Speak with Boldness
There had been an absolute whirlwind of events in the lives of the Apostles. During Passover, they had journeyed with Jesus to Jerusalem and helplessly watched as he was arrested, tried, and crucified. They huddled in fear in those days after the crucifixion wondering what this meant. Then on Easter morning that fear turns to joy as they see face to face the glory of the Lord in their resurrected Savior. Over the next few months, they see the resurrected Lord several more times. But then the day arrives when they watch in awe as Jesus ascends into heaven with the promise that he will return on the Last Day.
Fifty days after Easter the Lord fulfills his promise and sends the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. These men who had huddled in fear that the same Jewish leaders who had crucified Jesus would soon come after them are now filled with boldness as they begin teaching and preaching that the same Jesus who had been crucified has now risen from the dead. The Apostles knew the risks. Jesus had promised that they would face hatred and persecution for preaching and teaching in his name. Jesus had said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, for that very reason the world hates you. Remember the saying I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too.”
Peter, John, and the other Apostles had been boldly preaching the Word of God in the city of Jerusalem. In Acts chapter 4 we hear that Peter and John went up to the temple one day. As they approached, they saw a man who had been lame from birth who asked them for some money. Peter replied, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Immediately the man was healed. He jumped up and began praising God. The people who saw this miracle were amazed.
Peter used this opportunity to boldly proclaim the truth that this man had been healed by the power of Jesus. The same Jesus that the people of Jerusalem and their leaders put to death. The Jewish leaders hear this commotion and are scandalized. They were very upset because Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead in connection with Jesus. They arrested them and put them in jail until the next day because it was already evening. They put Peter and John on trial and commanded them to stop preaching and teaching about Jesus. But Peter and John are not afraid. They know that God has commanded them to keep on preaching no matter the opposition they face. As they stand before the same group that condemned their Lord to death they boldly proclaim, “Decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
This story reminds us that we have a powerful foe who will do everything in his power to hinder the proclamation of the Gospel. As Christians, we face this challenge every day of our lives. The world does not want to hear the truth of God’s Word. The voices of “science” and “reason” will tell us that God’s Word is not truth but foolishness. The voices of “culture” tell us that it is “unloving” to call sin, sin and to insist that the only path to eternal life and truth is found in Christ alone. As we face the forces of darkness in this world that want to obstruct the light of the Gospel we turn to God in prayer as the Apostles did and ask that God would give us the strength to speak with boldness.
The truth of God’s Word has always been challenged by the forces of evil in this world. We see this at the very beginning when Satan asks Eve that terrible question, “Has God really said…” Satan wants to cast doubt on the truth of God’s Word. He wants to undermine our faith and put up roadblocks and opposition wherever and however he can. He turned the people of God against Moses, Elisha, Jeremiah, and all the other prophets. He hardened the hearts of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other members of the Jewish ruling body against Jesus.
We will face opposition in our lives as well. Our friends, family members, co-workers, and even our own sinful natures do not want to hear the blinding truth of God’s Word. We do not like being reminded that we are sinners. We do not like hearing the Law’s terrible demand: be holy as I the Lord your God am Holy. We do not like the powerful condemnation of the Ten Commandments that reminds us of the countless ways we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words, and actions. We have a choice. Will we proclaim the Word of the Lord boldly to a hostile world or will we cower in fear? Will we let the love of Christ shine from our hearts like
a lamp on a stand, or will we hide the light of our faith under a basket and conform to the patterns of this world to avoid judgment and ridicule?
Peter and John had a choice as well. After standing before the same group of men who had condemned their Lord to death and being placed in jail, they could have stopped preaching and teaching. They could have changed their message to make it more acceptable to the chief priests and elders of the people. They could have done the easy thing and just gone back to fishing. But they did not. We are told that after they were released, they went back and immediately told their friends what had happened. And what was their response? They praised God and asked for boldness to continue preaching the message of truth!
They did this because they understood that rejection was not proof of failure. They praised God because they knew that speaking the Truth would always be met with opposition. They knew from Psalm 2 that the nations of the earth would rage, and the rulers would take their stand against the Lord and his Anointed. They had seen this happen with their own eyes. They had seen Herod, Pilate, the chief priests, and the people of Jerusalem gather together against Jesus. But they also knew that this was all according to God’s plan.
They had seen the results. They had seen the resurrected Lord. They knew the wonderful truth that on the cross Jesus crushed the head of Satan and defeated the power of all those who opposed the will of God. When Jesus rose victorious from the grave, he shattered the power of death and hell and gave us the certainty that God had accepted his sacrifice as payment for our sins. Even now the rulers of the world may take their stand against the Lord and his Anointed. They may ridicule and mock us. They may command us not to teach and preach as they did to the Apostles, but our Lord scoffs and laughs at them. The power of the devil and the rulers of this world is insignificant when compared to the power of the Lord of Hosts who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them with the Word of his mouth.
This is the promise that has been given to us as well. We have a God who is mighty to save. We have a God who loved us so much that he became one with us so that he could suffer and die for us. After the Apostles prayed for boldness God shook the place where they were gathered. God has given us signs as well. The Bible is a record of every promise that God has ever made and how he has kept them. It shows us his love and faithfulness. It tells us of the limitless love of God who sent his one and only Son to suffer and die for our sins. It shares with us the promise that through the waters of baptism, we have been reborn and sealed to God as his dearly beloved children. Our sins have been completely washed away by the perfect blood of Christ, and we have been clothed with his righteousness. Through the Lord’s Supper, we receive a visible and tangible reminder of this promise as we eat and drink the very body and blood of our Savior who died on the cross to save us.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ we will face opposition and hatred from this world. The world will hate and reject us as they hated and rejected our Lord and Savior. As we face the forces of evil in this world, we pray that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and continue to speak the Word of God with boldness. Let us be certain that rejection is not proof of failure. We know that the power of God’s Word can never be defeated. We know that we have a message of truth that those who are lost in the darkness of sin need to hear. We are offering them the very Words of eternal life. Let us go forth and boldly proclaim the message of the Gospel with the confidence that our Mighty God has already won for us the battle. Amen,
2 Timothy 1:7-8 -- For God did not give us a timid spirit, but a spirit of power and love and sound judgment. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Instead, join with me in suffering for the gospel while relying on the power of God.