Calvary Road Baptist Church
“DELIVERED FOR SERVICE, NOT SAFETY”
Acts 5.17-20
Let me begin by publicly commending the men and ladies who comprise our group of ushers and greeters, who help out visitors and arriving mothers with small children get to where they need to be and provide for our physical safety in too many ways to recount at present. Thank you, men and ladies.
Recognize, however, that they do not make us safe. A proper understanding of the concept is approached using safer, or more safe, rather than safe as an absolute term. This side of us living in hazmat suits to protect us from bacteria or viruses or on a deserted island to protect us from nasty people there is no such thing as safe as an absolute concept.[1] I appreciate them enhancing our level of personal safety.
Go back in time with me to your childhood. How many of you have ridden in the bed of a pickup on a highway? How many of you have ridden on a motorcycle without a helmet or a skateboard without a helmet or pads? How many of you have jumped off the roof of a house. I once climbed up the back of the screen of a drive-in movie at night during a feature film.
Ever seen pictures of steelworkers erecting the Empire State Building ... without safety equipment or harnesses? Ever see a man driving his car with his three-year-old standing behind the steering wheel helping daddy drive the car? Ever see a child riding on dad’s motorcycle? Remember when only race car drivers used seat belts?
Our ideas of safety and risk have changed over the years, have they not? I used to drink water from a garden hose. I used to climb as high up trees as the branches would support my weight. I used to play ball in the street in front of our house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I once jumped from a second-floor apartment into a swimming pool.
Perhaps you have done a few of those things, but how many of you have ever found yourself in a hazardous situation and asked the Lord for deliverance from that danger? Perhaps a car wreck, a house fire, an armed robbery, severe air turbulence in a commercial airliner, or maybe combat?
If you have experienced or imagined physical danger, this is the message from God’s Word for you. You realize I am sure how dangerous the apostles lived in their service to God. But time and time again, the Lord saw fit to deliver His servants out of danger.
I am sure you also remember some of the prophets such as Moses and Elijah and Elisha and Jeremiah and Daniel, to name a few, who went through perilous times. Again, God delivered those choice servants, did He not?
Ours is a God Who can deliver us from danger, is He not? You remember the hymn that goes, “He is able to deliver thee.” That is a wonderful description of the Lord. I don’t know if that hymn is in our Church hymnal, but it is a wonderful song to sing.
With these things in mind, I want to direct your attention to a portion of Scripture that will not only show us an example of God’s wonderful deliverance but will also give us keen insight into the reason God delivers His children.
Turn with me to Acts 5.17-20 and read along with me if you will:
17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
As an aid to understanding this passage, let me divide these verses into two groups. In verses 17 and 18, we will study the detention of God’s servants, the apostles, and in verses 19 and 20, we will learn of their deliverance.
First, LET'S LOOK AT THE DETENTION OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES.
This, in verses 17 and 18 of Acts chapter 5. Let me reread it so that we will become more familiar with the passage:
17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
I want to discuss the identity, the means, and the motive of the detainers, those men who arrested the apostles.
First, their identity. Luke is very clear in his identification of the detainers. They are led by the high priest of the Jewish people. This is Annas, the same high priest who had presided over the illegal and unjust Sanhedrin trial of the Lord Jesus and over the attempted intimidation of Peter and John, in Acts chapter 4. Luke points out that those with Annas were of the sect of the Sadducees. From this description of Annas’ accomplices, we can deduce a great deal about them.
The Sadducean party was a group of men from the higher levels of Jewish society and were, for the most part, those who made up the priestly clan of the Jewish people. As to their religious beliefs, they were religious liberals and modernists. That is to say, they did not believe in a supernatural God, they did not believe in angelic beings, and they did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, which the apostles preached so vehemently because they had witnessed Christ’s resurrection so recently. In short, the detainers were men opposed to God, yet they occupied the official religious positions in Jewish society.
Comparatively little authority and power was actually wielded by Jews since the Roman conquest and occupation which began before the birth of Christ. But what little authority did remain was concentrated in the hands of the religious leaders of the country, these priests and Sadducees. Their official position gave them the means to do what they did to the apostles.
