It Is Of God; You Will Not Stop It

Rev. Tim Storck, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Chesterfield Township, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Acts 5:21b-42.

The Lord frustrates the plans of His enemies and laughs at their attempts to stop the proclamation of His Word. The Sanhedrin and their officers are dumbfounded to find the prison locked but the apostles gone. While the Sanhedrin and their officers fear men and act accordingly, the apostles fear God and so are unafraid to make testimony before the Sanhedrin. Peter does so with boldness yet again, but the hardness of heart and anger of the Sanhedrin only grows. Gamaliel, a Pharisee and well-respected member of the council, advises the Sanhedrin that they ought to leave the apostles alone. If their authority is from men, they will die and become nothing; if their authority is from God, there is nothing the Sanhedrin can do. The Sanhedrin takes Gamaliel’s sound advice, though they beat the apostles before repeating their previous reprimand. Nonetheless, the apostles are joyful to suffer for the sake of Christ and continue their bold proclamation.

“To the End of the Earth” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Acts. In his second volume, St. Luke records all the things that Jesus continued to do through the ministry of His Church. By the end of the book, the proclamation of the Lord’s Word that began in Jerusalem grows all the way to Rome. By God’s grace, even now, that same Word is proclaimed to us.