The Honour to be Dishonoured

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

This passage this morning is going to be something that's very similar.

We recognize that Jesus, at his resurrection, he ascended to heaven,

and he gives us a command to go out into the battlefield, so to speak,

to proclaim the good news.

He empowers us and equips us with the Holy Spirit to do this.

And we see very quickly that opposition begins to rise.

Persecution is faced by the apostles.

And so certainly there might have been some in this early church

that feared for their lives, feared that they were ill-equipped,

but yet go forward with the power of the Holy Spirit

to continue to proclaim the gospel.

And what we see in this passage is that as a result,

these young Christians receive honor as well to be ambassadors of Christ,

that despite the schemes of the enemy,

they will not overcome the plans of the king.

And so let's turn then to our passage.

Acts chapter 5, starting in verse 17.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

Then the high priest and all his associates,

who were members of the party of the Sadducees,

were filled with jealousy.

They arrested the apostles and put them in public jail.

But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail

and brought them out.

Go and stand in the temple courts, he said,

and tell the people all about this new life.

At daybreak, they entered the temple courts

as they had been told and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived,

they called together the Sanhedrin,

the full assembly of the elders of Israel,

and sent to the jail for the apostles.

But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there.

And so they went back and reported,

We have found the jail securely locked,

with the guards standing at the doors.

But when we opened them, we found no one inside.

On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard

and the chief priests were at a loss,

wondering what this might mean.

And then someone came and said,

Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts

teaching the people.

At that, the captain went with his officers

and brought the apostles.

They did not use force because they feared

that the people would stone them.

The apostles were brought in

and made to appear before the Sanhedrin

to be questioned by the high priest.

We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, he said.

Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teachings

and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.

Peter and the other apostles replied,

We must obey God rather than human beings.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead,

whom you killed by hanging on a cross.

God exalted him to his own right hand as prince and savior

that he might bring Israel to repentance

and forgive their sins.

We are witnesses of these things,

and so is the Holy Spirit,

whom God has given to those who obey him.

When they heard this, they were furious

and wanted to put them to death.

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel,

a teacher of the law,

who was honored by the people,

stood up in the Sanhedrin

and ordered that the men be put outside for a while.

And then he addressed the Sanhedrin.

Men of Israel,

consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.

Some time ago,

Thutis appeared,

claiming to be somebody,

and about 400 men rallied to him.

And he was killed,

and his followers were dispersed,

and it all came to nothing.

After him,

Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census

and led a band of people in revolt.

He too was killed,

and all his followers were scattered.

Therefore, in the present case,

I advise you,

leave these men alone.

Let them go.

For if their purpose or activity

is of human origin,

it will fail.

But if it is from God,

you will not be able to stop these men.

You will only find yourselves fighting against God.

His speech persuaded them.

They called the apostles in

and had them flogged.

And then they ordered them

not to speak in the name of Jesus

and let them go.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing

because they had been counted

worthy of suffering disgrace for the name.

And day after day,

in the temple courts,

and from house to house,

they never stopped teaching and proclaiming

the good news

that Jesus is the Messiah.

This is the word of God.

Will you pray with me again?

Amen.

Oh God,

in you is hidden

all treasure of wisdom and knowledge.

And so Lord,

we ask that you open our eyes

that we may see the wonders

of your word this morning.

That you may give us your grace

that we may clearly understand

and choose to follow after your wisdom.

We pray this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Well, as we begin

to dig into this text,

I think it may be good

to kind of establish a timeline

of where we have come so far

in this book of Acts.

Because we recognize

that all that's happened here

has really only happened

in just a matter of a few days or weeks.

So we have Jesus

who is crucified,

dead and buried for three days.

He rises from the dead.

At the beginning of Acts,

it says that he stayed

with his people for 40 days

before his ascension.

Ten days after the ascension

comes the day of Pentecost

where the apostles received

the gift of the Spirit.

And after this,

we don't have an exact timeline,

but we know that the apostles,

they remained in Jerusalem to preach.

And it was just then

a matter of days,

maybe just weeks,

that it says there's

over 5,000 male Christians.

So we think about that

as families, women, and children.

We may be talking somewhere

in the range of 10,000 new Christians

in the matter of a couple weeks

since the resurrection of Jesus.

And so you can imagine

the sense of jealousy

that these Jewish leaders

must experience.

How do we control these numbers?

How do we push down this movement?

And the answer they come up with

is persecution.

This is what we saw

a few weeks ago in chapter 4.

Peter and John are arrested

and they threaten them

not to go on preaching God's Word.

