Acts 5: 41 “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 “Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. “
It was a horrible story, and every bit of it was true! Islamic militants had captured a Nigerian seminary student in Northern Nigeria. The terrorists were hoping to convert this Christian to Islam; instead, the seminary student just kept telling them about Jesus. Finally, the terrorists gave up and killed the young man because that was the only way they could silence him. This promising young man died praising Jesus! The terrorists may have succeeded in killing this man, but they lost!
How much would we really be willing to give up for the Gospel? In these verses, the disciples were rejoicing that they had been arrested, dragged off to jail, and then humiliated in front of the highest religious leaders in their land. Despite this discouragement, the disciples continued to teach and proclaim Jesus.
Those who heard the disciples were attracted to them for several reasons. First of all, these men had been eye – witnesses to Jesus’ arrest, death, and resurrection. Second, these men had received the Holy Spirit and were now preaching and teaching wisely, winsomely, and compassionately. Nobody hearing these men could deny that they had encountered something marvelous. There was also the evidence of the miracles that were happening wherever these men began praying for people. People were even getting healed merely by being touched by Peter’s shadow.
To understand the impact that the witness of the early believers had, we need to understand the world in which they were living. There were all kinds of gods – the Romans had gods, the Greeks had gods, and then there were all the gods of the other countries around them. But none of these gods was holy. Without exception, all of the pagan gods were corrupt and their worship was deplorable. Contrast that with the early Christians. Many people in Jerusalem had seen Jesus and had heard him teach. Many had recognized Jesus as the Messiah, even if the religious leaders had been able to whip up a mob to howl for Jesus to be crucified. Now here were the intimate friends of Jesus preaching and teaching the same things that Jesus had taught – teachings that satisfied rather than confusing the hearer. Little wonder that many watched the disciples closely. When the disciples were willing to risk everything to keep preaching about Jesus, many may have decided that these men were truly serious; after all, nobody would take on the Sanhedrin unless they were willing to suffer or even to die for their beliefs. So the people of Jerusalem watched and many believed.
We have no idea if any of the Nigerian terrorists had a change of heart after killing that young man, but it is entirely possible. There are recorded cases in Roman times where centurions charged with tormenting Christians chose to believe, stripped off their armor, and joined the Christians in their deaths.
PRAYER: Father God, we grieve for this young man who died witnessing for you! But Lord, at least he stood for you! Lord, give us grace and courage so that we will be willing to stand for you, no matter how many threats come against us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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