April 11, 2007 Acts 5:29-32

"We must obey God rather than men! 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

“We must obey God rather than men!” This was the response of the disciples - after having been threatened by the Sanhedrin and the high priest. They had just been arrested and put in prison - but then released by an angel. This miraculous release did not deter the Sanhedrin - demanding them to be quiet. In the face of their threats, the disciples responded with courage and strength. “We must obey God rather than men!”

When we see their response in the face of danger - it makes us reflect on our own courage or lack thereof. Are you someone who stands up for the truth? Are you someone who speaks up in the classroom when your teachers starts saying that the world is millions of years old? Do you allow your friends to brag about premarital sex without reproving them? Or do you say something - stand up for the truth? Do you obey God or are you afraid of the response of men?

I don’t know about you - but when I see their courage and strength - it embarrasses me - and makes me feel guilty. Here the disciples were actually going to the temple - Solomon’s gate - right in the face of the Sanhedrin - and openly preaching Christ. They weren’t ashamed of Him. They were bravely speaking the truth. Yet there’s either a laziness or a cowardice within me that doesn’t take the time or effort to profess the truth to those who don’t have it. I just keep my mouth shut and say nothing more often than not.

What about you? Do your words and actions say, “We must obey God rather than men!” Or do your words and actions say, “we must obey our teachers rather than God. We must obey our classmates rather than God. We must obey our sinful flesh rather than God.” Chances are - if you’re like me - it’s the latter of the two. We feel we “must” obey them - because - after all - it would be embarrassing to actually profess the truth - or our grades might suffer because of it. Isn’t it somewhat shameful to you - that you haven’t invited more friends to church? Isn’t it somewhat shameful that you are embarrassed to let your classmates know where you go to church and that you believe in Jesus? We should be embarrassed and ashamed of our behavior.

What is the remedy? Where can we find the courage of the disciples - the drive to put God above men? The very simple answer to that question - the remedy to fear - would be faith. Stronger faith produces stronger testimony. Yet when we talk about “faith” or say, “you gotta have faith,” we have to understand that faith is not an entity in and of itself. Faith clings to the words and promises of God. Faith has a focus - an object. It was the object and focus of the disciples faith - that made it so strong. Look at what gave them the courage to obey God over men.

The Power to Put God Above Men

I. Comes from looking at the power of God

The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. Before even looking at the Person that God raised - just think about that very concept - that God raised Jesus from the dead. This means that God has the power to bring life after death. There’s a big difference between the two. From a human perspective - any one of us has the “power” to put someone to death. Even a three year old child has been able to shoot and kill someone with a gun. You could be put to death by missing one turn in a car - or by a man who is so drunk that he can’t even drive a car. It doesn’t take a whole lot of power to kill someone. Yet to raise someone from the dead - to have the power over death - that is another story. If we could find a doctor that could raise the dead in this world - he would be worth more money than all of the gold in the world. To breathe life into a body that has decayed - now that is power. This is the kind of power that God has - the power over death - to give life after death.

Consider these two aspects in the way you live. If you are going to be afraid of death - then you would almost have to be afraid of your own shadow. You could die of a heart attack or a brain aneurism. Someone could randomly poison your food or run into your car head first - and there’s not much you can do about it. Does it really pay to fear these things? In today’s text the disciples acknowledge that the Sanhedrin were given the power to put Jesus to death on a tree. But God raised Him from the death! So - who really should they fear? Mere men who can put people to death - or God who can raise to life?

In light of the Scriptures - we recognize the big picture as to what this means. Jesus once said in John 5:28‑29, “a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” On Judgment Day - God says that He will raise ALL people from death - to face judgment. This terrifies many - for they recognize that the God who has the power to bring back to life - will raise many to an eternal judgment and keep their bodies and souls alive to endure it for eternity. The most terrifying thought to think about is that God will raise bodies to physically endure hell for an eternity. So Jesus said, This is something to consider. Luke 12:4‑5, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

II. Comes from seeing Jesus raised as Prince and Savior

The “him” that Jesus was walking about in Luke 12 was Himself - the same one the Sanhedrin had put to death. The disciples made it clear. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior. Think about this claim that the disciples were making. Here the Sanhedrin and the high priest had the disciples on trial with the Roman guard at their disposal. Yet they were claiming that Jesus - the one they crucified - was actually raised from the dead and now the Prince of this world - ruling at the right hand of God. They were claiming that Jesus was the Promised Messiah - the One the Sanhedrin would have to answer to.

The Sanhedrin was not intimidated - not in the least. Consider the verses of our lesson for today. When they went to arrest the disciples for a second time it says, “They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. Having brought the apostles, they made them 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.” The only thing they feared was the response of the people. They were irritated and angry over the fact that the disciples were trying to make them feel guilty over putting Jesus to death. If you think about it - even though they said - “let his blood be on us” - they were still unwilling to admit guilt. The last thing they were going to do was admit any wrongdoing whatsoever. Instead of fearing the name of Jesus - they were tired of it. They didn’t want to hear His name for one more second.

Is there any concept of this whatsoever in today’s world? Perhaps. You still see bumper stickers that ask questions like, “who would Jesus bomb?” The popular argument on TV is over how Jesus would do ministry and what he would do. There’s even a CNN show called, “what would Jesus do?” It seems that Jesus is somewhat thought of as an example for people to try to live up to. If they aren’t being generous - they should be - like Jesus. If they aren’t being kind - they SHOULD be - like Jesus. Yet even the naughty people are told that God really isn’t that mean and that He really isn’t going to do anything as long as they try hard. Occasionally the right wing conservatives do try to bring up morality issues like extra-marital sex or homosexuality or lust or what not. Yet they are simply dismissed as Bible bangers and wing nuts and hate mongers. A majority of our world responds the same way as the Sanhedrin - thinking that Jesus is just put in their face to make them feel guilty. He’s not really a Prince - but more like an obnoxious dead guy who keeps on being referred to in order to make them feel guilty.

