City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

“And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.” –Acts 5:42 ESV

Read Acts 5:12-42 for context

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” –Romans 1:16-19 ESV

Aisha’s Analysis

Today’s verses show us that God is gracious in making the truth plain to us, yet it is the unrighteous of the world who suppress the truth. That is clearly depicted in our passage in Acts today (Acts 5:12-42).

While the Lord publicly affirmed the preaching of the Gospel through many signs and wonders (Acts 5:12), the high priest and Sadducees were filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles, and put them in prison (Acts 5:17-18). 

Even so, an angel of the Lord released the apostles from prison and told them to continue preaching in the temple (Acts 5:19-20). 

While this act of civil disobedience perplexed the high priest and the council, Peter and the apostles plainly told them: 

“We must obey God rather than men.” –Acts 5:29

He then proceeded to preach the Gospel to them (Acts 5:30-32), which enraged them to the point of wanting to kill them (v. 34). 

While the apostles were not killed that day (thanks to Gamaliel’s more passive spectator approach–Acts 5:34-39), they were subjected to a humiliating public beating and charged not to speak in the name of Jesus, were released, and they rejoiced to suffer dishonor for the name and went right on preaching the Gospel (Acts 5:40-42).

What does this show us? Preaching the Gospel does not come without consequences, but it also comes with incredible fruit and a closeness with Christ that could not be achieved any other way:  

¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. –Philippians 3:10-11 ESV

Knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection comes with sharing in His sufferings, and that’s not a bad thing. I’m sure the apostles did not enjoy getting beat and being publicly shamed. That’s not an inherently pleasant experience. However, they rejoiced in response. How is that possible? Because in being punished for preaching the Gospel, they were aligning themselves with Christ regardless of the consequences that came with it, and everybody knew it! They were planted in plain sight for such a purpose. 

This is far different from Gamaliel’s approach. He recognized the apostles might very well be preaching the truth straight from Heaven, but he chose to sit back, relax, and see what happens from a safe distance. He had no skin in the game. Nothing to risk or lose.

The apostles’ stake was insurmountably higher. They were all in, and they counted that an honor. Their hope in Christ and trust in His worthiness is what propelled them to rejoice in the face of pain and humiliation and helped to foster their own sense of worthiness in response. 

Worthiness comes from seeing the worth of following Christ. 

Application

When it comes to your relationship with Christ, do you have any skin in the game? Are you a spectator watching from a safe distance or are you in the arena fighting for your life? Preaching the Gospel does come with accompanying signs and wonders, but it also comes with opposition from people who are not willing to see or accept the truth. 

Today, honestly ask yourself how you can put yourself on the line for Christ. Preach the Gospel in the way you live your life and use words when necessary. Also, be wary that this will not come without a cost. Even so, following Christ is worth it. 

Prayer

Father God, I thank You for transforming my heart to align with You and Your ways. I’m grateful to be Your child, not only for the great rewards it brings, but mainly because I get to be with You no matter the cost. Lord Jesus, thank You for Your great sacrifice to bring me into God’s Kingdom. In knowing You, I share in Your sufferings, but I also experience Your resurrection power. What an honor! In Jesus’ name, amen.