14 Counted Worthy to Suffer

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Hymns: RHC 567 Follow Me 408 Take My Life and Let Me Be 407 Jesus Calls Us

Acts 5:30-42

30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. 33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. 34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; 35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. 40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Counted Worthy to Suffer

OUTLINE

  • A Reasonable Cause (v30-33)
  • A Reasonable Defence (v34-39)
  • A Reasonable Response (v40-42)

INTRODUCTION

Acts 5:30-42 – Counted Worthy to Suffer. There was a man of God called Lawrence lived in the third century A.D. made this reasonable remark concerning Christian service and ministry.

He said, “Are you laying a featherbed for me,
No that shall not be; My Lord was stretched on a hard and painful tree.[1]
He brings us to the realism of the Christian ministry. 

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 16:24-28 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

To deny self is not the same as self-denial; it means to yield to His control so completely that self has no rights whatever. 

To take up the cross means the willingness to endure shame, suffering, and perhaps martyrdom for His sake; to die to sin, self, and the world. 

To follow Him means to live as He lived with all that involves of humility, poverty, compassion, love, grace, and every other godly virtue.

The Lord anticipates two hindrances to discipleship. 

The first is the natural temptation to save oneself from discomfort, pain, loneliness, or loss. 

The other is to become ensnared by hoarding of material things of this life. 

As to the first, Jesus warned that those who hug their lives for selfish purposes would never find fulfilment; those who recklessly abandon their lives to Him, not counting the cost, would find the reason for their existence.

The second temptation—that of getting rich—is irrational. 

“Suppose,” said Jesus, “that a man became so successful in business that he owned the whole world. This mad quest would absorb so much of his time and energy that he would miss the central purpose of his life. What good would it do to make all that money, then die, leave it all behind, and spend eternity empty-handed?” Man is here for bigger business than to make money. He is called to represent the interests of his King. If he misses that, he misses everything.

In verse 24, Jesus told them the worst. That is characteristic of Christianity; you know the worst at the outset. But you never cease discovering the treasures and the blessings.

Now the Lord reminds His own of the glory that follows the suffering. He points forward to His Second Advent when He will return to earth with His angels in the transcendent glory of His Father. Then He will reward those who live for Him. The only way to have a successful life is to project oneself forward to that glorious time, decide what will really be important then, and then go after that with all of one’s strength.

The disciples have arrived at an eternal perspective of this earthly life. They were willing to give their all to the service of the Lord.

Jesus also promised that His authority and power will help them to prevail.

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

…and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

Jesus is giving the analogy of the city whereby the judges sat at the gates and gave judgment. Wisdom and power was in the gates, the authority is vested in the hands of the man at the gate. He has the power of admit whosoever into the city by virtue of his vested authority. 

“The gates of hell shall not prevail against it…” is a term alluding to the evil forces and power of Satan may attack the church but that shall never destroy the people of Christ – church, alluding to the invincibility of the church. All the power and policy of the devil and his instruments shall not be able to overturn this truth. The church is up against the organized demonized forces of hell. We are not wrestling with flesh and blood but principalities and powers. 

And they have strong and wicked beliefs as we saw how Jesus exposed the leaven or false doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees. You cannot kill them with a bullet. The only thing that will destroy a lie is the truth. And we are in a spiritual battle. 

The Solid Rock (RHC 317)

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Refrain:

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.

Three thoughts:

  • A Reasonable Cause (v30-33)
  • A Reasonable Defence (v34-39)
  • A Reasonable Response (v40-42)
  • A Reasonable Cause (v30-33)

30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. 33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. 

Previously the apostles had prayed for boldness to speak the word. Now with courage from above, they insist that their obligation is to obey God rather than men. They flatly declare that Jesus had been raised up by God, that Israel had murdered Him by hanging Him on a tree, but that God had exalted Him to His right hand—a Prince and Savior. As such He was willing to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. As a final thrust, the apostles add that they are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God gives to those who obey Him by believing on His Son.

God raising up Jesus (v30) may refer to His Incarnation or His resurrection. The probable meaning here is that God raised Him up, in Incarnation, to be the Saviour.

  • A Reasonable Defence (v34-39)

34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; 35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. 

Deep conviction accompanied the words of these embodied consciences—so deep that the rulers of the Jews plotted to kill them. At this juncture Gamaliel intervened. He was one of the most distinguished of Israel’s rabbis, and the teacher of Saul of Tarsus. His advice does not indicate that he was a Christian or that he was even pro-Christian. It was simply worldly wisdom.

After having the apostles taken from the room, he first reminded the Sanhedrin that if this movement were not of God, it would soon collapse. 

Two illustrations of this principle were offered: 

(1) Theudas, a self-styled leader with about four hundred revolutionaries, who was slain and whose men were scattered; 

(2) Judas of Galilee, another fanatic, who stirred up an abortive sedition among the Jews, but who also perished, and whose followers were dispersed.

If this Christian religion were not of God, the best thing would be to leave it alone, and it would soon fade out (v38, 39). To combat it would only make it more determined to survive. (This argument is not altogether true. Many godless institutions have flourished for centuries. In fact, they have gained more adherents than the truth. But the argument is true in God’s time, if not in man’s.)

On the other hand, Gamaliel continued, if the movement were of God, they would not be able to overthrow it, and they would be found in the awkward position of fighting against God.

(3) A Reasonable Response (v40-42)

40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

This logic appealed to the rulers, so they called for the apostles, ordered them to be beaten, forbade them to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The beating was senseless and unrighteous, the unreasonable reaction of bigoted hearts to the truth of God. 

The command that accompanied the beating was foolish and futile; they might as well have ordered the sun not to shine as to command the disciples to keep silent concerning the name of Jesus!

The beating inflicted on the apostles had two unexpected results (v 41-42). First, it caused them deep joy that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name they loved. Second, it sent them forth with renewed zeal and persistence, daily in the temple and in homes, teaching and preaching Jesus as the Messiah.[2]

So once again Satan outwitted himself.

CONCLUSION

  • A Reasonable Cause (v30-33)
  • A Reasonable Defence (v34-39)
  • A Reasonable Response (v40-42)

[1] Saint Lawrence (c. 258)
Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World. 

[2] William MacDonald, The Believer’s Bible.