April 27, 2025
Pastor Gunnar Ledermann
Acts 5:12, 17–32
Acts 5:12, 17–32
12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 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. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together 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 went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.
25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “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.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Making it up the ninja warrior warped wall at Harry Myers Park is a feat. If you and some friends saw one of your friends make it up the wall, you would tell others. Some might be impressed, but some might get jealous. The jealous group might tell you to stop talking about it and even force you out of the park.
The disciples had seen the miraculous ministry of Jesus. They saw Jesus preach, teach and heal people. They had travelled with him for three years watching him face opposition from people in his hometown and from those seen as experts in Scripture with his words. Whether rich, poor, educated, outcast, violent, etc. Jesus was always ready, prepared and confident in all situations. Then, in an evening and morning the One who had been there for them and called them to follow him was crucified. And for the next two days, they locked themselves behind closed doors because they had seen how fast and violent the people became. They feared a whole city would associate them with Jesus and turn on them. They were feeling a wide range of emotions like fear, guilt, worry, anxiety, loss, pain, sadness, frustration, etc. Certainly, they knew spending the rest of their lives locked up did not make sense. It would not be practical to stay that way forever, but it was what they had in the moment. They felt safe locked up, and when they heard others share that Jesus had come back it was too much. Too much had happened for them to take seriously the reports. They knew what they saw and felt. Then, he stood among them as we read in our Gospel reading from John 20,
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Jesus knew all that was in their hearts and minds. He knew what their logic and feelings of loneliness, loss, misplaced trust and abandonment had brought them to do. He also knew how startling it would be for them to see him appear alive behind locked doors and for someone who was dead to be alive. Jesus knew they felt there was no way to climb out of their situation until he said, “Peace be with you!” And he repeated himself knowing they needed peace. They needed to hear peace that was real, established and true. Jesus provided that for them. He stood with them the same Jesus but having overcome death and hell. He stood there as the resurrected Jesus, the victorious one, who would be with them always and it is for that reason those men were sent.
Jesus freed his disciples from being behind locked doors. Jesus did that for them on the first Easter and he continued to be with them in our Old Testament reading from Acts chapter 5. This time they had not locked themselves behind doors in fear. Instead, the religious leaders locked them up in jealous fear. Afraid to lose their influence, but also afraid of the apostles’ approval rating among the people, they did not punish them as they had Jesus. But God would not have his witnesses caged and the Lord sent an angel to free Peter and the other disciples now called ‘apostles’ or ‘those sent’ from being locked in jail. Then the angel gave them direction in our Old Testament reading from Acts 5,
20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
The men were freed by God from all that stood against them and in that freedom, they were the ones to go set others free.
We have not experienced what the apostles experienced. You and I did not walk with Jesus, did not hear his words from his own mouth, did not see the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, the demon possessed freed from torture and we did not see Jesus betrayed, hung on the cross, his empty tomb, his peirced hands and feet with holes in them and his plate cleared after eating fish. We have not been jailed because we have spoken boldly about Jesus’ resurrection. Yet we are often caged, locked up and imprisoned. We hear the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, sing hymns, dress up, make sure we show up for Easter Sunday as it is more important than the other Sundays, fill our mouths with Easter treats, then our freedom ends. We take the keys back from Jesus and lock ourselves up. Rather than obey Jesus’ call to freedom, we obey other people’s call to fear. We are locked up and afraid because we put the pressure on ourselves to share Jesus. And we hand other people the keys to lock us up when we obey their jealous fear of Jesus dethroning them as the god of their life. The desire to share Jesus with others does not start with you nor is the power yours to bring others to believe. We cower in fear, or we argue with other people, when the foundation of our witness to others is a human argument or guilt.
Jesus is the foundation of our witness. God powerfully raised Christ from the dead and he has given you faith in him. Our mission to tell others about Jesus is from God as we hear in our Old Testament reading from Acts 5,
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
The apostles’ message was not an earthly one. It was not followers of the martyr Jesus hoping to condemn the Sanhedrin to gain political power over the region from the Romans. This was not a political, social or moral movement. They were followers of the resurrected Jesus seated at the right hand of the one true God who grows his heavenly kingdom with the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The authority to declare this truth was the resurrected Jesus. The apostles’ weapons were words and their witness, not force or fear. Jesus showed up proving no locked door, no doubt, no threat from society, no threat from the devil and hell stood in his way. When we retreat into ourselves denying our guilt, need, worry we are not enough, worry we are alone, unloved, not truly known, Jesus rose from the dead for the forgiveness of our sins. That is the foundation for your life.
Christianity is not an activist movement to change the world. The apostles went to the last place you would expect them to go to preach Jesus, the center of Jewish worship at the Temple in Jerusalem where the leadership would clearly see them. They did this in obedience to Jesus. Filled with love, they followed Jesus’ command to witness. Christianity is a witness to the resurrected Jesus who changes hearts and rescues people from worldly pointless causes to eternal life. The last living apostle, John, was exiled on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea off the coast of modern Turkey for sharing Jesus, but God gave him the revelation that Jesus remains the victorious risen Savior filled with glory and power present with his people gathered throughout the world and time as we read in our New Testament reading from Revelation 1,
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Again, decades later, Jesus must put John’s fears to rest when he sees him. The encouragement also remains that Jesus holds the power over death as the resurrected Savior. No one compares to Jesus, and he is the one you get to tell others about.
Opposition will be there when you share Jesus. Opposition may come from your spouse who does not believe or may be too tired to listen, from your kids who want to watch a show or run around at the park, from your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, teammate, neighbor, online, etc. who have all kinds of ways to tempt you into locking Jesus away. Remember this, Jesus showed up, he showed up raised from the dead and he shows up for you. Your desire to share him does not come from your sinful human heart, but from God. As the apostles said in Acts 5,
29 … “We must obey God rather than human beings!”
Obeying God’s call happens after being in his presence in the Word of God. Called to repentance, filled with the assurance of his forgiveness and love, certain of Jesus’ resurrection and at peace, you are ready to share Jesus.
If you saw one of your friends make it up the ninja warrior warped wall at Harry Myers Park, you would tell others. Some might celebrate the victory, but others might get jealous and angrily force you out of the park. Jesus’ resurrection is far more impressive making the opposition far more intense. The apostles were eager to share Jesus and even in the face of opposition said, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” Jesus rose from the dead freeing us from sin, death and hell, giving us forgiveness, eternal life and purpose. At peace and confident because God freed you, go free others sharing Jesus’ resurrection. Amen.
