Acts
5:27-41
27 And when they had brought
them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here
you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles
answered, “We must obey God rather than
men. 30 The God of our fathers raised
Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right
hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these
things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they
were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council
named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up
and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with
these men. 36 For before these days Theudas
rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred,
joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to
nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean
rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him.
He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell
you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this
undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will
not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in
the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of
Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of
the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the
name. 42 And every day, in the temple
and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the
Christ is Jesus.
This rule
has been passed down within the Church: “We must obey God rather than
men.” The question is when does
this apply? Does this only apply to the situation of preaching the word of God?
Does it apply to the moral commands of God? Does it apply to the order of
Creation? Or maybe you want to approach this from another side: Does this mean
I can rebel against any Government?
Gamaliel
stands before the assembly. He tells them to let this movement run its course.
If you had known what would happen to Jews in Rome on account of Christianity,
or The Rise of Nazi Germany, would he have still said this? Some of us may
think these things would only cause him to convert to Christianity.
Gamaliel
has several examples to point to. There are many disciples that fall away, but
if they had seen the Risen Christ, they would believe like Thomas. Gamaliel was
not given such option. But he was given the testimony of St Peter and the
Apostles. Thus, we should continue to testify to Jesus Christ in the
marketplaces and the temple and all the various areas of our Life.
God sent
Jesus Christ into the world to be killed. Jesus died for the forgiveness of
your sins. They hung him on tree. God then raised him and exulted him to the
right hand of God. This is just a little different than those other so-called
Messiahs. The Apostles give thanks and rejoice because they were counted worthy
to suffer for the name of Jesus.
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