The Whole Message

The high priest and his associates, the Sadducees, once again arrested the leaders of the early church for the "crime" of sharing the Gospel. An angel came to free them from prison, telling them to share the whole message.

Acts 5:16-20

¹⁶ Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

¹⁷ But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸ They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail.

¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said,

²⁰ "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life."

Before the age of the Internet, before public address systems, before cars and telephones and electronics, word rapidly spread of the healing power of Jesus through His servants. The message that God was healing even sread outside the boundaries of Jerusalem. The sick and/or afflicted with demon spirits were all being healed. Not some, not a couple, but all.

But the common people were not the only ones to take notice. The high priest of the Jews and the Sadduccees also paid attention, and were filled with jealousy. They were accustomed to receiving all the kudos, but now this upstart Christian movement was stealing all their thunder. The Greek word we translate as "filled" is the picture of a sponge saturated with liquid. In other words, every part of their being was filled with jealousy.

In Proverbs 6:34, the Bible says, "For jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance." Even so, the high priest and the Sadduccees were not going to spare these Christians. As the position of high priest was a political appointment, it is possible that the high priest was someone other than Caiaphus.

The high priest and the Sadduccees were so enraged that these Christians had not heeded the call to stop speaking and preaching in the Name of Jesus that they put them in a public jail. This may have been a different location from the imprisonment of Peter and John since Luke notes it was a public jail.

The disciples were just doing what the Lord had commanded in the Great Commission, yet they were getting in trouble with the authorities! Have you ever felt like everyone was against you? I'm sure the disciples must have.

If that is you today, let these words from Isaiah 54:17 comfort you: "'No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,' declares the LORD." It is your heritage as a child of God, that He will protect you, He will strengthen you, He will comfort you. Also keep in mind that our enemies as Christians are not the people in the world around us; our enemies are dark spiritual forces, principalities and powers, who cannot stand against the cause of Christ!

God will send us helpers, to get us out of bad situations, just as He sent an angel to get the disciples out of theirs. Angels are just ministering servants of the Most High (Hebrews 1:14), even as we should be. We should not call on angels to help, but appeal straight to the throneroom of grace. Else, we might tend to put the servants in God's place, which is idolatry. Idolators have no place in heaven (Revelation 21:8), so we must guard our hearts and our minds.

Then there is what this ministering servant told the disciples: Go! Stand! Speak! And speak the whole message of Life! Even though the disciples may have not wanted to, after spending some time in a nasty public prison, the command from God was to go. Get up off your duff and share the Gospel message. Note that the disciples were not told to hold any of the message aside, for fear of alienating someone. They could have easily put aside the bit about resurrection, so as not to offend the Sadduccees. No, the Lord wanted them. and us today, to share the whole message of life.