released hostage testified, "Martin and Garcia's faith is amazing. Martin doesn't even ask why. When we are all praying for freedom, Martin's prayer was always one of thanksgiving." God's glory in opposition. Riding the waves.

Today, we can ride the waves of opposition. The laughter we hear when we stand up for right. The criticism for believing that there is truth. The misunderstandings that often come from unsaved family members. We can ride the waves. We have the sovereign God in our hearts. Angels obey His bidding. His purposes will not fail. With His strength we can fulfill our need to boldly speak of Him and His love and transforming power in our lives.

The Second Wave (5:26-33)

With the second wave we learn that above all others, God is worthy of our obedience.

When they heard that the apostles were in the temple teaching, the captain of the temple guard and his officers went to get them. They didn't use force. They were afraid that if they did the crowd would turn on them. When they stood before the Sanhedrin, the high priest confronted them, We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood (5:28).

We have a glimpse of the pathology of these oppressors. They were riddled with guilt, denial, and fear. They accused the apostles of being "determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." In truth, it wasn't that many weeks ago that they had been shouting, Crucify him! (Matthew 27:22-23) and Let his blood be on us and our children! (Matthew 27:25). They tried to blame someone else for their sin. And they used fear and threats to manipulate and control. Consequently, fear and jealousy were the primary emotions they personally experienced.

In contrast, the apostles proclaimed, We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead- whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him (5:29-32). We don't sense any fear here. We don't hear any denial or lies or innuendo. They proclaim the truth. Jesus is raised from the dead by the God of our fathers. He is exalted. He is Prince and Savior. And He is good and kind and loving. He wants to forgive. We know these things to be true for we are witnesses to this truth. And we must obey Him and no other.

Jesus had clearly stated that if we love Him we will obey Him (John 14:15). We obey out of love. And we obey because we know He deserves it more than any other. It is because of who He is that we obey.

The obedience of the early Christians led to waves of opposition. But we must obey God rather than opposition. Nothing matters more. We obey because of who He is. We obey because there is no one more important. We obey because He loves us and we love Him.

As we read these verses we get the distinct impression that the ones under guard are the free ones. The ones in the fancy chairs sitting in judgement are not free. We get the feeling that the waves are actually overwhelming to the oppressors. Surfs up for the obedient children of God.

The apostles conclude their statements with witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They obey. The Holy Spirit fills them. He speaks to them. He empowers them.

It is good to routinely do a self-check.

• Am I living consistently in view of what I know about Christ?
• Am I living a life that is in accord with what I am learning in the Scriptures?
• Am I refusing to do what I know he wants?
• Am I refusing to share my faith because of fear of rejection or appearing unintellectual or uncultured or any other reason? (Hughes)

We cannot ride the waves if we are not obeying the one who is absolutely worthy of our loyalty.

The Third Wave (5:34-42)

With the third wave, we see that identification with God, brings us great joy.

5:33 tells us that the response of the apostles made the Sanhedrin furious. They couldn't take such boldness. Their destructive jealousy stormed into a raging tsunami tidal wave which wanted to overwhelm opposition with murder.

God has servants in unexpected places. And He will only allow the waves of opposition mount as He wills. It was not yet time for the apostles to lay down their lives.

Gamaliel, perhaps the most highly honored Pharisees, speaks up. He argues that it would not be wise to rush to judgement in this case. If this is of God there is nothing that can be done to defeat. Please, let's not fight against God. If it is not of God, it will peter out.

Here was a man who knew the greatness of God. He knew the God of his fathers. He knew that if the Almighty was behind it, there was no resistance they could offer that would make any difference.

Gamaliel's speech persuaded the Sanhedrin to hold back that tsunami. They decided to just make it a big breaker rolling in with the in-flowing high tide. Once again the apostles were sternly reprimanded and warned. Then flogged.

With blood soaked backs, their cloaks sticking to their open wounds, they left the Sanhedrin with great joy. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴² Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ (5:41, 42).

One of the greatest privileges we have is to know Christ more and more intimately as we grow in Him. The apostles that day were full of joy because they got to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name. He suffered disgrace. He was unjustly treated. He was persecuted. Now they were too. What a wonderful thing to be identified so closely with Christ that, they rejoiced, that we were counted worthy to suffer for Him! After all, He did so much more for us.

Jesus said, ¹¹ Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:11, 12).

Paul declared, I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 4:10).

More than anything we want to know Christ. The better we know Him, the closer our identity is with Him, the greater our joy. Identification with God, knowing Him deeply, personally, intimately, brings us great joy.

Conclusion

I hope that we never have to face the same waves of opposition that the apostles faced. Frankly, the idea of a flogging makes me shudder. The thought of a night in a cold, damp, dark cell doesn't set my feet to dancing.

But if those waves come, we can be certain that He will lift us with an incredible buoyancy as we live by the truth we know about our God.

Have you experienced waves of opposition for Christ's namesake? Don't be discouraged. You are in good company. Though waves rise up, threatening to break over your head, we are buoyed up in the knowledge of who God is, in the fullness of the Spirit. We must obey God rather than men. Rather other peoples opinions. Rather than our fears. Rather than our inhibitions.

Rise up with the wave riding on top of it. Dive through the wave just as it is breaking. Or better yet, hop on a boogie board and surf that wave all the way to the shore.

Resources