1. We have been counted worthy

Last Sunday we celebrated the pinnacle of the Christian church year, Easter Sunday. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. But what happened after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven? Well the first five chapters of the book of Acts give us a pretty good picture of what happened. The whole book of Acts details the growth of the early Christian church.

Our sermon lesson for today comes from Acts chapter 5. It is only two verses but it tells of how the apostles reacted in the days following Jesus' resurrection. They rejoiced. It was as if they could not contain themselves, no matter what happened. It was constant rejoicing over the resurrection of Christ. It showed in their words and actions. I hope I don't give too rosy a picture of the early church, because there were hardships and trials. But as we see from the verse before us today, the apostles even rejoiced when persecuted. They did not let it hinder their work either.

In verse 41, we are told that "the apostles left the Sanhedrin." Those apostles were Peter and John. Peter especially seems to have been placed in the leadership role of the early church. He led the disciples in Acts chapter 1 when they were choosing a replacement for Judas. Peter addressed the crowd on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. Peter continued to preach in the Temple day after day. It was Peter who the Jewish leaders wanted to arrest when they had enough of this new Christian teaching. The apostle John was with Peter when he was taken into custody and put on trial before the Sanhedrin.

The two verses from the book of Acts come immediately after the trial before those Jewish leaders. Let me read to you verse 40 so that you know what the punishment was that they received from the Sanhedrin. "They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go."

If the Jewish leaders had the disciples in their grasp, why would they let them go like this? First of all, they were afraid of what the people would do. The Christian church was growing in leaps and bounds. On Pentecost, about 7 weeks after Easter Sunday, the apostles baptized about 3000 people in one day. This was amazing. At the time of our sermon lesson, the church in Jerusalem had grown to over 5000 people. People were coming from the nearby towns to hear the message of the Apostles and to be healed. The other reason they let them go was because one of their great Jewish teachers stood up and told the Sanhedrin this would all go away eventually and no one would remember Jesus Christ. How wrong he was!

However the Jewish leaders did not want the disciples to go unpunished so they had them flogged before they were released and told them not to preach. So what do Peter and John do? They rejoiced! They had just been beaten for preaching about Jesus and they rejoiced! It is remarkable, isn't it? Why would these men do this? "Because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." They did not grumble and complain. They did not curse and fill up with self-pity about how poorly they were treated. They did not blame God for their situation.

Instead they rejoiced! What would lead the apostles to have this reaction? They had been counted worthy of suffering for the Name. They were wearing the marks of their beating like badges of honor. They considered this suffering to be a gift from God. This seems so contrary to human reason. How can we understand it?

Really it is simple when you think about the last three words of verse 41 - "for the name." Nothing else needed to be said. It was plain and simple. They suffered disgrace for the name of Jesus Christ and willingly did so. Why? Because they had witnessed the love of Jesus Christ as he suffered for them. Peter especially knew this. He was the one who denied even knowing Jesus. He had turned his back on Jesus during Holy Week and Jesus forgave him. And Peter knew that this forgiveness meant something real because Christ rose from the dead in victory.

That is why Peter could rejoice. He believed that he was counted worthy by God, not because of what he had done, but because of what Jesus had done. Peter knew his sins were destroyed and heaven was his when the resurrected Lord appeared to him. John knew this too. He clearly expressed God's love for him repeatedly in his gospel.

We too have seen the resurrected Lord in the pages of Holy Scripture. When we read the Bible, God's law convicts our hearts and shows we are sinners. Scripture reveals to us that we need a savior from the sin. And when we read the Bible, the gospel clearly tells us that Jesus is the savior of the world. He lived the perfect life for us. He took our sins upon him. He rose and lives eternally so that we will live forever in heaven. Through faith in Christ Jesus as the risen savior, we too are counted worthy. Rejoice with the Apostles!

2. Let nothing hinder our work

The first verse of our lesson today tells us how the disciples reacted in their hearts to the resurrection of Christ. They rejoiced. Listen to the second verse to see how they were moved in their rejoicing. "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." The disciples, by the grace of God, were determined to let nothing hinder their work.

Day after day, without stopping, they taught and preached the gospel - the good news that Christ rose from the dead and conquered sin, death, and hell. Even though they were commanded by the authorities to stop, they were resolved to "obey God rather than men." They went into the temple courts and from house to house telling people that Jesus was the Christ, the promised one who saved the world; and they had the proof. Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus was alive.

As God's servant I stand in awe of the strength and resolve that God gave to those apostles. I hope that you do also. Now my intention is not lay guilt on your shoulders today for not having the zeal and determination of the disciples. My intention is to inspire and motivate you with God's Word.

As we get a snapshot of the work the apostles were doing, may the Holy Spirit move us to daily carry out our mission as Christians. Go home this week and read the book of Acts. Learn about the trials and tribulations of the early church. But also see how those Christians rejoiced that they could be counted worthy. Read and learn how the apostles stood up for Christ and proclaimed the good news.

And then let us move forward. There is so much work to be done. And it will take the entire body of Christ to accomplish this work. Let none hear you idly saying, there is nothing I can do. And I sure hope that no one here feels that they don't have to do anything. I am not being legalistic, but it is a fact that God expects us to bear fruit. So let us join together and work for God. Can you teach Sunday school? Can you mow the church lawn? Can you serve on a committee or board? Can you offer a helping hand to a fellow believer? Can you help the pastors make evangelism calls? Can you encourage our young people? Can you usher for worship? Can you support the gospel with your offerings? Can you invite your friends, neighbors, and relatives to hear what all the rejoicing is about?

There is much to do. Rejoice with the apostles. Because of Jesus resurrection from the dead, our sins have been forgiven and we have been counted worthy. Let nothing hinder our work. I am confident that the Lord will bless our work here at St. Stephen and His Church will grow as more and more people learn what all the rejoicing is about. AMEN.