In our passage today,

this pattern repeats.

Yet, except the intensity

begins to grow.

Because not only are Peter

and John arrested,

but it says in our text

that many apostles are arrested.

At this time,

they're not only threatened

with physical harm,

they are actually beaten

and flogged

in front of the Jewish council.

And so I want us to consider today

this ministry of the apostles.

Thinking,

focusing really on three things.

I want us to focus on the calling,

the message,

and the result.

So let's think first

about the calling

of these apostles.

You know,

we see in the beginning

of this passage

that the apostles are rounded up,

they're arrested,

they're put in jail

for preaching the gospel.

They had been the ones

that had been previously

performing miracles

and now a miracle

is performed to them.

They are the benefactors

where this angel appears

to them in the middle of the night,

opens the prison doors,

leads them out,

instructs them to go back

and to continue preaching

in the temple.

And probably,

if you're like me,

we've read this passage

a number of times.

One thing that kind of stuck out

to me in my study, though,

is these distinct roles

between the angel

and the apostles.

The angel instructs

the apostles to preach,

but the angel

does not do any preaching.

And I wonder

if the apostles,

when this angel

comes upon them,

certainly a novel happening,

if they thought,

why don't you stay with us?

Why don't you come

to the temple

to preach this good news?

Because while their numbers

had grown,

they'd had no success

in being able to preach

to these Jewish leaders.

And so,

let's bring an angel with us.

Certainly,

this makes sense, right?

An angel is a better preacher

than us.

Think about all the times

where an angel appears

in the Bible.

People are frightened.

They're terrified.

They listen,

and they respond.

And so,

let's not just have this angel

involved in this jailbreak.

Let's bring him

into the temple

to preach, too.

Then everyone will recognize

that Jesus truly is

this resurrected Messiah.

But we recognize

this doesn't happen here, right?

Because this isn't

the angel's role.

And we see something

very important here.

Is that the agents

God uses

for spreading the gospel

are not angels,

but men.

You and I

alone

receive this calling

to share this gospel message.

This is what we heard

from all the way back

in the Old Testament,

the prophet Isaiah,

who says that God's

speaking to his people.

You are my witnesses

that I am God.

This is what Peter says

in our own passage

in verse 32.

He says,

we are witnesses

of these things

and so is the Holy Spirit

whom God has given us

that we may obey him.

And so what Peter,

he says in front

of this Jewish council

is almost identical

to what Jesus declares himself

after his resurrection.

He said,

it is written

that the Son of Man,

the Messiah,

will suffer and rise

from the dead

on the third day

and repentance

for the forgiveness of sin

will be preached

in his name

to all nations

beginning in Jerusalem.

He says,

you are witnesses

of these things.

And Luke records again

at the very beginning

of the book of Acts

these similar words

of Jesus

before his ascension.

But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit

comes on you

and you will be my witnesses

in Jerusalem

and in all Judea

and Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

It is man alone

who is anointed

with the power

of the Holy Spirit

for the ministry

of Christ.

And so do we really

recognize this

to be an honor?

to recognize

that each one of us

as believers

anointed by the Holy Spirit

we are better

at proclaiming the gospel

than angels.

You may say,

well,

you've never seen me

try to proclaim the gospel.

I'm not very good.

I don't know what to say.

I fumble through my words.

I'm shy.

I'm scared.

But God says

to us in this passage

we see that Jesus is saying

this is okay.

I recognize

that you are imperfect.

I recognize

that you are flawed instruments.

But we recognize

that the weaker

the instrument

the greater

the honor

of the user.

And so think about it this way.

If you had this contest

to chop down

these two trees

that stood next to each other

and you had one man

who had this brand new

well polished

axe

that's

you know

a very sharp blade

and he had this other guy

with this old

rusted dull axe.

Who would you choose

you think would likely win?

Well the man with the sharp axe

right?

But who would

usually likely get

the most honor

if he were to win?

Well it's the man

with the dull axe

right?

Because he's

he's doing something

that creates

much greater effort.

It requires much

greater effort

in order to

win this contest

against

the sharp blade.

In a similar way

I had a friend

in the states

a number of years ago

who bought a house

and he had

this garden

and he'd to buy

some gardening equipment

for it

and one of the things

he needed to buy

was a lawn mower

but rather than buy

a petrol

or an electric one

he decided he was

going to buy

one of those

old fashioned

push mowers

because in his mind

he thought

well this will

I'll have a greater

sense of accomplishment

if I use this

old mower

than just using

a petrol one

and so I'll have

greatest satisfaction

in keeping my lawn

clean

my grass short.