Rome had learned a century earlier that a country is much easier to occupy and control if there is no interference in their religion. So the Jewish religious hierarchy had retained considerable power and prestige in religious matters. They were even allowed to keep their Jewish Temple guards. These Temple guards, originally conceived to protect the order and the sanctity of the Temple area against crackpots, blasphemers and Gentiles, were now being used to lend strong arm power to the intrigue of these Sadducees. The same category of men accompanied the five hundred or so Roman soldiers who escorted Judas Iscariot to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he betrayed the Savior.
When these Temple guards came out and arrested someone in the Temple area, no resistance was tolerated. They had the authority to kill anyone who interfered in the performance of their duty. They arrested the apostles on the orders of the high priest and the Sadducees and detained them in the common prison. Thus, the apostles were put into the same prison as the murderers, thieves, and other common criminals. There was no doubt that the Sadducees meant business. We know from later verses that they intended to try the apostles for some offense, find them guilty, and probably try to arrange for their execution.
But what motive would lead them to such drastic measures? Verse 17 indicates these men were filled with indignation, from the Greek word zelos, which indicates that it was an indignation that is born of jealousy and envy.[2] Something is happening that is provoking these men to jealousy and that something can be found back in verses 12-14 of this same chapter:
12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
The Sadducees were not opposed to the ministry of Jesus Christ nearly so much as they were opposed to the ministry of His disciples. You want to know why? While on earth the Lord concentrated His efforts into the focused training of twelve men, then the discipling of about seventy others, and had a continuous following of between 120-200 people. In a few short weeks, though, His disciples had made over 15,000 converts to faith in Christ, and the number was exploding at an ever-increasing rate.
The position of the do-nothing modernists was being threatened with extinction. According to verse 28, the entire city of Jerusalem was filled with their doctrine. These priests and Sadducees were running scared. Their arrest of the apostles was not the display of powerful men, confident of their control over a situation. No, this was an act of desperation born out of jealousy and fear. Desperate people do desperate things. Who would deny that the apostles’ lives were in mortal danger as long as they remained in that common prison and within the reach of the Sadducees.
But what of the detainees, the apostles? What was their side of this situation?
First, note their identity. You may think it trite to point out that these were the twelve apostles. But remember that this is the first time Luke specifically refers to them being together since that great Day of Pentecost, Acts chapter two. This is all twelve of the divinely chosen witnesses of the resurrection of Christ ... from Peter all the way down to Matthias, chosen to fill the position of Judas Iscariot. Their spiritual adversaries had scooped up the entire band of special emissaries God had chosen to begin preaching the Gospel to the world in one decisive action.
What had God’s men done to merit this arrest, this detention? What was their crime? Their crime, mentioned in verse 12, was to work signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit of God to show the Jewish people that God sent them. Doing this, they would then give witness to the resurrection of Christ from the dead. And, according to verse 14, multitudes responded and received Jesus as their savior, were forgiven their sins, and were given eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Sadducees saw sedition. The apostles knew their actions were the result of sincerity.
What might their reaction have been? How do you think the apostles responded to this unfair imprisonment? After all, while they were in that prison, they were within the Sadducees’ reach and could have been Vince Fostered or Jeffrey Epstein.[3] Some are professing to be Christians on the scene these days who believe that the Christian life is supposed to be a pink tea party, that prosperity is God’s plan and will for all. But they are wrong. They might be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong. The Lord Jesus said that a servant is not above his master and that since He suffered, His disciples would also endure suffering and persecution. Then in First Peter 4.12-13, Peter wrote,
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
The apostles knew that it was not an unusual thing for the child of God to undergo fiery trials at the hands of the enemies of Christ. They understood that exposure to physical danger is an integral part of a Christian’s life. Every genuine group of Christians since the time of Christ has had to suffer persecution, and endure other forms of exposure to physical danger, if they have been in the minority. More often than not, this has been the case since the apostles’ times.
