17-20 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."
23-25 "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside. "Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people."
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
Acts 5
ReplyDelete16-21 Even people from towns surrounding Jerusalem would come, bringing others who were sick or tormented by unclean spirits, all of whom were cured. Of course, this popularity elicited a response: the high priest and his affiliates in the Sadducean party were jealous, so they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But that night, a messenger of the Lord opened the doors of the prison and led them to freedom.
Messenger of the Lord: Go to the temple, and stand up to tell the people the whole message about this way of life from Jesus.
At dawn they did as they were told; they returned to their teaching in the temple.
28-29 High Priest: Didn’t we give you strict orders to stop teaching in this name? But here you are, spreading your teaching throughout Jerusalem. And you are determined to blame us for this man’s death.
Peter and the Apostles: If we have to choose between obedience to God and obedience to any human authority, then we must obey God.
30-32 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death. You killed Jesus by hanging Him on a tree, but God has lifted Him high, to God’s own right hand, as the Prince, as the Liberator. God intends to bring Israel to a radical rethinking of our lives and to a complete forgiveness of our sins. We are witnesses to these things. There is another witness, too—the Holy Spirit—whom God has given to all who choose to obey Him.
39 But then again, if God is in this, you won’t be able to stop it—unless, of course, you’re ready to fight against God!