What heinous criminals the Apostles had become. They were standing in the temple courts and healing the sick, preaching the good news, and bringing hope to the hopeless. The Sanhedrin, ever vigilant, had these men arrested and jailed. They were out to stop this evil restoration of people’s health, life, and spiritual renewal. Ok, all sarcasm aside, the attack on the apostles was ridiculous. The Jewish leadership was jealous of Jesus, and now they were facing the same spiritual revival He had spread. What they did not understand was that God was in charge and was doing all according to His plan.
So, the angel came and released the apostles. The next day, they were back in the temple court preaching and healing as before. Meanwhile, the leaders and their temple police were ready to give the apostles “What for!”. When they went to the jail to get them and bring them to the council, the apostles were nowhere to be found. Well, unless you look in the temple court where they were teaching…Needless to say, the leaders were at a loss. They had no way of controlling the spread of God’s word and plan.
One of people’s greatest sins and misconceptions is their need for power and control. The harsh reality is that control is an illusion. Each day we face our circumstances and think that the right plan, the right disciplines, or the right amount of wealth and power will bring us personal control over what lies in front of us. God is the only one in control. He allows us to choose and to live our lives, but we will never overcome Him or His plan. If we can learn to trust Him and then simply follow His lead, then we will live a full and meaningful life. Still, even in that, we are neither guaranteed a life free of trials and temptation, nor are we promised a long and healthy life.
God promises us salvation and eternal life with Him. The rest is a process of trusting Him and His plan. We can wish and hope for a certain life or outcome, but, counting on that is simply not real. We should take our lead from Solomon–In Proverbs, he tells us to trust in God with all our hearts, lean not on our own understanding. He tells us to acknowledge God in all our ways, and the Lord will make our paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6). Then in Ecclesiastes. 6: 9-10, Solomon reminds us to be grateful for what we have, and not to be ungrateful for what we do not have. We simply must relinquish control of our life, and give that control to God. There is no other way to live an abundant Christian life.
God Bless You
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.
The Apostles Persecuted
17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.
Walking With God 