Acts 5:17-32
But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
We were enjoying steam engine train ride on a recent trip. The countryside was gloriously beautiful. The vistas were remarkable. The weather was wonderful. Then a particularly annoying person interfered with our view. She decided to stand on the side of the railroad car and take a video for 20 minutes of the most beautiful portion of the trip. She obscured the view of those on the far side of the railroad car, and gave the people in the seat facing her a not-so-lovely view of the south side of her north-facing body. Her demeanor and generally obnoxious presence was particularly annoying.
I took it as a lesson in the love and grace of God. He loves us all – obnoxious or gracious. He embraces the lovely and the rude. Sometimes it’s the obnoxious person who spoils our view. Sometimes it is the person in the mirror who is more obnoxious than we realize.
Today, however, when I read this portion of Acts, I realize there is an even greater lesson for me. For obnoxious people may be annoying. But there is a whole next level of annoying obnoxiousness. It is displayed by the high priest and his cohort against the apostles. He is not just obnoxious. He is obstreperous. He is not just obstreperous, he is adamantly opposed to the message of Jesus, and will do whatever is necessary to shut down the growth of the early church.
Satan won’t succeed. For the Apostles are freed from prison by divine intervention. And not only this, God sends the apostles right back into the temple to preach the message of Jesus! All this, knowing that the opposition to this message will not relent and there will be more trouble for the apostles. When challenged again, Peter offers this remarkable witness: We must obey God rather than man.
I wonder whether my most annoying person is a gift from God to remind me that there are greater obstacles to preaching the gospel. I’m taking this as a lesson to do whatever I can to prevent Satan from distracting me from God’s call to love him first, and to love my neighbor (even obstreperous neighbors) as myself. This calls me beyond annoyances and petty frustrations to reflect the love and grace of Christ to all.
David Bahn - Reflections 
Leave a comment