Acts 5:27-32 When they had brought 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. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’
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In Japan in the 16th and 17th Centuries it wasn’t easy to ba Christian. The arrival of Christianity through missionaries in the 1540s brought about a flourishing in the Island nation with some estimates of over 100,000 converts, This new faith was initially welcomed in Japan without too much trouble; but things began to turn nasty when there were fears that the Christians wanted to convert the nation and become a rival to the current power structures. In other words, they were not happy that a Christian’s first loyalty is to Christ and not the Shogun, the Emperor.
There was a crackdown, Christians rebelled, and it was put down. Many martyrs were created for the faith and they were killed horribly. But there were also those who were given the option to renounce the faith. They were required to place their foot on a Fumi-e, a small of iron stone with a carving of Jesus on it. If they did that then it would represent their rejection of Christ. They were tortured… horribly and mercilessly… if they didn’t, if they said that they didn’t know Jesus, if they said that he wasn’t their Lord. then their lives would be spared.
“Peter and the apostles answered [the priests], “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
The Martin Scorsese film Silence is based on the historical fiction novel by Shusaku Endo where two Jesuit Roman Catholic priests go to Japan to find out the truth when they hear that their mentor, himself a priest, to use the technical term ‘apostatised’ and ‘placed his foot’ on a Fumi-e. By the end of the movie… well I won’t ruin it for you. But the message is clear, there have been times when it has been difficult to be a Christian
Our story from the book of acts of Peter before the shows is that it has never been easy to follow Jesus, it has always been costly. He and the other disciples are hauled up before the ruling council and are asked why they haven’t stopped preaching about this chap called Jesus who had apparently returned from the dead.
Again, “Peter and the apostles answered [the priests], “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Peter and the others were convinced by their eyes, they had seen Jesus resurrected, and obeyed his final command to go out into the whole world and baptise new believers.
It’s not surprising that those in power were worried by this new little sect which had popped up in Jerusalem. Whenever anybody feels that their power is threatened, unless they are humble, they will always try to stamp out any threat (perceived or otherwise) to them. This is the case here. Peter is preaching that repentance and the forgiveness of sins has come to those who believe in Jesus, the prophet who was killed and yet was raised from the dead by God. This is in direct conflict to the priestly cast who had the power over forgiveness as they presided over the sacrificial system which was the way, established since Old Testament times, was the way in which forgiveness of sins was mediated.
In fact, if it wasn’t for the intervention of Gamaliel who we’ll hear about in a minute, it may have ended tragically for Peter and the other first proclaimers of the gospel. Because they’re really angry. Verse 33, just after the end of this passage says ‘when they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill him.’
They were really angry at Paul, understandably so, given what they have got to lose. If Christianity took hold, all the power structures that they belonged to would crumble into nothing. When people have power, the ability to harm others becomes immeasurable.
Gamaliel’s intervention is a skilful bit of politics. This was a man who was highly respected at the time, he knew the law inside and out, he knew his Bible (I.e. the Jewish scriptures) inside and out and in fact he even taught Saint Paul. So that’s how important he is in the story. he stands up, orders Peter and the others to leave the room for a time, and speaks to his colleagues:
‘Men of Israel,’ he said to the gathering, ‘take good care what you intend to do to these men. Before these times Theudas rose up, claiming to be someone special, and about four hundred men went off to join him. But he was killed, and all the people who had trusted him were dispersed. The movement came to nothing. After that, Judas the Galilean arose, in the days of the Census, and drew a crowd after himself. But he was killed, and all those who trusted him were scattered. So my advice to you now is this. Leave off from these men; let them be. You see, if this plan or this work is of merely human origin, it will come to ruin. But if it’s from God – well, you won’t be able to stop them. You might even be found to be fighting against God!’
After this, Peter and the others are flogged (a common punishment at the time even if you weren’t guilty) and sent on their way. Peter and the others were lucky that they had Gamaliel to speak for them and stop any reprisal. Many other Christians are not so lucky.
As we saw at the beginning with the events in Japan, sometimes Christians aren’t just ‘left to it’ to see if it’s ‘from God.’ Sometimes they are beaten, tortured, forced to recant, or killed. We can’t even imagine this happening here in this country, or even in the western world. But this kind of thing is happening in the world today. Many have to keep their beliefs secret, because if it was found out that they are Christian, thru wouldn’t live long after.
The charity ‘Open Doors’ monitors the persecution of Christians around the world, with over fifty countries on their watch list. Number one and number two on that list are Afganistan and North Korea respectively, where it is is impossible to be a Christian out in the open and are at risk if losing everything, including their lives, if they’re found out.
It’s ok for us, we have nice festivals and can come to church and live as a Christian community and have coffee mornings and all the rest of it. But pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who risk their lives every day for their faith. Who have to meet in secret and have to keep their bibles hidden away. Pray that they can still say, ‘alleluia, Christ is risen,’ even if it is only into their pillows in the dead of night. Pray for their safety, and that they will keep the faith.
Amen.
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