UNSTOPPABLE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin:

“Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 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 Messiah.

Acts 5:33-42

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Peter and the apostles had essentially rebuked the Sanhedrin council who hauled them into court because they had refused to stop teaching in the name of Jesus. As we start this message from the closing verses of the fifth chapter of Acts, it would be helpful to look again at their words:

“We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging Him on a cross. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:29-32

The apostles sent their message loud and clear. There was no way they were going to submit to human orders over what God wanted them to do. They were obedient to God first because He and He alone was in true authority over all things, the Creator and Master of all.

God demanded that the apostles preach about His Son Jesus as Savior. After all, His one and only Son was the key component of His salvation plan for all mankind. Before anyone could be saved, they had to be clear of the sin penalty owed and that pardon would only come if someone was substituted to bring a sacrificial atonement. That sacrificial atonement came when Jesus was nailed to Calvary’s cross, His shed blood cleansing those who would simply believe in Him as Savior.

And so you can see how the apostles rejected the orders of the Jewish religious leaders, a rejection that angered the council to where they wanted to kill Jesus’ faithful followers as they decided to use the same playbook used to try and eliminate Jesus. It was a biblical form of the cancel culture we see so prevalent in modern times.

I often wonder what would have happened to the apostles and the cause of Christianity if the honorable Pharisee law teacher, Gamaliel, had not courageously stood up and addressed his brothers on the council after the apostles were briefly dismissed from the room. Look again at his words here:

“Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

First, Gamaliel shared some history with the Jewish religious authorities to underscore his wise counsel to be careful in how they dealt with the apostles. Both examples he shared in regard to two other men who were killed after gaining a rather large following resulted in their disciples dispersing and scattering. In other words, the killing of the leader didn’t eliminate those who believed in him. Rather, those believers ended up branching out and continuing the work of their leader.

This is why Gamaliel urged the Sanhedrin to leave the apostles be. For if they falsely claimed to be acting in obedience to God then their actions were bound to fail. But if the apostles were truly working in response to God’s calling, then their work would be completely unstoppable because no man would be able to get in the way of what God wanted to do through His people.

So how did the Sanhedrin respond to Gamaliel’s plea?

We read where they listened and instead of killing the apostles, they had them flogged before releasing them with the order to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, an order that the scriptures tell us was ignored.

We know this because we read where Jesus’ devoted followers left the court “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” Their behavior affirmed the attitude of the psalmist as he wrote these words in the 84th Psalm:

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.”

Jesus had suffered for the cause of the apostles and anyone else who placed their belief in Him as Savior. And He promised that anyone who dedicates themselves to Him could expect to suffer and be persecuted in his name, a prophecy that his apostles were now experiencing in real time. But ultimately, the work being done in Jesus’ name could not and would not be hindered. And so day after day, no matter where the apostles were, they never ceased to teach other while proclaiming the good news about Jesus, the Messiah.

Friends, as we go about our own ministry business for the cause of Jesus, we need to remember what happened to Jesus’ apostles more than 2,000 years ago. For no matter what resistance might rise up against Christians in their Gospel sharing and spreading work, nothing will be able to stop the work that God has ordained to be done in the name of His Son. Nothing.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com