The Power That Shook The World
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Acts 2:17. {CTr 302.1}
After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the disciples, clothed with the divine panoply, went forth as witnesses to tell the wonderful story of the manger and the cross. They were humble men, but they went forth with the truth. After the death of their Lord, they were a helpless, disappointed, discouraged company—as sheep without a shepherd; but now they go forth as witnesses for the truth, with no weapons but the Word and the Spirit of God, to triumph over all opposition. . . .They were transformed in character and united in the bonds of Christian love. . . . From their lips came words of divine eloquence and power that shook the world. {CTr 302.2}
The third, fourth, and fifth chapters of Acts give an account of their witnessing. Those who had rejected and crucified the Saviour expected to find His disciples discouraged, crestfallen, and ready to disown their Lord. With amazement they heard the clear, bold testimony given under the power of the Holy Spirit. The words and works of the disciples represented the words and works of their Teacher, and all who heard them said, They have learned of Jesus; they talk as He talked. “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” {CTr 302.3}
The chief priests and rulers thought themselves competent to decide what the apostles should do and teach. As they went forth preaching Jesus everywhere, the men who were worked by the Holy Spirit did many things that the Jews did not approve. There was danger that the ideas and doctrines of the rabbis would be brought into disrepute. {CTr 302.4}
The apostles were creating a wonderful excitement. The people were bringing their sick folk . . . and those that had been healed were shouting the praises of God and glorifying the name of Jesus, the very One whom the Jews had condemned, scorned, spit upon, crowned with thorns, and caused to be scourged and crucified. This Jesus was extolled above the priests and rulers. The apostles were even declaring that He had risen from the dead. The Jewish rulers decided that this work must be stopped, for it was proving them guilty of the blood of Jesus.—Letter 38, 1896. {CTr 302.5}
Opposed By Religious Leaders
The Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day. Acts 4:1-3. {CTr 303.1}
The assertions made by the apostles that they had seen Jesus after His resurrection, and that He had ascended to heaven, were overthrowing the fundamental principles of the Sadducean doctrine. This was not to be allowed. The priests and rulers were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. The disciples were not intimidated or cast down. . . . {CTr 303.2}
“The angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” We see here that persons in authority are not always to be obeyed, even though they may profess to be teachers of Bible doctrines. There are many today who feel indignant and aggrieved that any voice should be raised presenting ideas that differ from their own in regard to points of religious belief. Have they not long advocated their ideas as truth? So the priests and rabbis reasoned in apostolic days. What mean these men who are unlearned, some of them mere fishermen, who are presenting ideas contrary to the doctrines that the learned priests and rulers are teaching the people? They have no right to meddle with the fundamental principles of our faith. {CTr 303.3}
But we see that the God of heaven sometimes commissions people to teach that which is regarded as contrary to the established doctrines. Because those who were once the depositories of truth became unfaithful to their sacred trust, the Lord chose others who would receive the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and would advocate truths that were not in accordance with the ideas of the religious leaders. And then these leaders, in the blindness of their minds, give full sway to what is supposed to be righteous indignation against the ones who have set aside cherished fables. . . . {CTr 303.4}
But the Holy Spirit will from time to time reveal the truth through its own chosen agencies; and no one, not even a priest or ruler, has a right to say, You shall not give publicity to your opinions, because I do not believe them. That wonderful “I” may attempt to put down the Holy Spirit’s teaching.—Letter 38, 1896. {CTr 303.5}
“We Must Obey God”
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Acts 5:29, NRSV. {CTr 304.1}
In most of the religious controversies, the foundation of the trouble is that self is striving for the supremacy. About what? About matters that are not vital points at all, and that are regarded as such only because people have given importance to them. See Matthew 12:31-37; Mark 14:56; Luke 5:21; Matthew 9:3. {CTr 304.2}
But let us follow the history of the men whom the Jewish priests and rulers thought so dangerous because they were bringing in new and strange teaching on almost every theological subject. The command given by the Holy Spirit, “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of life,” was obeyed by the apostles. . . . {CTr 304.3}
If the priests and rulers had dared act out their own feelings toward the apostles, there would have been a different record, for the angel of God was a watcher on that occasion, to magnify His name if any violence had been offered to His servants. {CTr 304.4}
“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? . . . Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. . . . And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.” {CTr 304.5}
Then the Holy Spirit moved upon Gamaliel, a Pharisee, a doctor of the law, who had a reputation among all the people. His advice was “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed.” {CTr 304.6}
Yet the attributes of Satan so controlled their minds that notwithstanding the wonderful miracles that had been wrought in healing the sick and in releasing God’s servants from prison, the priests and rulers were so filled with prejudice and hatred they could hardly be restrained. “When they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”Letter 38, 1896. {CTr 304.7}
There Is Danger In Refusing To Repent
But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Acts 5:39. {CTr 305.1}
We can see what evidence was given the priests and rulers and how firmly they resisted the Spirit of God. Those who claim superior wisdom and piety may make most terrible and (to themselves) fatal mistakes if they allow their minds to be molded by another power, and pursue a course in resistance to the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus, represented by the Holy Spirit, was in the presence of that assembly [of priests trying the apostles], but they did not discern Him. For a moment they had felt the conviction of the Spirit, that Jesus was the Son of God, but they stifled conscience and became blinder and more hardened than before. Even after they had crucified the Saviour, God in His mercy had sent them . . . another call to repentance, even in the terrible charge brought against them by the apostles, that they had killed the Prince of life. {CTr 305.2}
It was not alone the sin of putting to death the Son of God that cut them off from salvation, but their persistence in rejecting light and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The spirit that works in the children of disobedience worked in them, leading them to abuse the men through whom God was giving a testimony to them. The malignity of rebellion reappeared and was intensified in every successive act of resistance against God’s servants and the message He had given them to declare. {CTr 305.3}
Every act of resistance makes it harder to yield. Being the leaders of the people, the priests and rulers felt it incumbent on them to defend the course they had taken. They must prove that they had been in the right. Having committed themselves in opposition to Christ, every act of resistance became an additional incentive to persist in the same path. The events of their past career of opposition were as precious treasures to be jealously guarded. And the hatred and malignity that inspired those acts was concentrated against the apostles. {CTr 305.4}
The Spirit of God revealed its presence unto those who, irrespective of the fear or favor of the public, declared the truth that had been committed to them. Under the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power, the Jews saw their guilt in refusing the evidence that God had sent; but they would not yield their wicked resistance. Their obstinacy became more and more determined, and worked the ruin of their souls. It was not that they could not yield, but that they could and would not.—Letter 38, 1896. {CTr 305.5}