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When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:27-32)
Who's the greatest leader you've had in your life? For me, I had two; my dad and my mom. They pretty much taught me all that I know. How to walk, talk, (in two languages, Spanish first), how to behave, how to be polite, and on and on. The list is long, and I am grateful. As leaders, they had my full attention and trust. I would follow them anywhere and do just about anything they asked. And through their leadership and insistence, I attended church religiously until I had my own personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus is my Savior.
As we enjoy Thursday, dear Friend, let's study today's passage. It is interesting that a passage from Acts is the lesson usually reserved for one from the Old Testament. It is an account of what took place in Jerusalem. The disciples, who were arrested and imprisoned and miraculously released, now found themselves before the Sanhedrin questioned by the High Priest, because they had disobeyed the strict orders not to teach in the name of Jesus, and had, according to the high priest, "filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." They feared that preaching about Jesus, especially after His resurrection was only serving to pollute the minds of the people of Jerusalem and might convince them to believe that He had died at the hands of the religious leaders. Hmm.
The apostles answered that they had to obey God rather than human authority; and they also declared that God of their ancestors (Old Testament people) raised Jesus from the dead, and the leaders were the ones who killed Jesus by hanging Him on a tree. Yet, they declared to all, that God exalted Jesus as Leader and Savior, whose gift was repentance of Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
You and I are witnesses to all the great tings that God has done in our lives. In Christ Jesus we have our Leader and Savior. We can and do trust fully in Jesus' leadership. Jesus leads us into life (John 10:10), and He is our Savior, who has taken away our sins. Our calling is to be faithful to God, and to joyfully obey God. As we stressed last week, we do so again this week; we are Easter People. Let's live as such.
PRAYER: Loving God, we confess Jesus as our Leader and Savior. Guide us to faithfulness in our daily lives so that we might also be fruitful. This we pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a faithful witness today!
Eradio Valverde
