When they had brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, “We gave you strict orders [did we not?] to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.” (John 5:27-32 NABRE)
From the very beginnings of Christianity, preaching and healing in the name of Jesus has been risky business. In today's passage we see the apostles themselves confronted angrily by the Sanhedrin who were the appointed leaders of the local Jewish community.
And to their pointed questions, Peter and the apostles replied that they must obey God rather than men. The conviction in the apostle's hearts that Jesus was indeed God's long-awaited savior for Israel had to have been so profound that they would willingly risk death, repeatedly. They took this risk because they witnessed his resurrection from the dead!
What powerful knowledge the apostles had. Death no longer had power over them. The risen Jesus promised them that. He promises you and I the same thing! Let's never lose sight of what that means. We have nothing in this world to fear.
Today, I will find courage and strength for my service in the certain knowledge of the resurrection.
Saint John Baptiste de la Salle, patron of educators, school principals, and teachers, pray for us.
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