The Apostles Arrested and Freed - Acts 5:17-23 - Comments by Mike Kines

The apostles were arrested by the high priest and his associates out of jealousy. However, an angel of the Lord freed them from jail and instructed them to continue spreading the message of new life. This is one of several instances in the book of Acts where the apostles faced persecution but were miraculously rescued by God. It is important to remain steadfast and faithful in spreading God's word, even in the face of opposition. So today we're looking at Acts chapter 5 verses 17 through 23, and this is the section where the apostles were arrested and then they were freed. It says that the high priest and all his associates who belonged to the party of the Sadducees were filled with jealousy, and they went out and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. For during the night an angel of the Lord opened the door of the jail and brought them out saying, Go stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life. At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told, and they 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. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there, so they returned with a report. We found the jail securely locked with the guards posted at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside. So this is one of two places that I can think of in the book of Acts where the apostles, where one of the apostles, especially Peter, gets arrested and put in jail. Actually no, this is one of three places. We already covered one where they got put in jail after healing the lame man. Peter and John were put in jail overnight, and this is another time here where the apostles were arrested. But then here in this situation the Lord didn't leave them in jail overnight, but he sent an angel to break them out of jail. And then there was another time too where Peter was arrested, put in jail, and an angel came and rescued Peter out of the jail. And well, there's another one too I just thought of where Paul and Silas were in the prison and God opened the jail up and Paul and Silas were allowed to be released. So that's actually quite a few times here we see in the scriptures where people are persecuted and they're taken into prison and the Lord somehow supernaturally intervenes and sets them free. But this doesn't always happen. We know that John the Baptist was arrested and put in prison and he died as a martyr in prison. So the Lord doesn't always do this, and so we have to leave it up to God's wisdom and God's love in every situation to know what's going to happen. God certainly is able. He is able to intervene. So let's take a look at this scripture here. It says, God was blessed in the church and people were getting saved, folks were getting their needs met, many people were being healed, and the devil was being cast out of people. But don't ever think that the enemy is going to leave this kind of work unanswered. The religious leaders were stirred up and they arrested the apostles and they put them in the common prison. Again, they were put in jail overnight, but this time the Lord did not leave them in there overnight. He sent an angel to break the apostles out of jail. The angel told them to go back to the temple and keep on preaching the gospel. A lot of times we may go through strenuous situations or suffering, but the Lord doesn't want us to give up. He wants us to continue on with the work that he's called us to do. And I'm reminded of that scripture over in 1 Corinthians 15, where it says, be steadfast and unmovable, always abiding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. So we have to keep on. We have to keep on sharing the word. We need to keep on lifting up Jesus. We need to keep on sharing God's word with others, no matter what the situation may look like. We need to continue to be faithful to what God's called us to do. And I know that I have not always been faithful, but I pray today that God will give me his strength that I may be faithful to the calling that he's called me to. And I pray that you will be encouraged today and that you will continue to be steadfast and unmovable in the work that God's called you to do in the ministry. Amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and the Lord give you peace.