There’s more to Jesus than that - something that the Sanhedrin didn’t get. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Jesus isn’t just Prince. He isn’t even just a call to repentance. He is also a Savior. He not only wants people to repent and say they’re sorry. He also wants to give them forgiveness of sins. That’s what He went to the cross for and why He was raised - so He could generously give this forgiveness to all who believed in Him. The disciples weren’t just wanting to make the Sanhedrin GUILTY of his blood. They were trying to cover the Sanhedrin WITH his blood.

It was this faith in Christ - as the gracious Savior - that encouraged the disciples to risk their lives in profession of the truth. Only the message of Christ could bring forgiveness and eternal life to the Israelites - including the Sanhedrin. No matter how arrogant and angry the Sanhedrin was - their sins were paid for as well. Only Jesus could give them repentance and forgiveness - so they were willing to witness even in the temple - under the threats of persecution.

We need to remember this as well. The message of Christ is not given just to make people feel guilty about what they’ve done. Jesus didn’t come to be some sort of example maker to try and live up to. The message of Christ and the Bible is that we are sinners who have a Savior! Jesus didn’t die and raise from the dead just to make us feel guilty about what sinners we are. He also went to that cross to pay for our sins and our cowardice - so that we would know that God isn’t angry at us anymore. Remember the message of the Gospel. Christ was raised to prove the world has been declared not guilty of their sins. Repentance over sins and saying “I’m sorry” is not done to simply get God off your back or to try and get your pound of flesh out of someone and make you feel better about yourself. It is done so that we truly cling to Christ and the forgiveness He brings. It is so we can ultimately cover people in Jesus’ holiness. This is the powerful message of the Gospel - which gives us the power to profess Christ and put God above men - in order to save lives.

III. Comes from witnessing these things

It is quite amazing to see the apostles speak with such conviction in the very confines in the temple. Is there any way that we could understand in the slightest the emotional roller coaster that the disciples went through from Good Friday to Easter Sunday to this point in Acts? I can’t imagine it. Here they saw Jesus be crucified and put to death. They knew he was dead. There was no doubt in their minds. Yet they and hundreds of other believers also physically witnessed the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead. Not only did they witness this - but afterwards the Holy Spirit had enabled them to perform tremendous miracles. They were able to speak in foreign languages that they had never learned. Just earlier in chapter three of Acts a man who had been visibly crippled from birth was immediately healed. Verses 15-16 of Acts 5 says, “people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.” The same Holy Spirit was filling their mouths with the courage and the words to speak. After all of this, the Sanhedrin was telling them to be quiet! In light of this, Peter and the apostles said, “ We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” To tell them to be quiet after all these things - would be like asking the sun to stop shining. It would be impossible.

Sometimes - many times - we wish that we had the advaantages that the apostles had. We wish that Jesus appeared to us - as He did to Paul on the way to Damascus. We wish that we too would have seen the resurrected Christ and performed those same miracles. We convince ourselves that we have excuses for our own silence. “If I had seen what they had seen - if I were able to do what they did - I too would speak up more.” Thomas demanded the same type of signs - and Jesus reprimanded him for it saying, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

So we have to ask ourselves, “is that really an excuse?” Faith has never been a matter of seeing. It has never been a matter of sight. Should it really make a difference whether we have seen the resurrected Christ - or just tasted Him? Should it matter if we have seen the dove in heaven, or experienced Him through a foreign language? Or should it be enough to have the promise of His through baptism? Even though we haven’t seen Christ with our physical eyes, have we not seen Him in the Lord’s Supper? Have we not heard Him in God’s Word? Have we not seen the Holy Spirit’s work - as we see infants baptized before our very eyes? Have we not seen the Holy Spirit as we witness and hear Him singing through the voices of our children? Have we not experienced this repentance and forgiveness every Sunday through the words of confession and absolution? These visions may not be as visible as those of the apostolic times, but are they not as glorious? The problem is not with the way God reveals Himself. The problem is that we are too much like Thomas - demanding God to show Himself the way WE want Him to - instead of the way He chooses too. So we must confess that our lack of courage in confessing Christ is not due to God’s invisibility, but to our own inability to see Christ in front of us. The power to put God above men - to give fearless professions of faith - would come through us more if we witnessed the miracles of God through the eyes of faith more.

“We must obey God rather than men!” This statement of the disciples does not mean that God was somehow putting their arms behind their backs and forcing them to profess Christ. They had to obey God because through the eyes of faith they knew that Jesus was raised from the dead - that their sins were forgiven and He reallly was their Savior. No matter what kind of death they were facing - it wasn’t half as powerful as what they hhad seen. It was a necessary witness of faith. It’s the nature of a Christian to witness - just as it is the nature of the sun to shine . You can’t separate the two. It’s what they are made to do.

The Power to Put God Above Men - where do you get such power to witness - to obey God rather than men? It comes from faith - a strong faith - to witness in the face oof such opposition. If you find yourself not matching up to the apostles - afraid to witness - afraid of men - how can you increase your faith? Look back at the resurrection. Remember - God has raised the dead and He will raise the dead - including you. Remember - God raised Christ from the dead. The same Jesus who died and rose is now ruling and eternally granting repentance and forgiveness to you - no matter how weak your faith or your witness. The same Holy Spirit who entered you at baptism is still living in you through these words. When you keep on focusing on the Eternal Power of God - it will fill you with the power to put God above men - to witness to the truth more and more - no matter what the opposition. Amen.