Obey God Or Man

In Acts 5, things weren't going too well for the apostles. After performing miracles, casting out demons, and healing many, the apostles were tossed in jail by the Sadducees, who were jealous of what they were doing. An angel opened the doors of the jail for them, and they were back teaching in the temple courts once again, but this only served to enrage the Sadducee high priests, who soon had them appear before the Sanhedrin, which was the supreme Jewish court, consisting of 70-100 men.

The high priest said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in (the name of Jesus)! Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood!"

It was clearly a tense moment for Peter and the apostles. They had already been tossed in prison, and now the Sanhedrin were coming down hard on them again. They were facing a hostile crowd that hated their message and wanted them not just imprisoned, but put to death. It would have been easy for the apostles to throw in the towel at that point, to quit in order to save themselves from certain death.

But instead, Peter and the apostles gave this reply in Acts 5:29, "We must obey God rather than men!"

One sentence. Seven words. A ton of impact. The Sanhedrin flogged the apostles and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore, but the apostles just returned to the temple courts and kept teaching and proclaiming the good news.

Who are you obeying? God or men? It's so easy for us to obey men instead of God. We get caught up in the pressures of the world, be they financial or professional or relational or educational or religious, and we find ourselves caving in to what men want, instead of being obedient to God.

Peter and the apostles were ready to be obedient to God, instead of men, even unto death. If we truly consider ourselves to be Christ followers, then we must have the same attitude and determination.