So, these apostles understood the situation. But they trusted their God. They had confidence in His Word, regardless of the circumstances of life.
BUT JUST WHEN THINGS SEEMED THEIR DARKEST, THE DELIVERANCE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES CAME ABOUT.
This is recorded in verses 19 and 20:
19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
Notice, first, the method of deliverance. The apostles were delivered at night. It was so easy for God to do that. As for the means of rescue, the apostles were delivered by the angel of the Lord. This is not the angel of the Lord that we read of so many times in the Old Testament. This is because of the absence of the Greek definite article needed to identify such a special angel. Luke, here, is making the point that the angel is from the Lord and is performing a mission given to him by the Lord, Himself.
The deliverance is similar to Peter’s future deliverance from imprisonment at the hand of Herod, in Acts 12. Though more detail will be given in chapter twelve, the method of deliverance seems strikingly similar. Both times the deliverance of God’s men and then God’s man occurred at night. And both times, deliverance was wrought by the ministry of a holy angel of God.
Note, now, the message of the deliverer. The angel has now brought the twelve apostles out of prison. As much as anyone else would later be, the apostles are amazed and delighted that God would work in such a way in their lives. They expected to die and were willing to die in their service to God. In the future, of course, they would die martyr’s deaths except for John.
But not yet. While they are excited, the angel delivers a message to them. He delivers a message that was somehow so familiar to them all:
“Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”
Do you know what that statement is? That statement is a commission, is it not? It is a commission to preach the Gospel to the people in the Temple. To heed the message delivered to them, the twelve must first Go. The charge was given to each of them to get to it and tell people about the salvation of their souls, just as each of us here has been divinely charged with telling others about Christ.
But the angel did not leave it up to the apostles. Through him, the Lord gave instruction as to how the Gospel was to be given out. He said, “stand and speak in the temple.” The angel’s words are literally rendered, “standing speak in the temple.” This may not seem important to you, but such a method was a real eye-catcher in those days.
Rabbis, in that era, generally taught while seated. Moreover, rabbis did not teach in a biblically authoritative way. Christ’s men, however, were to be different. Christ’s men were to stand amongst the people and authoritatively preach along the lines of “Thus saith the Lord.” They are to declare, “This is what God’s Word says about the Messiah. Never mind about the opinions of the rabbis of days gone by. They were wrong. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One. It is He who died for your sins, and you must repent or face eternal damnation in Hell for your stubbornness.” The message that these men preached, the message of the Gospel, is the one and the only message of life that can be found on this planet. There is none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved.
Now let us consider, for a few moments, the motive for their deliverance. Just why did God deliver those choice servants from certain trial and possible death or torture?
Did He deliver them out of a concern for their personal safety? The answer is, “Yes,” of course, He did, if you believe as many Christians do nowadays. This same group of people tries to make the Bible say that Job’s afflictions resulted from his own sin when the Word of God clearly shows the contrary. This same mentality asserts that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a result of moral failings in his life. Poppycock.
These people, many of whom are quite sincere, are sincerely wrong to say that Jacob’s son Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers because of sin in his life. They hold to the notion that God would not have allowed it to happen if his heart was right with God. The pagan frenzy crowd is so committed to the prosperity gospel that their bias distorts their perception of Scripture. They are so committed to physical healing and personal prosperity that they cannot have sick or persecuted Christians, so they explain things away as the consequence of personal sins.
Did God deliver those twelve men for reasons of personal safety? Your answer to this question will greatly affect your outlook on the Christian life and the way in which God deals with you. Or the way you think He is supposed to deal with you. This question speaks to you and me today, right now. Why does God deliver His children from precarious situations? Will He deliver you or me for reasons of personal safety alone?
Let us allow Acts chapter 5 to answer our question for us, shall we, without imposing on the text our modern notions of what we think God ought to do? The twelve apostles were released. Right? And they went to the Temple to preach the Word of God to the multitudes who were gathered there. What happened next? They were arrested again, according to verses 26 and 27:
26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
According to verse 40, they were then beaten and released. Did God deliver them from prison for reasons of their personal safety? The answer can only be “No,” because He allowed them to be arrested and beaten again on the following day.
