Civil Disobedience
Opening Prayer
Almighty and Eternal God, You are great and greatly to be praised. Your power and wisdom are beyond me.
Read Acts 5:17–32
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. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.
25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
God puts in place those in authority over us. Seek to honor him today by according them such honor as is rightly their due.
The Bible teaches us to be appropriately subject to governing authorities (Rom. 13:1); and we sometimes have rulers who are keen to remind us of the words of Jesus to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17). There are occasions, however, when Caesar would like us to give to him what rightly belongs to God, but this is the red line we must never cross. From the point of view of the authorities, the apostles were a disruptive influence in society. They were entitled to their private belief, however misguided it may seem, and would not be in trouble if they simply kept it to themselves—which is the way believers are sometimes treated even today. However, the miracles only served to underline the danger the believers posed to the status quo, especially since they could not be discredited, so the apostles deserved to be locked up to teach them a lesson. It did not work!
All that mattered to the disciples was to get on with the task God had given them. God then intervened directly with another miracle, releasing them from jail. What other option did they have but to head for the most obvious location and continue with the “crime” for which they had been imprisoned? As the African proverb puts it, “When a lion sends us on an errand we are not scared of the jackal.”
And yet, the “jackal,” the apostles were fully aware, can inflict nasty bruises and more (Acts 4:27,28)! God does not always intervene to rescue his faithful servants, so we should be prepared to face the consequences of disobeying those who have power over us. John the Baptist was not the first, and by no means the last, to face the ultimate penalty for standing up to those in power.
Apply
Consider the response of Shadrach and his friends to King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3:16–18). How can God give to you their attitude and their courage?
Closing prayer
Lord, I admire the courage, clarity and confidence the apostles showed under duress. I ask for a fresh release of the Holy Spirit in my life, equipping me to faithfully serve You.
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