Psalm 63, 98; 1 Kings 12:21-33; Acts 4:18-31; John 10:31-42
Rehoboam listens to the word of the Lord and does not go to war, as he had planned, against the northern kingdom, Israel. He actually showed wisdom in heeding this word through the man of God. Next, we are told that Jeroboam, king of Israel, decided that he needed to set up sites for worship that would keep the people from going to Jerusalem, lest they remember the glories of united Israel. Of all the strange things to do, he makes two golden calves and repeats the very words Aaron spoke to the people while Moses was on the mountain receiving the commandments, “Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." How could they possibly allow this to go forward when they saw the calves and heard those particular words? They were clearly ignorant of their own history and of the word of God if they didn’t immediately recoil at this abomination. Where were the priests, scribes, prophets, and learned men among them who refused to speak against this? Apostasy is not a time for silence or complicity.
What do you do about Jesus? They were going to stone Him for blasphemy, claiming equality with God. He quoted Scripture to them concerning the statement from Psalm 82,“'I said, you are gods.” His first appeal had been for them to evaluate Him based on what He had done. This second, scriptural appeal, slows down the mob in order to allow them time to think about his first appeal. Alright, the Lord calls us all “gods” or “sons of the Most High” and this man is doing things we can’t do, so what is our judgment on Him? Everyone is not convinced but some begin to re-evaluate Jesus in light of John the Baptist’s testimony and question the leaders’ judgment. Ironically, this shift, questioning the leaders and believing in Jesus, hastens the day of judgment against Him. The leaders won’t abide not being leaders.
The leaders of the new movement, known as The Way at this time, Peter and John, refuse to bow down to the will of the Jewish leaders. At this juncture, they are still within Judaism in the minds of many. They believe that Messiah has come but haven’t worked out the implications of all that has happened yet. They haven’t seen the Gentiles come to faith in significant numbers and the movement is almost entirely a Jewish thing but the earthly kingdom has not been established. The Jewish leaders tell the disciples not to speak or heal in the name of Jesus again, remember they have done this in a Jewish setting at the Beautiful Gate and they are within the temple teaching. By now, Peter has seen and experienced things that make him truly bold and he knows the power of God v. earthly powers and no longer will submit or quail in fear before religious leaders. The church celebrates this moment and then prays for further boldness. The times in which we live require boldness if we are to speak of Jesus, it is getting more and more “unpopular” to preach the Gospel. Will it be long before it becomes a crime? Let us be faithful to what we have received and proclaim with boldness the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Christ for the world we sing,
The world to Christ we bring, with loving zeal,
The poor and them that mourn, the faint and overborne,
Sin sick and sorrow worn, whom Christ doth heal.
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