Acts 5:27-33

Acts 5:27-33

When the court officers had brought the Apostles in

and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,

the high priest questioned them,

“We gave you strict orders did we not,

to stop teaching in that name.

Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching

and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,

“We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,

though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior

to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

We are witnesses of these things,

as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

When they heard this,

they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, grant me a share in your Son’s suffering. Do not let me be overcome when I experience trials, temptations, and tribulations. You permit me to be tested, and when I am, I will strive to reaffirm my love for you and trust in you. 

Encountering the Word of God

1. Imitating Jesus: We see the effect of the outpouring of the Spirit in today’s First Reading. Jesus ascended into heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit on his Apostles and disciples. The Spirit empowered them to preach and speak of heavenly things. One of the goals of the Acts of the Apostles was to show how the followers of Jesus imitated his life, doing the works that he did, and suffering persecution as he did. This conformity to the life and passion of Jesus argued in favor of the authenticity of their teaching. The First Reading shows how, like Jesus, the Apostles were put on trial before the Sanhedrin. They were innocent, like Jesus, and yet were flogged (Acts 5:40) just as Jesus was scourged. “Jesus’ command to preach the gospel (Acts 1:8) overrules the Sanhedrin’s command to keep quiet about it” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, 103).

2. Covenant Curses and Blessings: In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness and Jesus’ name (Matthew 5:10-12). This is quite a paradox: How is being persecuted a blessing? In the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 28), earthly blessings – like abundant harvests, wealth, many descendants, peace, and prosperity – were promised to those who were obedient to God. On the flip side, disobedience would trigger the curses – infertility, famine, poverty, war, and exile. In the New Covenant, Jesus pronounces a blessing on the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are persecuted (Luke 6:20-23) and announces woe to the rich, those who are full, those who laugh, and those who are spoken well of (Luke 6:24-26). In the New Covenant, then, the way we build up heavenly treasure is through suffering poverty, hunger, and persecution. Earthly blessings – such as wealth and material abundance – can be dangerous and turn our hearts away from God (Matthew 6:24). In the New Covenant, we need to have a healthy detachment from earthly blessings. In his defense before the Sanhedrin, Peter refers to Deuteronomy 21 and the curse of “hanging on a tree” (Acts 5:30). Jesus took upon himself the covenant curse of death (Genesis 2:17) that we triggered by our sin. God raised Jesus and exalted him. Jesus is our leader and savior and, through his suffering, attained the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is the obedient one who has transformed the curses of the Old Covenant into the path that leads to the blessing of eternal life in the New. Throughout their ministry, the Apostles would all experience persecution in various ways. But they were also confident that they were following in the footsteps of their leader and savior and were on the path to life.

3. Jesus, Our Leader and Savior: The First Reading reminds us that the Lord God has true authority. He vindicated his Son, Jesus Christ, by raising him from the dead and exalting him at his right hand. “Peter here says that Jesus has been exalted ‘as leader and savior,’ using different terms from ‘Lord and Messiah’ appearing elsewhere for his exaltation (Acts 2:36)” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, 103-104). By calling Jesus our leader, prince, or author, Peter indicates that Jesus was the first to pass through death to life and is the pioneer for all those who will one day be raised from the dead. By calling Jesus our “savior,” Peter is using a term that Gentiles associated with the Roman Emperor. Jesus Christ, not the Emperor, is the true savior of Israel and the whole world. Peter “explains that the way Jesus saves Israel is by granting repentance and forgiveness of sins” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, 104). The leaders of Israel arranged to have Jesus, our leader and savior, crucified. Peter ends by emphasizing that he and the other apostles were witnesses to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God testifies within the hearts and minds of Christians to the truth of what Peter is preaching to the Sanhedrin. Just as Jesus’ works gave testimony to the authenticity of his word, so also the works of the Apostles – such as healing a lame man in Acts 3 – testify to the authenticity of their message. “In addition, Peter implies, those who believe in Jesus have been given the Spirit because they obey God (see Acts 5:29), whereas the Sanhedrin leaders have not received the Spirit because they do not obey God” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, 105).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you brought the Old Covenant to fulfillment in the New through your obedient suffering out of love. You have the power to transform me and conform my life to yours. Teach me to be an obedient child who heeds and responds to the Word of God.

Living the Word of God: Do I have an unhealthy attachment to earthly wealth and blessings? If so, how can I work on detachment? Do I rejoice when I experience trials and tribulations for the sake of righteousness? Do I see how I can unite my sufferings to those of Jesus? Am I courageous in my proclamation of the Gospel?