The reality is

this only worked

for a number of weeks

before we realized

this was a horrible idea.

This requires

way too much effort

on my part

and he went

and bought himself

a petrol lawn mower

but we see here

something very different

in that God

in choosing to use us

as his instruments

has no regrets

in the fact that he calls us

to be his witnesses

because notice this

it is by man

that death

enters into this world

and it is by this God man

that resurrection

comes into this world

and it is also

by man

that this glorious gospel

will be proclaimed.

And so you can probably

imagine

maybe the look

on Satan's face

when he sees these

apostles

these young Christians

these are who you've chosen

to defeat me

in the same way

that maybe Goliath

would have looked at David.

You think

your way

your plan

will succeed

with these individuals

but yet we see

that the power

of God

is glorified

in the insignificance

of his agents

by whom

he will achieve

everlasting victory.

And so know this

that it pleases God

to use you.

It pleases God

to use you

in his mission

in the same way

that it pleases a father

to teach his children

new skills.

Thinking back

my house

in the States

had these big

hickory trees

in the back garden

that in the fall

it would just

in autumn

it would just

dump these

leaves and nuts

all over the garden

and it would take

weeks upon weeks

to blow

and rake

and haul them

to the street.

But one of the

pleasure that it was

for me

when I did this

is when my children

would come outside

and try to help

and they were

small at the time

so not very effective

in raking

or gathering leaves.

In fact

their time outside

with me

slowed down

the progress

of my work.

But it was a blessing

to me

because I

see them develop

this skill

and we were able

to spend

time together.

And so

Charles Spurgeon

he puts it this way

he says

the Lord Jesus

takes great pleasure

in the attempts

of his servants

to seek

and save souls

for they are

learning to be

shepherds

like himself.

And so

we don't need

to be afraid

of our inadequacies

we don't need

to be ashamed

of our poor

track record.

God desires

to use you

and me

for the advancement

of his gospel.

And so

this is the calling

that these apostles

receive.

Notice then

where they are

called to go.

It says in verse 20

to go stand

in the temple courts

tell the people

all about this new life.

We need to understand

that the temple

this was the center

of national

and religious life

for the Jewish people.

It's where they worshipped

it's where they met people

it's where they shared news

it's where teaching

was done.

And so you may think

well the apostles

after the broken eye jail

they've been arrested

a few times now

they may want

to not go

right into

the center

of the temple

to preach

this good news.

Maybe like some

back streets

maybe some

private homes

and be a little

more cautious

about how they

advance the gospel

but the angel

is very clear here

he wants the gospel

to be made known

in the most conspicuous

way possible.

Go where you're

going to have

the greatest impact

where the most

people are going

to hear you.

And so I think

a question for us

is what's the equivalent

of the temple

in our day and age.

Certainly we want

to preach the gospel

in churches

but we know

that the church

is no longer

the center

of Scottish society

so where can we

expect to go?

We cannot expect

everyone in this city

to come through

these doors

that they may hear

the gospel.

It is us

who must take

the gospel

to our city.

And so what does

this look like?

We take the gospel

to our schools

and to our universities.

We share the love

of Christ

with our classmates.

We provide

a hopeful alternative

to the secularism

of academia.

We take the gospel

to our sports teams

and to our clubs.

We share the love

of Jesus

in word and in deed

with those who share

our common interests.

We take the gospel

into the political arena.

We defend

a Christian worldview

from those who seek

to destroy it.

Quite literally

we take the gospel

to the pubs

and to the cafes.

There's no,

I mean,

are they not

what's closest to us

of what the temple was?

Thinking of one

of these test questions

that I had

from the Life in the UK test,

there was tons of questions

about pubs

that I had to study.

What time they open?

How old can you be there?

How late are they served?

Even thinking about culture,

one of the questions

was this,

what is a traditional part

of British culture

that is often used

as a place

for socializing

and entertainment?

The pub.

Where do people go

to worship the idols

of sports and pleasure?

Where do they go

when they're sad

and depressed?

Where do they go

to meet friends

and share news?

Quite honestly,

in my time here

in the UK,

the best place

that I have found

to engage strangers

in conversation

has been the pub.

So I dare say,

if Jesus lived today,

he may spend more time

in the pub

than either you

or I do.

You may say,

yeah, I mean,

this is what Jesus says, right?

He says that the Son of Man

came eating and drinking

and they said,

he's a glutton,

he's a drunkard,

he's a friend

of tax collectors

and sinners.

