Daily Scripture Reading Acts 5:34 - 6:15
Many people live in societies where they have religious freedom and are able to worship anyone, anything, anytime, and anywhere. It is common for Christians with religious freedom to thank God for their freedom to worship, and they look at the absence of persecution as a blessing and favor bestowed by God.
The apostles did not have such freedom in 1st century Jerusalem. They were persecuted for speaking the truth about Jesus. However, their reaction to their suffering was quite the opposite of how people normally respond to suffering. Their attitude towards oppression teaches us that our outlook on religious freedom might be backwards. Instead of looking at the absence of persecution as a reason to celebrate, maybe we should look at it as a reason to mourn.
Earlier in chapter 5, we read that the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin because they were preaching Jesus even though the Sanhedrin had commanded them not to speak in that name. The apostles answered that they had to obey God rather than men, and that Jesus rose from the dead and was raised to the right hand of God as a Leader and a Saviour. The Sanhedrin became furious and wanted to kill the apostles.
Acts 5:34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.
Acts 5:35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men.
Acts 5:36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who were following him were dispersed and came to nothing.
Acts 5:37 After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all those who were following him were scattered.
Acts 5:38 So in the present case, I also say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown;
Acts 5:39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or you may even be found fighting against God.”
Acts 5:40 ¶ So they followed his advice. And after calling the apostles in and beating them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
The first sentence of this verse tells us they followed Gamaliel’s advice which was to let the men alone under the assumption that if their actions were of men, then they would fail. The second sentence tells us they beat the apostles and then released them. Their concept of justice is quite different than ours in that they thought that beating the apostles fell under the category of letting the men alone.
Acts 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the Name.
First, notice the word “rejoicing”. Very few people rejoice after a beating, but that is what the apostles did.
Second, notice the word “worthy”. The apostles believed the beating was an honor because it showed they were worthy of suffering shame for the Name of Jesus.
This is a very different perspective than that held by Christians today. When believers in the 21st century are persecuted, they are likely to question the goodness of God, doubt His existence, or wonder why God is punishing them. However, perhaps we should look at oppression as an honor.
Here is another way to look at this. It is normal today for Christians to thank God for the absence of persecution, since many live in societies with religious freedom. However, maybe we should look at the lack of persecution as a sign that God does not consider us worthy of suffering for Him.
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Despite the beatings, the apostles continued to proclaim the truth about Jesus.
Acts 6:1 ¶ Now in those days, while the disciples were multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.
Acts 6:2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.
Acts 6:3 Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need.
Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.”
The apostles wanted to keep themselves free from serving tables so that they could focus on their primary mission. Notice that they considered prayer to be part of their primary mission. Maybe every Christian should ask whether we give prayer enough time and energy in our lives.
Acts 6:5 And this word pleased the whole congregation, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
Acts 6:6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:7 ¶ And the word of God kept on spreading, and the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Throughout the gospels and the early chapters of Acts, we see that many of the religious leaders were opposed to Jesus. That opposition never stopped, but we see in this verse that amidst the opposition, there were many priests who became believers in Jesus.
Acts 6:8 ¶ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Acts 6:9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen.
Acts 6:10 But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.
This verse tells us the opponents of Stephen were not able to oppose him with truth.
Acts 6:11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
Since they could not oppose Stephen with truth, they resorted to using lies.
Acts 6:12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to the Sanhedrin.
Acts 6:13 And they put forward false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this holy place and the Law;
Notice the word “false”. The opponents of Stephen knew they were being dishonest.
The opponents of Stephen did not care about truth or justice. They were willing to promote lies in order to achieve their goals.
If that happened in the 1st century, it can also happen today and it does happen today. In politics, business, religion, and Christianity, unethical people knowingly resort to lies and false witnesses in order to pursue their selfish goals. This teaches us we should have a healthy dose of skepticism regarding what people tell us. We should not always assume everyone is always dishonest, but neither should we always assume everyone is always honest.
Acts 6:14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.”
Acts 6:15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.
Many Christians thank God for the absence of persecution. However, since the apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy of suffering for Christ, it is possible we should look at the absence of suffering as a sign that we are not worthy of suffering for Jesus.
What persecution have you endured because of your belief in Jesus Christ?
If persecution is a sign that we are worthy of suffering for Jesus, and if the lack of persecution is a sign that we are not worthy, meaning the lack of it is not something for which to give thanks, then what should we do if we live in a society that has religious freedom?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”