Second Sunday of Easter

Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32
4/15/2007
Rev. Philip A. Bouknight

When they had brought [the apostles from the temple where they had been teaching] them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority.

                                                                                    Acts 5:27-29

The apostles were having problems with authority.  They were gathered in Solomon’s Portico, teaching and healing with the affect that great numbers of people were converted to the faith.  Witnessing their actions, the high priest and the Sadducees had them arrested and thrown into prison.  The angel of the lord appeared and released them, unbeknownst to the prison guards.  The apostles were instructed by the angel to go directly to the temple and proclaim the Gospel.  So they entered the temple at daybreak and commenced with their teaching.  The high priest sent for them and learned that not only had they miraculously escaped from prison, they were back in the temple teaching even though they had been forbidden to do so.  Now we find them before the high priest and the council presumably in trouble, because they disobeyed the authority.  We gave you strict orders not to teach in His Name.  They had a problem with authority.

Let’s take a moment and define authority.  As with any word in the English language, there is any number of applications, but for our purpose, we will only focus on the way the word is applied here.

Authority

1.  The power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine.

2.  A power or right delegated or given; authorization: 

Usually, authorities are persons having the legal power to make and enforce the law; government:  Do you see the problem?  Who has the power to determine jurisdiction over the disciples?  The high priest, who has the authorization to speak on behalf of the government or the angel, who has been authorized to speak on behalf of God?  Whose command do you obey?  The council who has the power to throw you in prison or the angel who has the power to break you out?  It seems like an easy decision to make, but we should not look at the apostle’s boldness and say “Of course they would obey God’s command over the command of earthly powers.”  It isn’t that simple.

Authority is the subject of many discussions in the Holy Scriptures.  The synoptic Gospels; Matthew, Mark and Luke, speak of authority on twenty nine occasions.  Some of them record the same instances in a slightly different way, henceforth the name synoptic.  In these three Gospels, the people are constantly questioning Jesus as to who has given Him the authority to teach and heal?  Jesus explains that He has been given authority over heaven and earth. (Matthew 28:18)  John mentions the word only twice in his gospel and since he is a theologian, both instances explain that there is only one authority and that is God in Christ Jesus.  Acts mentions authority six times and every one of them depicts a conflict between earthly authority and God’s authority.  The book of Revelation incorporates authority into its message eighteen times and they all depict that great and final battle between earthly authority and heavenly authority.  The lamb is the one who rules in power and He is the conqueror in this battle.  The epistles use the word twenty five times.  They continually ask the question…Who has authority?  Whose is it?  In the epistles, you hear the struggle of remembering that heavenly authority is always above the earthly authority.  God defines authority and any understanding of authority should be viewed in relationship to God.  All in all, the New Testament talks of authority eighty six times; sixty six times more than the Old Testament and even then, four of those seventeen examples use authority as it concerns the coming of the messiah and his rule over this earth.

What does this have to do with us?

We have problems with authority?  We forget who has the ultimate authority over us and we will let human authority hold when it is in conflict with God’s command.  When I was in seminary, I was required to complete a unit of clinical pastoral education (CPE).  I was assigned to a trauma unit where I would be ministering to some of the worst casualties in the state.  They were flown to this hospital by helicopter or brought in by ambulance.  I was in charge of ministering to the pediatric units as well as the cancer unit.  There, I would lead chapel services which were broadcast by television to all of the residents.  I prayed with people who were dying and with people that had just lost loved ones.  At the beginning of my training, three supervisors stood before a group of twenty men and women preparing for ministry. 

We were Evangelicals, Baptists, Pentecostals, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic.  After assigning us our post and describing our ministry, an addendum was given by the chief supervisor.  He said to all of us, and when you pray, you are not allowed to pray in the name of Jesus Christ.  I looked around the room.  The other two supervisors shook their head in agreement.  None of the students shifted in their seats.  They didn’t say a word and this supervisor let the tension hang in the air.  I couldn’t take it any longer, so I raised my hand.  He acknowledged me and instructed me to go ahead with my question.  I didn’t have a question.  I had a statement. 

I said, “Sir, I know of no other name through which I can and will pray.”  Thinking me to be a smart-aleck, he said those are the rules.  There are many people in this hospital and many of them would find it offensive.  I informed them that “They might as well fail me now, because I had nothing to offer unless I was able to offer them Christ.  Even our prayers to God the Father were addressed through Jesus Christ the Son.”  Again, there was silence and this time a little shifting in the seats.  I broke the silence with another statement.  “I am willing to come into a room and offer prayer, instructing them that I will be praying in the name of Jesus Christ.  Is that ok with you?  They have the right to refuse my prayer.”  This sufficed and I was allowed to stay.  My final evaluation stated…Has problems with authority.

Each one of us battles with this conflict in a different way.  Sometimes we create our own authority.  Money is given power over our lives.  Social status is given authority.  Then there are bosses, spouses, parents and the whole echelon of government officials.  Power and authority is given and taken every day of our lives, but we cannot forget that God is the ultimate authority.  He is in power and His authority trumps all others.  His command cannot be usurped by human command.  He is greater than our money, our social circles, our bosses, our spouses, our parents and any governmental official.  If our lives favor any of these over the command of our God to love and serve Him, then we have a real problem with authority.

Take a close look at your lives this week and look at the instances where authority is given and taken.  Take a close look at your lives and ask yourself…Whose command do I obey?  Am I boldly proclaiming the Gospel through what I say and what I do or is something holding me back?  Be assured that this something or some things are human authorities.  They may be people, but most often they are the things that we allow to control us.  These things imprison us and God’s Word has come to break us out.   Always ask yourself….Who has jurisdiction over me…these things or God?  Then get yourselves to the temple.  Go to where the people are and boldly proclaim the Gospel; the Good News of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.  Great numbers will be converted to the faith today just as they were then for the apostles.  Allow yourself to be broken out of your prisons.  Then go into the world and obey God’s command.