Highs And Lows Series

Our next C is

CONFESSION - verse 30 - The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.  We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”  

Whenever the disciples are teaching, they are always talking about Jesus.  Because as we saw in chapter 4,  Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.  Sadly some Christians will say, Let’s talk about all we have in common - because mormons, Jehovah’s witnesses, Jews, Christians - we all believe in God.  Let’s just agree to disagree and focus on the areas where we all agree.  But the fact is that unless we can agree on Jesus, there is NO agreement.  

Yes, we can work together on improving society, on treating diseases, on fighting abortion.  But on issues of faith, there IS NO agreement if we can’t agree on Jesus!  Mormons say He was a god, the brother of Satan - and we can all become gods one day.  Jehovah’s witnesses say he was a lesser god - but not the real God.  Jews say Jesus was not the Messiah, because he didn’t immediately restore the glory to the nation of Israel.  Our attitude, as Paul says to the Corinthians, For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The sanhedrin saw clearly what the disciples were saying.  And they blatantly rejected it.   They realized that if the Apostles were right, then the Jewish leaders had been wrong in condemning Jesus Christ. Indeed, if the Apostles were right, then the council was guilty of His blood, as they say in verse 28. As this “trial” progresses, the Apostles became the judges and the council became the accused.

It is interesting that they never ask them how they got out of jail!  They don’t want to hear the answer!  After all, the Sadducees don’t believe in angels.  Here they were trying to stop the miracles, but their actions only multiplied the miracles!  The whole ruling council rejects the power of God at work.  In fact, they won’t even mention the name of Jesus.  In verse 28 they simply say “in this name” and “this man’s blood.”

In our lives, don’t try to get others to change their lives, don’t try to get them to come to church - our main focus should be to tell them about Jesus.  He alone has the power to save.  He alone can change their lives.  The ongoing continual confession of the early church is a focus on Jesus.  In verse 34 we see

CONCESSION - Gamaliel stands up - he is one of the most respected Jewish leaders, and he urges the council to leave the disciples alone.  Is he a believer?  NO!  But God uses him to avert the wrath of the sanhedrin.  In verse 33, we see they were furious and wanted to put them to death.  But God uses Gamaliel to avert their wrath and spare the lives of his servants.  Verse 34 says he ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.  In other words, he is saying, this won’t take long - just listen to me for a few minutes.  He is that confident of the sway he has over the council.