Acts of Defiance

Acts of Defiance
Excerpts from the Acts of the Apostles.

In the New Testament, the book Acts of the Apostles - written by Luke as a sequel to his Gospel - records the early years of the Church from the ascension of Jesus into Heaven to the birth of the Church, the first martyrs, and the ministry of Paul. There is much that is interesting in this picture of what Christianity was meant to be as held by Jesus' first followers. Included here are open acts of defiance by the Apostles to the governmental and religious authorities of their time. They are worth recounting here because they demonstrate the Christian's supreme obligation to the path of Christ above any obligation to the State, and give more clarity to exactly what Peter and Paul said concerning it.

The first selection takes place in Acts 4:18-21. Immediately before this, Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish authorities and thrown in jail (Acts 4:1-3). At their trial, they were asked in who's name they preached and healed (5-7). In response, Peter preached to them about Jesus, who they executed (8-12). Struck by their boldness, they recognized that they couldn't simply dismiss the healings they performed and decided to forbid the Apostles from preaching about Jesus (16-17).

Acts 4:18-21
And when they had summoned [Peter and John], they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened.

The second incident takes place in Acts 5:27-42. Before this, the Apostles were once again caught preaching, and thus were thrown in jail (Acts 5:17-18). But the Lord decided to free them, and ordered them to go preach in the Temple (19-21). Naturally this annoyed the authorities, who found the Apostles missing but in Temple preaching yet again (22-26).

Acts 5:27-42
When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us."

But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God."

They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

This passage actually succeeds in demonstrating both the basis for Christian defiance of the State AND the Christian martyr ethic. The Apostles defied the State on the grounds that they are to obey God rather than men... They must preach Christ whom these same men used their authority to execute. Quite the defiant accusation! The authorities, of course, pretend like it is the Apostles' own fault that they might have to be executed themselves.

One of the Lawers, however, had an interesting perspective. He stated that there is no need to persecute them, since false teaching will always fall away in the end. Gamaliel gives a history of other would-be Messiahs that had come in recent years, and how their followers had all fallen away. If Jesus is false, He recons, then the Christians would fall away without their needing to persecute them. But if Jesus were true, then no force on earth could stop them, no amount of persecution could silence them.

Gamaliel's testimony is in direct contradiction to the established "common logic" which says that if we don't kill all the evil people who kill us, then the faith will dissappear. He has the wisdom to know that if the faith is truly God's path, then no amount of evil could possibly stop it. The faith does not require violence to preserve it, especially when violence is explicity contradictory to the path of Christ.

The early Church would go on to live this ethic out... All the Apostles except for John were executed by the State. John died in prison. The Church Fathers, the disciples of the Apostles, were also executed by the State, as were countless Christians over 300 years of direct persecution by Rome. Yet the Church was radically pacifistic, as their own writings attest to, and the Church never dissappeared. In fact the Church grew exponentially, as it always does in times and places of persecution. Whether ancient Rome or modern China, the blood of the martyrs is the paradoxical seed of the Church.

Defiance of the State and the path of martyrdom are part of the Christian's call in making the world a better place, because we are beholden to God alone and if we are in Him, no power on earth can stop us.

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