Day 20: Acts 4:1-4
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
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How radical is the message of resurrection?
It seems like the news that God has defeated death, is alive and well, and is redeeming the world through His chosen Messiah is good news that everyone should be excited to hear–unless of course you were some of the people who were already in power and who had already rejected resurrection and condemned that Messiah. If you were one of those people, you might feel like this new movement was a threat to everything that you believed and taught.
In our scripture reading today we find Peter and John being thrown into jail because of this message. Resurrection is the belief that God is going to restore and redeem everything that has gone wrong in the world. For those longing for redemption this is very good news indeed, but for those already in power this is very threatening. It appears, like almost everywhere the disciples go with this message, there are riots and great upheaval.
What has changed in the last 2,000 years? Have we grown so used to the idea of resurrection that we have forgotten how radical a message it really is? Have we softened and individualized the message so much that those in power don’t feel threatened?
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Justin Lewis | Facilities Director/YAMs Pastor, Lima Community Church