My point is this,

we need to always

be looking for opportunities

to inject the gospel

into our culture.

Each of us

has different connections

and different backgrounds,

different skills,

different interests,

may we use them

as magnetic points

in which we can connect

with the culture around us.

May the gospel

so infuse our lives

that it overflows

into our activities

and our relationship

that others can't help

but see the Jesus

work in our lives.

And so that brings us

to our second point.

We are called to go.

What is the message

that we take?

Look in verse 20 again.

Go stand in the temples,

in the temple courts,

and tell the people

all about this new life.

I don't think that the ESV

is probably the greatest

translation of this line.

Literally it says

in the Greek

to speak to the people

all the words

of this life.

And that Greek word

for life is capitalized.

So we're not talking

just about any words

of life,

we're talking about

the words of the life.

and it should remind us then

of the beginning

of the gospel of John

which says,

in the beginning

was the word

and the word was with God

and the word was God.

In him was life

and that life

was the light

of all men.

Jesus says this himself

in John 11, 25,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

The one who believes

in me will live

even though they die.

And whoever lives

by believing in me

will never die.

The words of life

that we share then

is the good news

of Jesus.

And this is exactly

what we see Peter do

in front of the Jewish leaders.

He says in verse 28,

we must obey God

rather than human beings.

The God of our ancestors

raised Jesus from the dead

who you killed

by hanging on the cross.

God exalted him

to his own right hand

as prince and savior

that he might bring Israel

to repentance

and forgiveness of sins.

This is the good news

that we share.

That the son of man

made himself nothing.

That he was obedient

to death on the cross

but the grave

could not contain him.

And now we have

a ruler,

a savior who rules

and reigns

and we then

are witnesses

of this marvelous transformation.

From death to life.

From weakness to power.

From shame to honor.

A cursed man on a tree.

Now a saving prince.

At the right hand of God.

And so we recognize

that this savior

he gives,

he comes bearing gifts

of repentance

and forgiveness.

Again the NIV

it says bring,

he brings us to repentance.

In the Greek

it actually says

he gives repentance.

So he's not giving

the opportunity

to repent.

He is actually

giving repentance

as a gift.

It is a gift

of God

when you repent.

repent.

And that literally

means to change

your mind.

God.

And so I think

this is important

because we're talking

about sharing

this good news

but you may not

be one who has

actually received

this good news.

And so it's important

to know

that you do not

need to change

your mind

in order to be

accepted by God.

You don't need

to clean up

your act

in order that God

will be pleased

with you.

No,

God gives you

what you need

in order to be saved.

He gives you

repentance

and forgiveness.

He quite literally

changes your mind

and places you

on the path

of life

turning you away

from the path

of destruction.

Because a dead man

can't make himself

alive.

He must be given

these words

of life.

And we see

that this offer

of life

is given

to the very men

who nailed Jesus

to that cross.

And so that

same message,

that same offer

of repentance

and forgiveness

is extended

to you as well.

And so I urge you

to receive

this gift,

to turn

from your evil ways

to believe

in the saving work

of Jesus,

to receive

the gift

of the Holy Spirit

that your sins

may be cleansed

and you may walk

in obedience

to God.

This gift

of salvation

is grace.

It is grace

from beginning

to end.

And so for those

of us who have

received this gift,

do we go

through our day

with this sense

of urgency

that when we look

around all those

around us,

our classmates,

our co-workers,

those we pass

on the street,

that those

that don't know

Christ are dead

in their sins

and deserving

of eternal punishment.

that's really

a sobering reality.

And I think

oftentimes

we may try

to ignore it

or it makes

it difficult

for us

to share

this truth.

But notice

what the angel

says in his commands.

He says,

speak to the people

all the words

of this life.

And so that

includes making

known the bad news

so that people

will be attracted

to the good news.

Without the reality

of death,

there is no need

for Jesus' life.

And so we don't

preach a gospel

of improvement.

We don't preach

a gospel of trying harder.

We preach a gospel

of resurrection.

We preach

that Jesus came

to save hopeless

and helpless sinners

like you and me.

And that brings us

to our final point then.

What's the result

when we are faithfully

proclaimed this message?

Well,

if we've never read

this passage before

and we hear about

this angel coming

and releasing

the apostles from prison

and he tells them

to go preach

in the temple,

we may think

something big

is going to happen here.

This angel knows

more than what we do here.

So likely something

is going to change.

These religious leaders

are going to,

their eyes are going

to be open.

They're going to recognize

who the one true

Lord and Savior is.

