Acts 5:40-42 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. These verses occur at the end of a story where the apostles have been imprisoned, released by Gods angels, and then brought before the council for their crime of preaching Jesus. Peter told the council in verse 29 that We ought to obey God rather than men in response to the council questioning the apostles preaching Jesus after the council had forbade it and imprisoned them for it. These verses occur after the council had decided to slay the apostles and a man named Gamaliel stood and advised the council that if the apostles works were of men, then they would fade and the council would not need to take action. But if the apostles works were of God, then the council should not slay them. In verse 40 council agrees to Gamaliels advice and brings the apostles in, beats them, commands them not to preach Jesus any more, and releases them. Then we see the interesting part. The apostles are not discouraged by this beating, imprisonment and threat of death. Rather, they are excited that they have been chosen to suffer for Jesus. Not only are they excited, but they immediately return to the temple and every house to teach and preach Jesus Christ without ceasing. In America, we do not typically receive any persecution for standing for Jesus. When we do, it is no where near as severe as what the apostles and others have suffered in the name of Christ. We should recognize this as a blessing. So far, probably the greatest thing we have to fear is embarrassment. Most people that would reject Christ may ridicule us for worshipping him. They may consider us fools or weak for spreading his word and believing the Bible. This should not discourage us from fulfilling the great commission. We should be thankful if people persecute us, even in minor ways, because it shows that we are doing as Christ commanded. These apostles likely were whipped up to 39 times for preaching Christ. Christ was scourged, or severely whipped, prior to being crucified. If Christ can take those terrible forms of punishment, as an innocent man, to pay for our sins, surely we can face a little embarrassment to spread the gospel. Also, the terrible eternity that an unsaved individual faces is far worse than any persecution we could face here on earth. Please keep this in mind as we go into the world today, and take a stand for Christ and for the lost souls out there that need Christ as Saviour.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 15:05:51 +0000
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