Thursday
Things are happening fast for the apostles. This is about as good a read as you will find in anywhere.
There is so much drama taking place. First we read of a couple who are trying to make a name for themselves by acting like they are so generous. They saw the praise that Barnabas received when he sold some property and gave all the money to the church. The problem for Ananias and Sapphira is their hearts are not in the right place. They only want glory and praise to come their way. They want people to think how great they are. So they do the same thing and sell a piece of land, but instead of giving it all to the church they withhold part of the money. Now there would have been nothing wrong with them not sharing all the money… God didn’t ask them to do this. What their sin was and what cause them such immediate retribution, was lying to God. God doesn’t need our money, or our resources, what God does want from us is our obedience and a heart that is willing to give. Giving should never be out of obligation, but out of love. Giving should be a heart-matter. “For God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Now their punishment might seem to us very excessive and swift, but remember… God knows their heart. I am pretty sure He did not want such a “cancer” growing in the early church and so He had to cut it out quickly. We fully rely on and can trust in the Grace and Mercy of Jesus and He is full of compassion for His children, but we also must not forget that God is a just and fair God and we must trust Him completely.
Did you notice that miraculous events are happening and it is not only Peter and John? All the apostles perform miraculous signs and wonders. Well, it also seems that the Jewish Council is not done with Peter or the other apostles just yet. Once again Peter is arrested. But God releases them from prison. You’ll notice that this is the first of three times that an apostle is freed from jail. And yes they continue to obey God and preach in the temple courts. The chief priest and other officials seem unaware that they are no longer in jail. (Pretty sure the guards didn’t want to tell them.) So the apostles are tracked down and brought before the Sanhedrin and charges are brought against them. The ban to not talk about Jesus has been ignored by the apostles and the council seems very concerned that they are going to seek revenge on them for having killed Jesus. Certainly the Jewish council is threatened by their preaching and healing. You can see how they feel their authority is being questioned. This is not something that has been much of an issue with the Sanhedrin. They are the law. The final word. That’s it. But the Christians obey a different authority, the one that says, “We must obey God, rather than men.” It isn’t even an option, there is a compelling sense, something we can identify as the Holy Spirit. Well, the council is still pretty upset but they don’t know what to do. Gamaliel speaks up with a solution. (This is the man who Paul studied under when he was in Pharisee training school.)
Gamaliel suggests that if they are just following another false prophet, their group will die out, but if they are truly being led by God, then there is nothing the council can do to stop them.
The Council agrees and just for good measure they have the apostles flogged. This is a horrific punishment and one that I think was meant to deter the apostles from their mission, but again the Jewish council will be proven wrong.
There is no way that the Christians will remain silent.
I hope that we will continue to share the message in our circles, with the people we know and come in contact with.
Blessings
Pastor Kathy