17 But the high priest rose up and those with him (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 18 And they laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, and taking them out, he said, 20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” 21 Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest and those with him came, they called the Sanhedrin together, even all the Council of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the jailhouse for them to be brought. 22 But the officers who came did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported back, 23 saying, “We found the jailhouse locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors, but we opened it and found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this. 25 But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” 26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).
27 And when they had brought them, they stood them before the Sanhedrin. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly commanded you not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a tree. 31 This One God exalted to His right hand as a Leader and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to those who obey Him.” Acts 5: 17-32 LSB
Acts 5: 17-32 Jailed For Jesus
V. 17 And they were filled with jealousy - The Sadducees were the order that the priest of the time belonged to, much like the liberal splits from the true church that we see today. They wanted the ear of the people, the respect of the people, but many now were hearing the truth and responding to it, which put the priests now in a position of need and want of, rather than the arbiters of truth as they wished to be seen. Interestingly they actually became a mission field for those who prioritized the word of God above traditions and politics. The apostles were intolerable to them because they were taking away their prestige, undermining their authority, removing their bread and butter. This happened in the church as well, the dark ages, where Roman Catholicism put itself forward as the true church, but in opposition to the word of God. They punished people for translating the Bible and teaching people how to read, but God sent a revival in the form of the Reformation.
In the Gospels, the main adversaries of Jesus were the Pharisees, but in Acts, the main adversaries were the Sadducees.
Sadducees (4523) (saddoukaios) were the anti-supernaturalists (no angelic or demonic spirits, no resurrection, etc) who wanted to maintain their political ties with Rome. They were the religious and political liberals of the day and made up most of priests and their primary concerns were for the operation of the temple and the interpretation of the Law. "These theological liberals were the first to persecute the church." (MacArthur) - PA
…19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.… Galatians 5: 19-21
…14But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.… James 3: 14-16
…3A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both. 4Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy? 5Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.… Proverbs 27: 3-5
V. 18 They laid hands on the Apostles and put them in a public jail - This still goes on in places like China, North Korea and others, where the government wants to control the ideology of the people. It is in every way a violation of the individual's conscience, forcing people to say or believe that there is no God, or that you are God, or that you know the approach to God and enforce it with military might, loss of job, fear of loss of life or imprisonment. Salvation does not come by way of men, but by regeneration wrought by the Spirit. We are to tell people the truths of Scripture, and trust God for the results. True Christianity is dependent upon a change that occurs inside of a man, brought on by the power of God, not by intimidation. This persecution is also effective though, just like the judgment against Ananias and Sapphira, it keeps the half hearted professors at a distance.
…22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.… 2 Corinthians 11: 22-24
…35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.… Hebrews 11: 35-37
…9I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.… Revelation 2: 9-11
Vs. 19-21 An angel of the Lord - I get this feeling that the Sadducees will not appreciate this explanation. They are already behind the 8 ball with since Jesus rose from the dead but also raised others during the course of His ministry, now angels too, it's too much. Note it is "an angel" (messenger), not The Angel of the Lord. This falls more in line with being your common, garden variety angel, not a Christophany. They are instructed to go back and continue doing what got them locked up in the first place. Note, there is no violence on the part of the Apostles; they recognize the lost nature of their adversaries. This should give us pause and train our focus to the truth that our enemies need, let the word of God be our response.
During the night an angel of the Lord - During the night indicates the apostles did not even have to spend the night in jail! Presumably they went home and got a good night's rest in preparation for their early morning preaching in the Temple! The phrase angel of the Lord is found in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the OT, the angel of the Lord usually refers to a Theophany, specifically probably a Christophany, or appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ.
