Acts 5:17-21a (NIV)
Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
The high priests and Sadducees were used to being able to strike fear into the hearts of those who heard their decrees, and to move them to immediately stop doing whatever it was that the leadership disapproved of. But these men simply wouldn’t comply! They were told to stop speaking and acting in Jesus’ name (Acts 4:18), but they continued doing it anyway, claiming approval from God for what they were doing (as well as doing many more amazing things than these highly-placed leaders could ever think of doing!).
So, these leaders resorted to the strongest actions they had available to them: they had the apostles rearrested and thrown into the public jail to be held until the following day when a full meeting of the Sanhedrin could be convened. They figured that it would at least impress these men with their awesome power and clearly demonstrate to them who the boss was.
But God had different ideas. He sent an angel who opened the doors of the jail, and brought the men outside, right past the guards who were at their posts right outside the doors. Once they were all outside, just as the sun was rising, the angel sent them back to the temple to preach about life in the kingdom of God as a present reality. And, of course, they instantly obeyed.
This action of breaking them out of prison and sending them to teach was not an act of defiance or rebellion on God’s part. In God’s economy, people only have the authority that He gives them, and He had not given the Sanhedrin authority over either Jesus or His kingdom people. Instead, His actions were simply intended to enable the mission that Jesus had given these men to continue, a mission that was so important that nobody, not even the high priest himself, could be allowed to stand in the way of it.
Father, we have been given the same mission as these first disciples, and in its accomplishment, we must remain as steadfast as they were. It’s an awesome responsibility, but it’s also a great privilege to know that you have entrusted the good news to us to share. Move us, Lord, to follow You steadfastly, no matter how stiff the opposition to Your kingdom. Help us to hear Your voice clearly and to stay focused on the mission with laser-like intensity every day. Amen.
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