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 teaching 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 him 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” (Acts 5:27-32).
We must obey God rather than human beings . . .
Talk about a literal 180. These are the same guys who ran away from the soldiers in the dead of night, abandoning their Lord? These are the same guys who had been hiding behind locked doors for fear of the very religious leaders they now boldly called out for killing Jesus? Really?
What changed?
Pentecost. Pentecost changed everything for these once-timid apostles who now preached Christ Jesus as Prince and Savior to bring people to repentance and assure them of the forgiveness of sins won for them by Jesus.
Or, to be more precise, what happened on the Day of Pentecost changed everything for these once-timid apostles. God the Holy Spirit came, just as Jesus promised he would. He came to create and strengthen faith through the preaching of the gospel message. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples with courage and strength so that they preached boldly to those who needed to hear a message of repentance, turning their hearts back to a loving and faithful God.
The apostles were witnesses of everything that had happened to Jesus. They saw their resurrected Lord with their own eyes. They saw him ascend back into heaven. They heard him promise that he would be with them always, to the very end of the age.
What other message could they preach? How could they possibly keep silent, even when they were given strict orders and harsh punishments to prevent them from teaching the people about Jesus and what he had done for them?
How can we?
So often, I act with timidity. I’m not afraid of the threat of persecution that the apostles and the early Christians faced for preaching in Jesus’ name. No, the persecution has changed for Christians living in the 21st-century in the United States. Now persecution comes from indignant, even hostile, reactions on social media, in our workplaces, our schools, and from our friends and neighbors . . . even from our family members.
It’s so much easier—so much safer—to keep quiet, to remain a silent face in the crowd of obscurity and anonymity, than it is to speak up and share the gospel message.
That message might ostracize us. It might get us ridiculed and mocked by friends, peers, and family. It might even shatter relationships beyond repair. But it’s the message that the people in our lives so desperately need to hear. We know, because we know what that lifesaving good news means to us.
We must obey God rather than human beings . . .
Dear Christian, you are not alone. God the Holy Spirit who was with the apostles, strengthening faith in their hearts through the means of grace in Word and sacrament, is the same God who is with you even now. He strengthens your faith and gives you courage and boldness to speak too. He does the same for me—and all believers.
When we fail to speak, as we inevitably will, God the Holy Spirit directs us through the means of grace to our Savior Jesus, bringing us to repentance and assuring us that all our sins are forgiven. He then empowers us to go and try again, relying on him and his strength and resting assured in the unbreakable promise that he will be with us wherever we go. Always.
Some people say Christians don’t pay enough attention to the Holy Spirit. The book Holy Spirit: The Giver of Life sets the record straight by letting him speak from his own book, the Bible. Topics include who the Holy Spirit is, his work in Old and New Testament times, spiritual gifts, and how Christians honor the Holy Spirit. After reading this book, you’ll have a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and what he does!
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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