If not personal physical safety, then for what reason did God release these men on that particular night? We find, from this example, that God delivers for service, not safety. God delivers for service, not necessarily for safety.
What kind of God do you have for your God? Is He a God Who serves? Or is He a God Who is served? Does God wait upon Christians, or are Christians supposed to wait upon God? Must God keep us safe, or is God’s intention to keep us serving?
Among so many who name the name of Christ in this day and age of carefree and irresponsible Christianity, God is looked upon by many as that great butler in the sky Who just cannot wait to do our bidding. My, how fortunate God is to have us as His children.
What ignorance of reality such an attitude is. But we have seen that attitude over the last two years with congregations and pastors throughout the country who seem to be more committed to personal safety than Christian service.
Is this not a terrible variation of the attitude that sees God as the God Who saves, but that is all? All He does is save a person from Hell, and that is the end of it?
“Thanks, God, for the salvation. I will see ya around. When I get into really bad trouble, or when there is a tragedy in the family, or when I lose my job, then I will be getting back to you. But do not call me. I will call You.”
We need a different attitude about Almighty God, an attitude that reflects Who He is and what the Bible declares to be true. We need to understand that He is the Lord God Almighty, Who is to be served.
Who understood better than the apostles the relationship that should exist between God and one of His children? We are the ones His Son bled and died for on a hill called Golgotha. Should we not serve Him?
Consider some verses written by Christ’s apostles:
Paul writing in Romans 1.1: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.”
Paul writing in Philippians 1.1: “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ.”
Paul writing in Titus 1.1: “Paul, a servant of God.”
Paul writing in Philemon 1: “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ”
James writing in his epistle, 1.1: “James, a servant of God”
Peter, in Second Peter 1.1: “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.”
Jude in verse 1: “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ.”
Are you the kind of person who recognized that God does deliver us from troubles? I hope so, because He is a God of deliverance. Oh, yes, He is.
But should we not also realize that He delivers us out of the hand of the enemy that we might serve Him? I hope you realize this truth, as well.
If you do not, then it will always be difficult for you to conceive of God as being more than a glorified bellhop. And He is so much more than that. He is the Great God in Heaven. He is the One to be served with joy by the child of God.
Are you serving Him with joy? Are you serving Him today? If not, there are three possible reasons for your behavior.
Maybe you want to serve Him but do not know how, or you do not know what capacity you could be used in by God. If I am speaking to your situation, would you surrender your life to service for God? You and I need to talk.
The second possibility is that you are a child of God who does not desire to serve the God Who saved you. You may think that you have good reasons. You may think that you are justified in your failure to serve Him. But you are wrong. The Bible says that we have been created in Christ to do good works after we have been saved.
No matter the reason, a person sins against God by refusing to serve Him. Let us sit down so I can show you from God’s Word what He wants you to do to have real joy in your Christian life.
If these two reasons do not fit you, then your lack of service might be attributed to an even more serious problem than ignorance or a cold heart. You might not serve God because you are not saved.
The Bible says that all are born sinners and that not one of us is without sin. You know this to be true, don’t you?
The Bible also says that God will punish everyone for his sin. That punishment will be eternal torment in Hell and then the lake of fire. There are a great many people who deny Hell. But no matter how strongly they deny Hell, God’s Word affirms its existence in plain and straightforward language.
Did you know that there is an alternative open to every person other than Hell? That alternative is heaven. And the way you get to heaven instead of Hell is by receiving Jesus as your personal savior.
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[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/202108/what-s-better-being-completely-safe-or-safe-enough
[2] Darrell L. Bock, Acts - ECNT, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), pages 237-238.
[3] To be Vince Fostered or Jeffrey Epsteined is ab allusion to the profoundly suspicious circumstances or both mean’s death, purported to be suicides by authorities but thought by many to have been political assassinations.
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