Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and to open wide its gates to all who believed in him, repented and received forgiveness through his sacrificial death. His message was a lifeboat to some and an enemy warship to others.
Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and to open wide its gates to all who believed in him, repented and received forgiveness through his sacrificial death. His message was a lifeboat to some and an enemy warship to others.
The Jewish people had been the special ones, chosen guardians of the honour of God, and they were heavily invested in maintaining their exceptional status. When the apostles ‘filled Jerusalem with [their] teaching’ the religious leaders were desperate to shut them up. They first locked them up, but an angel let them out and they went straight back to preaching on the steps of the temple. Then they were brought in front of the religious court, the ‘Sanhedrin’. Accused by the high priest of flagrant disregard of the strict orders not to talk about Jesus, Peter took the opportunity to restate the gospel to the assembly. The mood turned murderous and only the reasoning of Gamaliel, a highly respected teacher of the law, convinced the Sadducees to let them off with a flogging.
Still bruised and bloodied, in full knowledge of the severity of the risk they were taking, the apostles immediately continued ‘teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah’.
Their courage is quite staggering and I think can be attributed to three things.
Firstly, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. When Jesus left his disciples, he promised they would not be abandoned orphans, but would be sent the Spirit to live in them. We have this same Spirit living in us – the Spirit of God who gives strength, peace, and courage to be his witnesses.
Secondly, they were utterly convinced by their message and they knew the world desperately needed to hear it. As we carry out acts of generosity through this Lent, let’s remember the most valuable gift we can give anyone is an introduction to Jesus.
Thirdly, they were far more concerned with obeying God than anyone else. They must have had normal human responses to their suffering, but any fear they felt was overridden by a godly fear of the creator of the universe.
We worship the same God today. Does he fill us with awe and command our utmost respect? Or are we more wary of stepping on the toes of our superiors at work, our teachers or professors, or even our colleagues and friends?