Luke uses the phrase angel of the Lord 6 times (more than any other NT writer) (Lk. 1:11; Lk. 2:9; Acts 5:19; Acts 8:26; Acts 12:7; Acts 12:23). All of Luke's uses (with one possible exception) refer to a created angel, a divine spirit sent as the Lord's messenger. The one possible exception is in Acts 8:26 where the phrase "angel of the Lord" is in parallel with "the Spirit" in Acts 8:29. - PA
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life. 2And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.… 1 John 1: 1-3
Vs. 21b-26 The men whom you put into prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people - An angel would have to tell me to go to the temple too, or I would have already crossed the border into Jordan or Lebanon. This has to be perplexing for the Sanhedrin, what do you do with this? These men don't even know enough to run away.
Vs. 27-28 We strictly commanded you not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us - "You little trouble makers, didn't we already tell you who is in charge?" "This name" is interesting as well, as if they already are trying to erase it. It's like Voldemort to them, the name that can't be spoken, and they would make Jesus out to be someone like that. They are materialists struggling to find an answer for the miracles He performed, and for the Scriptures He fulfilled, but they reject.
…17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”… 1 Kings 18: 17-19
They despised Him. They despised His origin. They despised His presence. And they despised Him at the end. He was “a man of sorrows.” Nobody gave Him honor and nobody gave Him respect. Nobody important. He had no one in His life that mattered. He hung around with a bunch of ragtag nobodies from Galilee who, seven of whom may well have been fisherman. The rest were uneducated Galileans. And the only non-Galilean in the group was Judas from the town of Carioth. He was the kind of person you just turn your face away from. That’s why we rejected Him.
You know, it got ugly from there. Do you know the Hebrew word for Jesus is Yeshua? Have you heard that? Yeshua. The Jews through history have changed it to Yeshu, Yeshu, which is an acrostic for “let his name be blotted out.” Let his name be blotted out. He is also called Tului, in Hebrew, “the hanged one.” And “cursed is anyone - ” Deuteronomy says “ - who is hanged on a tree.”
Maybe you’ve heard the story about Mary being a hairdresser. This is written in the Talmud, which is the codification of Jewish history. That His mother Mary was a hairdresser who committed adultery with a Roman mercenary named Joseph ben Pandera, produced Yeshu, who learned the magical arts in Egypt and led people astray. That’s a quote from the Jewish Talmud.
They developed early on a prayer, Jewish prayer. “May all Christians be suddenly destroyed without hope and blotted out of the book of life forever.” This is a deep-seated animosity. And it hasn’t been helped through history by what so-called fake Christians have done to the Jews. But they started out with contempt and it’s still there even today. And do you know every Jew knows the story of Jesus so he or she can reject it? I mean, you’re not really a Jew if you don’t know you can’t believe in Jesus. We didn’t esteem Him. That’s an important last line. “He was despised; we did not esteem Him.” That’s the ultimate scorn. You know what that means in Hebrew? He was non-existent. He didn’t even exist. To put it mildly as Paul said in Romans 9:32, “They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” John Macarthur from Behold The Lamb Sermon Sep 29, 2012
V. 29 We must obey God rather than men - We need to put the words of God above the voices and threats of those He created, otherwise we worship the creation over the Creator. It's ludicrous to put more upon the temporary than the eternal, what a dumb wager.
16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.… Genesis 3: 16-18
…7They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ 8You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.” 9He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.… Mark 7: 7-9
V. 30 Jesus, Whom you put to death by hanging Him on a tree - You can't pass this off to Rome, Pilate was willing to let Him go, but you and the Pharisees insisted. The one time you all could agree on something this is the fruit of it. This is the same message, the same gospel they taught before going to jail for it, and here we are again.
V. 31 This One God exalted to His right hand as a leader and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel - This is the Messiah, your promised King, in no uncertain terms.
…9Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.… Philippians 2: 9-11
1A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”… Psalm 110: 1-2
V. 32 The Holy Spirit, Whom God gave to those who obey Him - We have the witness of the men who knew Jesus, and the witness of the Spirit, Who testifies to the hearts of men about Jesus, granting repentance unto obedience.
…25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’ 26When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father— the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father— He will testify about Me. 27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.… John 15: 25-27
…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 26-28
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