Acts 5:26-32 – At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. 27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 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 guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
“At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. 27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 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 guilty of this man’s blood.” At this time the captain and his officers were sent to bring in the Apostles. Remember, these officers were men following orders. While it is never the excuse of men to do evil because they were following orders, these men probably did not know what the intentions of the Sanhedrin. They were bringing the Apostles in just as they had been ordered to do and the men were to appear before the magistrates and be judged by them. These officers, whether they were brutes or not, were not going to anger the crowd and mistreat the Apostles. Their number one job was, at the end of their shift, to go home and be with their families. The Apostles were treated with “kid-gloves.”
Right off the top the High Priest told the Apostles that they had been given strict orders not to preach in “this name.” The name of Jesus was such an anathema to them that they would not even say His name. Their contempt for Jesus is further revealed in that they did not say “his name” but “this name.” They would not make any reference to the man Jesus Christ, but only to an inanimate name that they would not utter or even allow that the name was attached to a man.
The reason the guards were careful with the Apostles is seen in V28. The High Priest himself, along with the Sanhedrin, were well aware that the Gospel had already spread through Jerusalem, and the converts were adding up fast.
It is amazing what people will deny and how they will deny it. There is video of a person committing a crime and being shown the video. The person will admit the person in the video is them, that the person in the video completed all elements of the crime, but then will deny that they committed a crime! Everyone there knew these religious officials had been the cause of the death of Jesus. They were not only guilty but they had persuaded or coerced many of them to also do so. In fact their own words are recorded in Matthew 27:25 “All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” (These words, are to me, some of the most chilling in the Bible.) So it is most amazing that they could deny their culpability in the murder of Jesus.
“Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” Peter’s reply to their repeated demand that they stop talking about Jesus and stop blaming them is the same as his reply in Acts 4:19-20. They would not shut up. They could not shut up. They were first hand witnesses to what had occurred and they could not bottle up the Truth within themselves. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit within them bore witness of the Truth to them. What the Jews were guilty of was manifest to all the Jews, the Romans, the Apostles and to God the Holy Spirit. They may say they were innocent, but their lies fell putrefying on the ground. The Apostles could not be shut up as Jesus lived within them and their love for Him was the greatest truth they knew. The authority of man demanded that they disobey God but they adamantly refused. They would obey God before men. They would share the Gospel as Jesus had told them to do (Matthew 28:18-20).
Family, today the world wants to shut us up. They tell us not to share the Gospel. It is not politically correct. It goes against the morals of the world. It is not all-inclusive. The Bible definitely calls all religions and philosophies that deny Jesus as Savior, Lord and God, a lie from the devil. Family they tell us we can’t talk about Jesus in the school. They tell preach separation of church and state. Whether that is actual or contrived, I don’t see it in the Bible. “But what of our jobs? How will we live?” In reply “What of our love of God? What of our faith in Him? What of what Jesus said ‘For whoever wants to save their lives will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:24) Family who will we obey, God or man? Is God able to provide and keep us if we still share the Gospel in spite of company policy or law? Family, how much will we bend before we realize that our stand for God has already bent so much that we slid right off the other side? Family let us be found to be loving God, having faith in Him and to be loving all people with the life-passion that though all people will not be saved they will, at least to the best of our abilities, have heard the Gospel and have the choice. May we praise God by first obeying Him! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.