The Apostles Before the Sanhedrin - Acts 5:24-32 - Mike KInes

In Acts chapter 5, the Apostles are brought before the Sanhedrin after being arrested and miraculously freed from jail. The religious leaders try to rebuke them for preaching in Jesus' name and blame them for his blood. The Apostles respond that they must obey God rather than men. They continue to preach the gospel, emphasizing Jesus' resurrection and their witness. The religious leaders are unable to control the situation as the gospel spreads and more people are saved. The Apostles stand firm in their obedience to God, even in the face of opposition. Acts chapter 5 verses 24 through 32, and the sceptile for this is the Apostles are before the Sanhedrin. So just as a recap, the Apostles were, they were people being healed, the gospel was being preached, there were miracles happening, signs and wonders was taking place, and the religious leaders got riled up, and they arrested the Apostles, and they put them in jail. However, while they were in jail that night, an angel of the Lord came and broke them out of jail, and they went and told them to go back to the temple and keep on preaching. So the next morning, the Apostles went back to the temple and continued preaching. So when the religious leaders sent the jailers to go and get the Apostles out of jail, they found out they wasn't there, and so they was in doubt as to what was going to take place or how this was all going to turn out. And then somebody comes in and says, hey, those guys that were in jail, they're back in the temple preaching again. So they sent for them, and they brought them in, and here they are now, they're standing before the Sanhedrin, which is the Jewish religious court, and they're called in to give an answer to what they're doing. The Sanhedrin's trying to rebuke them. It says here, now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and chief priest heard these things, they doubted again where unto this would go. And so anyway, they brought them in, and they said, did not we straightly command you that you should not teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. If you read that, it should kind of remind you about when they were wanting Jesus to be killed, and they brought him before Pilate, and Pilate said, do you want me to crucify your king? And they said, let his blood be upon us and upon our children. But right here, they're saying, you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. So you see here how people tend to change the story as they go forward, because they'd already said, let this man be upon us, but now they're saying the apostles were trying to bring this man's blood upon them. So they're trying to blame shift, they're trying to change the narrative, they're trying to change the story here. But then the reply, it says in verse 29, that Peter and the other apostles answered, and they said, we ought to obey God rather than men. And then they go on here and they preach the gospel. They said, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, so you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and savior, 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. You see here, this thing's growing and growing, and it's getting out of the control of these religious leaders. They can no longer control this situation. And as we'll see later on this chapter, we'll find out that at least one of the people among these religious leaders realize that they're actually fighting against God, that this is a move of God, and that they are actually fighting against God in this situation. So they didn't know what to do about this. So a couple of thoughts I had here on these scriptures, if these religious leaders thought they had a problem when it was just Jesus healing and preaching, they never imagined the problem that they were now facing. Jesus was being multiplied exponentially through these men who preached the gospel. And the same things that Jesus did, these men did also. Signs, wonders, miracles, healings, devils are being cast out of the gospel of the preachers of the poor. And the more the religious leaders fought against Jesus and his followers, the more the gospel was magnified and the more the people were getting saved. The situation for the religious leaders is described here as they doubted of them where unto this would grow. They had no idea what they were dealing with and what would happen next. Men were breaking out of jail with no trace. Healing was happening in the streets. Demons were being sent packing. The religious leaders make an interesting statement here. They say, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. But isn't this what they had requested? Let his blood be upon us and upon our children. Didn't they agree to take responsibility for killing Jesus? Now they reap what they sowed. If they had only humbled their heart and believed the good news, then they could have been saved. But they couldn't do that. Why? Because they would lose their prestige, their power, and their position. They would not let go of their power, even though it was obvious that their power was being taken away from them by God himself. What did the apostles say when the religious leaders tried to forbid them from preaching the gospel? They said that we ought to obey God rather than men. Is there ever a time when we need to disobey the leaders that are over us? The only time when we do this is when religious freedom is taken away or the government asks us to commit sin. Otherwise, the Christian attitude should always be humility and submission and obedience. The only time we disobey is when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ or if those over us try to force us into sin. That is the only time when we disobey. The early church was clearly in a position where they had to disregard the command of the religious leaders. The leaders of their community were now actively fighting against God by their attempts to stamp out the church. Peter and the apostles used this trial as another opportunity to preach the gospel. They are still preaching the crucifixion, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus, even in their testimony in this trial. They are a witness of the Lord Jesus, and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God gives to those who obey Him. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. And the Lord make His face shine upon you, and the Lord give you peace.