Acts 5: 17 “Then the high priest rose up, along with all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees. They were filled with jealousy, 18 and they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying, 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
21 At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin —the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report: 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
Remember the Sadducees? The Sadducees were the aristocratic Jewish rulers who had absorbed humanistic teachings to the point that they did not believe in an afterlife or in the resurrection of the dead. In addition, the Sadducees were the the group who interacted most closely with the ruling Roman hierarchy. Part of the motto of the Sadducees could have been “go along to get along.” The Sadducees wanted to remain as quiet sophisticates, manipulating the general population behind the scenes. The very last thing the Sadducees wanted was undue attention from the Romans. The Romans had reduced ruling difficult groups of people to a grisly science, and part of their strategy was to identify trouble makers and get rid of them as expeditiously as possible. If a horrible example could be made to discourage others from outlandish behavior, so much the better. The balance of power was extremely delicate, and the Sadducees realized this. For the Sadducees, this new sect preaching that Jesus the carpenter’s son from Galilee had risen from the dead was heresy and a dangerous heresy at that! But then there were the miracles! If ONLY these crazy people would just quit healing the blind, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, and the lepers! If ONLY they would cease casting out demons! Why, such behavior was scandalous! (The Sadducees conveniently overlooked the fact that the prophet Isaiah had foretold all of these things.) There HAD to be some way of intimidating these religious fanatics so that they would crawl back into the hills where they had come from! And so the Sadducees arrested the apostles – at least the eleven plus Matthias, and perhaps even more followers than than that! Jails being what they were in those days, everybody was probably thrown into one cell together. Can you imagine the conversations? “Hey, buddy! Why are you guys here? Aren’t you the ones who have been healing people?” “Sir! Sir! I’ve had a crippled leg all my life. Do you think you could help me? Oh WOW! I can walk! Thank you!” Whether or not they wanted it, the disciples probably found themselves preaching and teaching and healing right there in the Jerusalem jail. Instead of intimidating the disciples, the Sadducees had just provided them with lots more opportunities to witness one on one to some of the people who probably needed their message the most!
About 2 A.M. when everybody was sound asleep, the disciples suddenly heard a low melodious voice, “Friends, arise from your sleep!” Waking, the disciples were stunned to see a eight – foot tall man in glowing robes opening the jailhouse doors and beckoning to them. The other prisoners continued to sleep. As the disciples walked quietly out of the prison, they passed the prison guards, but the guards behaved as if there was nobody there. Peter looked at John and John looked back at Peter and shrugged his shoulders. If this was a dream, they were all sharing the same dream! Quietly the angel led the disciples out into the street and around to the teaching steps on the south side of the temple. “Wait here,” the angel instructed. “In the morning, return to the temple courts and tell the great things God has done for you. Jesus says to tell these people the full message of this new life.” Peter turned to pull his cloak up a little further, and when he turned back, the angel was gone.
“Well, friends,” said Peter, “I guess we all have our orders. Let’s see if we can find shelter in a corner and get a few more hours of sleep. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us!”
Do such escapes really happen? Yes, they do. In the days when Bibles had to be smuggled into Communist countries, there were many stories of people carrying suitcases full of Bibles who were ignored completely by border guards. Other Christians told of friendly strangers who would suddenly appear, conduct them to their meeting places, and then disappear as mysteriously as they had come.
Why did God bless the disciples with such a wonderful deliverance? The disciples needed to know that God was really with them. The early church had no traditions, only the teachings of Jesus and the Jewish scriptures. Those people needed the assurance that God really would care for them and could even deliver them from locked cells. At the same time, God was probably trying to get through to the Sadducees. Even though the Sadducees were more politicians than religious leaders, there may have been many who secretly longed for a real experience of the one true living God. God is very economical; in any given situation, He is trying to reach as many different groups of people as possible. Who knows how many of those prisoners may have become Christ followers that night or the next morning when they realized that the disciples had disappeared?
Do you need a touch from God in your life? Do you feel as if you have been stuck in a dry religious rut with no sign of holiness or of the power of a righteous God? God does not play favorites! Nobody can predict how God will act, but one thing we can definitely say: God is still a miracle – working God who desires intimate friendship with us. Find a quiet place. Open your heart, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you pray.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we come to you begging for you to make yourself real in our lives! Lord, come in your might and your power and speak to our hearts. We are waiting for you to guide us. Help us to know your still small voice and to recognize your messages of love to us. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
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