Praying Through Acts: Acts 5 We Must Obey God Rather than Men

Acts 5 gives us a vivid close up of three very different groups of people. There is lots we could say about the deceptiveness of Ananias and Sapphira. Or the blindness and jealousy of the religious leaders. Their stories are important because they warn us to make different choices. But I want to take you to a wonderful miracle in this chapter. It is one of those events that when I get to Heaven, I want to hear every little detail. Do you have some people you are anxious to listen to when you get there? Acts 5:12The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon's Colonnade.   16Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.   Fueled by jealousy the Sadducees arrested the apostles. Not just one, but all of them.   Are you ready for this? 19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,  20"Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life." 21At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.   When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.  When they got to the prison, the guards were still standing their post. The doors were still locked. But the apostles were gone. I can only imagine how shocked they were! It was unexplainable. How does something like this happen? They must have felt confused and frustrated. I wonder if the room was filled with both angry comments and fearful, whispered discussions. In the middle of the confusion, someone burst in the door announcing, "They're at the temple courts. The men you put in jail! They're teaching the people!   26At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.  27They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.  28"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man's blood." Can you hear the hatred for the Gospel in their warning? Or their fear in accusation "are determined to make us responsible for this man's blood."   How could these leaders be so blinded to Jesus? It's tragic. They knew the Scripture so well, but missed Jesus. But I have some great news. Acts 6: 7 "So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith." (That's just one example of why we can't quit.)   29But Peter and the other apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men."  That truth has not changed, "We must obey God rather than men."    Father, help us not to be hearers only, but to be doers of your Word. Help us to live daily, choice by choice, with the desire and priority, "We must obey God rather than men."  In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.