Acts 5:41 Flogged

Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

We are a culture that seems to take offense at almost everything. Or at least certain sectors take offense. Either we have over-sensitive emotional radar (my favorite opinion) or society has become less polite and more offensive (my second favorite opinion). Either way, I think we hear more about people’s “right” to be in an environment where they are never ‘triggered’, never inconvenienced, never challenged in their belief system.

If that is true, we are living in a world of preschoolers. I see the stomping feet and the insistent “NO!” And some people got their way, perhaps too many people got their way when they did that. Now as adults, they think they can throw a tantrum and get their way again. And too many of them do!

The early followers of Jesus didn’t run from controversy. It almost seems as if they ran to it instead. They spoke the truth no matter the consequences. They learned how to stand in the face of opposition.

Now the one thing that changed in them was the personal presence of God the Holy Spirit. Their encounter with Him flipped the switch for them. They were willing to follow Jesus into suffering.

Our text tells of just such a moment. They had been preaching what they knew, that Jesus was raised from the dead and brought salvation to those who would believe in Him. And this belief stood in opposition to the entrenched political and religious systems.

Many of the Jewish leaders had come to faith, but this only reinforced the belief by the those who remained steadfastly opposed to this change. They stood even stronger in opposition to Jesus and His followers. They have been thrown in prison and miraculously released.

When that happened, they immediately went back to preaching, teaching and healing. They went right back into the Lion’s Den, so to speak. They went to the place they had been arrested and continued their message of hope.

After the authorities decided to let them go, after receiving some wise counsel, they had them flogged. Imagine being whipped with leather straps across your back until you bleed. And what was their reaction?

We read their reaction in our text. They rejoiced. Now I didn’t expect that reaction. I expected them to call their lawyer or the local news. I envisioned signs being printed up and distributed. Social media posts prepared for distribution. Maybe even a PR consultant or focus group.

But they do none of that. They rejoice, not at the flogging itself, but at something far more important. Their flogging meant that they had joined with Jesus in standing true to the Name of God. Their character had been tried, and they came through with flying colors.

You see, some standing there had failed the previous test of faith. They had turned away. But now, filled with the Holy Spirit, they stood the test. They had passed.

I love the understated nature of the characterization of their flogging. They label it as “disgrace.” They don’t label it as injustice or racism. They see it as something of value.

How do you view this type of disgrace? How are you handling any attacks you face to your Christian faith? Do you take it in stride and see God’s hand of honor coming your direction, or do you see it as a personal assault, an attack on you that needs to be avenged?

The disciples had changed perspective in a matter of days and weeks. The trajectory of their lives had been altered, and there was no going back. They chose to go forward, even if it meant being flogged for the Name of Jesus.