I pointed out a few weeks ago, that there is a parallel between Acts and the Book of Joshua.
Both describe the conflict between the Jehovah and the god of this world.
Both begin with a crossing of sorts, and a then a great and notable victory for the Lord.
I’m talking about Pentecost and the battle at Jericho.
But it wasn’t long before the enemy got his voice back, and the Satanic counter-attacks began.
In Acts, there was the disaster with Ananias and Sapphira.
Both of these involved Satan’s use of the man’s sinful tendencies.
But in both cases good came out of the initial loss.
Satan had taken a thump on the nose, and even though it was bleeding heavily, he tried to strike back.
Apparently late in the afternoon, the High Priests sent his guards to arrest the Apostles.
They were tossed into the common prison with the intention of trying them for heresy the next morning.
Unfortunately for them, their evil plans never came to fruition.
And that is just the point of my message tonight:
Like our fathers in the first church, we may be in a spiritual battle, but the outcome is guaranteed.
We may not see victories every time we face the enemy, but the war will be won by our Divine General.
Note three things just in passing:
First, ask yourself: How many of the Apostles were arrested this time?
They were threatened and released.
But as you re-read this scripture from verse 12 on down there is little doubt that it was all twelve.
Later they were invited once again to stand before the Sanhedrin.
Notice verse 29, “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said,
We ought to obey God rather than men.”
There was no respect for the men of God whatsoever.
This word is found 17 times in the New Testament
It is translated “zeal” – 6 times; “envy” – 6 times, and “indignation” – twice.
The word talks about the size of their emotion as much as the kind of emotion that they had against the Apostles and the church.
It’s a battle between evil and righteousness; between rationalism and truth;
And it’s between human authority and divine authority.
A rationalist rejects the Bible and anything else that doesn’t make sense to his mind.
Not only is this philosophy contrary to our Christian faith,
And should the mind of the retarded man, or the senile man be used to determine truth?
If only those thing that I know to be true are true, then truth may be pretty limited.
My mind had better not be the standard for absolute truth.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that there are things that collectively they don’t know.
For example, not one of them has ever been beyond the grave and back again.
None of them have stood in the gates of Heaven, so they can’t definitely say that there is or isn’t a God.
The leadership of the Jews in the days of Acts, had been stolen by the sect of the Sadducees.
And as I’ve often told you, the Sadducees were the religious liberals of the Jewish nation.
In fact, like religious liberals in every society, they were RATIONALISTS.
The origin of the Sadducees has been lost in the mists of antiquity,
But they seem to have sprung from the influence of Grecian customs and philosophy during the period of Greek domination of Israel.
The first time we meet them Biblically is in connection with John the Baptist’s ministry.
“O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
They also denied the existence of angels, and according to Acts 23:8, they even denied spirits.
So these people may have even denied the work of the Spirit of God.
It’s not at all surprising that the Sadducees were incensed at the preaching of the Apostles.
What has been the primary theme of their preaching?
But resurrection and physcial life after death are subjects that these people rejected.
“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people;
Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.”
Now let me point out something which I think is wonderfully ironic.
How many resources did the Lord have to bring about the release of these apostles?
He could have sent an earthquake and opened in the cell doors as He did in Philippi.
He could have sent a dream which brought about the release of Joseph down in Egypt.
He could have had friends on the Sanhedrin and used them as he did for Jeremiah.
There were hundreds of things that the Lord could have used to free the Apostles.
But, He didn’t use any of these sorts of things.
The battle described in the Book of Acts is one between rationalism and true reality.
And when the jailor reported that the cell door was locked, and the guards were still at their posts,
What did those rationalistic priests have to say about the facts?
(Nothing)
I think that it’s kind of funny what verse 23 doesn’t say:
It doesn’t say that the priests doubted the story of the jailers.
And it doesn’t say that they doubted that the apostles were back in the temple preaching.
It says that they doubted and wondered where this was all going to end up.
They doubted that they would be able to hang on to their jobs and their necks as the fallacy of their philosophy began to expose itself.
Remember that it was at the instigation of Satan that Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus into their hands.
Remember that Satan was well aware that it was the purpose of the Saviour to save His people from their sins.
Remember that Satan’s desire is to disrupt the fellowship between the Christian and His Lord,
And what is the best way to accomplish these things: Fan the flames of sin.
One of Satan’s greatest works is to stir the poison pot of sin and keep dishing it out to the sinfully hungry.
“Blind their minds with sin, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them.”
But he may not have realized it as yet.
And he was certainly not ready to admit defeat and throw down his weapons.
Whether those priests knew it or not, they were pawns in the battle between sin and righteousness.
And after His resurrection and just prior to His ascension, Christ commissioned and commanded His little band of men to preach the gospel.
They were to fill Jerusalem with His doctrine, and to spread the gospel from Judea to Samaria and even unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
Then along came Satan, already beaten and with a bad head-wound, trying his best to stop them.
Whereas they had been cowardly mice, they now are bold as lions.
Whereas in themselves they were powerless, they were now filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, working miraculous signs and wonders on every other street corner.
Whereas they were for a while unsure that what they had been taught was the truth, now they were convinced that they had the eternal message of God.
And this angel told them to get back out there under Solomon’s Porch and take up where they had left off the night before.
Since Pentecost Satan had been powerless to stop them.
He knew that he would have to change tactics or be totally defeated.
The earlier threats hadn’t done much good, so the power of the government would have to get tougher.
“Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.”
But basically their hatred proved impotent.
But I’m getting ahead of myself just a little.
Those priests used their political power to arrest the Apostles and to put them into the common prison.
But such was not the case.
Men can propose and even suppose, but the Lord is One to dispose.
It was no time at all before the Lord sent one of his servants to release the men.
Human authority is nothing against the authority of the Lord.
They were as powerless to stop the Lord, as the lock on the cell was tough enough to keep out the angel.
And then we go back to the message this morning.
The angel told the apostles to get back on the firing line.
Don’t let this little grunt from the government deter you from your divine commission.
Angels have not been ordained to preach the gospel,
“But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”
And that was exactly what the disciples did.
And who won this little skirmish?
Silly question.