“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to 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.” (Acts 5:27-32)

The Holy Spirit was on the move. In every way – enacting justice, breathing life into death, convicting people of their sin, and performing miracles upon miracles. The apostles have figured out the best thing to do was let the Spirit run free and follow. Lives were changing and many were taking notice.

The problem is, when the Holy Spirit works, many do take notice, and there are plenty of those that don’t like what they see. They look at the Spirit’s work as a problem to be solved and a situation to be ended. Evil is no fan of the Spirit and fear becomes palpable when evil is confronted with the power of God. When evil is afraid, it gets vicious.

The Jewish council continued to see the Spirit’s work among the Jews and took offense. They saw their way being challenged and them being called to responsibility for the death of Jesus. Bringing in Peter and John only made it worse for them, as it gave Peter the perfect chance to make known who is in control – Jesus. They must obey God rather than men.

This reply only served to make the council more angry and develop a desire to kill these men. Peter and John were certainly not looking for a confrontation and to enrage the council. This statement was led by a humble boldness through the leading of the Holy Spirit to be truthful. But when people see themselves as threatened, it is easy to see why they reacted the way they did.

Why is this important now? Because there are a lot of things people are looking for us to respond to. Can we speak truth into situations with grace and light so that people know it is not us that is talking, but the Spirit? I think so. But we have to obey God first – if we aren’t listening to Him, we won’t have the opportunities to speak about Him.

As Gamaliel says later in the chapter, “if it is from God, it cannot be stopped”. Are you willing to obey and see where this journey takes you? It will be dangerous, but good, for He is dangerous and thankfully good. Don’t miss the boat.