But what we see

is quite opposite,

right?

When they hear

the gospel proclaimed,

their hearts only grow harder

in the desire

to kill the apostles.

So you may be left asking,

well,

why didn't it work?

Did the power

of the gospel fail?

Did Peter not speak

the right words?

Did he not have enough

power and conviction

in how he spoke?

The message didn't seem

to have its intended effect.

But then we arrive

at the very end

of our passage

in verse 41 and 42.

And we see that

the apostles

left the Sanhedrin

rejoicing because

they had been counted

worthy of suffering

disgrace for the name.

Day after day

in the temple courts

and from house to house,

they never stopped

teaching and proclaiming

the good news

that Jesus is the Messiah.

We see that

the immediate result

of gospel proclamation

was not the conversion

of sinners,

but the persecution

of saints.

And this is what led them

to boldness

in their faith.

So we may think,

well, this is,

we always want to find

points of application

in a sermon, right?

But we don't face

persecution like this.

Our lives,

our physical health

is not at risk.

I mean, at the very worst,

what do we experience?

Awkwardness?

An abrupt end

to a conversation?

Not persecution.

And I think that

we need to ask the question,

well, why not?

Because if we look

over the arc

of the history

of the church,

it's been marked

by bloodshed

and persecution.

I mean, Christ said

that the Christian life

is hard,

that you need to be,

expect to be mocked

and despised.

And so why do we

in our day and age

face this relative peace?

I wonder if it's,

we experience

so little conflict

between the church

and societies

because oftentimes

there's so little difference

between the two.

Is the church,

are we simply content

to teach

and proclaim morality?

Or do we

willingly proclaim

the offense

of the cross?

As Christians,

are we just so often

just wanting to fit in?

Or are we willing

to stand out

and be distinct

for our faith?

And I know

in this culture,

we can be very

conflict-averse.

We don't want

to rock the boat.

We want to go along

to get along.

But what if we

realize the blessing

and the benefit

that came through

persecution?

This is what Jesus

said on the Sermon

on the Mount

in Matthew 5.

He said,

Blessed are you

when people insult you

and persecute you

and falsely say

all kinds of evil

against you

because of me.

Rejoice and be glad

because great

is your reward

in heaven.

For in the same way

they persecuted

the prophets

who were before you.

And so we see

there's great blessing

and benefit

that comes from

persecution.

We see this

as we continue on

in the book of Acts.

How is there benefit

in persecution?

It leads believers

to pray and to praise.

We recognize that

we are not

on our own

in this task.

We have the power

of the Holy Spirit,

the presence

of Christ's Spirit

himself who is with us.

So maybe long

for it in prayer.

We see that it

helps believers

recognize the

sovereignty of God.

Conversion isn't

dependent on our efforts.

It is God

who draws people

to himself.

And so as we

share this good news

we don't need to be

worried about the results

because God will save

who he wills.

We see also

that persecution

allows believers

to stand in solidarity

with Christ's sufferings.

Because this is what

Jesus said.

He said if they

persecuted me

they're also going

to persecute you.

He calls us

to take up our cross

and follow after him.

I think

ultimately what we see here

is that persecution

leads to the growth

of the church.

Tertullian who was

a second century

church father

who lived when

persecution

toward Christians

may have been

at its height

when believers

were beaten

and whipped

and sawed

in half

and thrown

into fire

and fed to lions

is he who said

the blood of martyrs

is the seed

of the church.

and so

do we truly

want to see

the church grow?

What if we were

to pray

for persecution?

That we may

have the courage

to step out

of our comfortable

little Christian

bubbles

and joyfully

and eagerly

share the good news

of Jesus

even in the midst

of opposition.

because just like

that black prince

who received

honor through

victory

in a battle

that seemed

to be lost

may we respond

with the same

level of courage

and commitment

that we can say

and respond

just as these

apostles did

that we may

receive honor

that it may be

an honor

to be dishonored

and a grace

to be disgraced.

A bit of irony

in the story

in this passage

that we read

today

is that

truth

that we see

actually comes

from this

Pharisee

Gamaliel.

He opposed

this Christian

movement

but it's

interesting

what he urges

the Jewish

leaders

he says

leave these

men alone

let them go

for if their

purpose or activity

is of human

origin

it will fail

but if it's

from God

you will not

be able

to stop

these men

and to that

we can say

a hearty

amen

because we

fight from

a position

of victory

the battle

has already

been won

and so

may God

receive

his glory

may we

share in

his honor

as we seek

to advance

his kingdom

do you