In chapter 5, some of the apostles had been arrested and put in jail for preaching the gospel. During the night, an angel of the Lord appeared and opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. Instead of running away to safety, what did they do? The angel directed them to "Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life."
Two things stood out to me in the rest of the story.
1. Did the guards and priests not wonder how ridiculous it is that these men were arrested for preaching Christ's resurrection, but went about preaching it again in plain sight upon their escape? This should trigger major questions like what exactly are these apostles preaching about? What if there's more to this Christ than what we think?
This shows how difficult it is to evangelize to people who aren't seeking. We can't provide them with answers to questions they're not looking for. We can only pray and live out our lives hoping to provoke questions by being radical like the apostles. Francis Chan says "Something is wrong if our lives make sense to nonbelievers."
2. I'm jealous of the power these apostles had. Having been with Christ firsthand, the aggressiveness and boldness of the apostles is unmatched.
chap 4 vs 13 says "When they (sanhedrin) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
We take the easy way out, saying the apostles were so powerful b/c they were with Christ firsthand, and accepting that we can't be as influential as them. But Christ says, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." If we at least try to tap into this eternal power at our fingertips, maybe we'd be as influential and impactful for His Kingdom. If we don't even try though, we waste that amazing resource.
Finally at the end of chapter 5, it says, "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." I can't imagine this scene: a bunch of apostles rejoicing upon being flogged. How is that possible? How are they doing this, while I sin against God over and over? I pray that God brings more knowledge and understanding of His nature into my heart, that my love for Him would result in reverence and obedience.
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