AT WHAT POINT do we commit ourselves to instruction by others, and at what point should that commitment end? How do we decide upon who it is that should instruct us, and who should not? When should we sit under instruction, and when should we not? These are the questions that everyone who is becoming self-determinant asks, and ultimately must answer for themselves.
The Temple priests of the Sanhedrin of Jesus’ time were such men—they had been thoroughly schooled by the best minds of their times as they grew into maturity, and into power. The theocracy of the Temple included the scribes and Pharisees. The system had been tested and in place for the better part of two centuries during Jesus’ time. It had history before, during, and after the exiles to Babylon and Assyria, and all the way back to its roots in the time of the judges and further, into the time with Moses and Aaron in the desert years in the wilderness. These men had made an informed decision about their value systems and beliefs. They were thoroughly satisfied with what they had been taught, and had further tested these issues in the context of their life experiences. They had come to fully trust in the laws that they knew held the nation together.
Jesus’ disciples, however, were relatively common folk. Four were fishermen, and involved also in the business of fishing. One was a tax collector. The occupations of the other seven are unknown. None of them were formally educated in Torah, but all had been exposed to a rudimentary religious upbringing; all of them were products of the religious system of the country, and flavored by their particular town’s synagogue. Additionally, like all observant Jews, they had made pilgrimages to the Holy City during feast times, especially that of Passover, and no doubt considered that the high point of their faith.
In their first public miracle, Peter and John had healed a lame beggar just the day before. “Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:6-8) At the order of the priests, who responded with the temple guard, the apostles were arrested and held overnight for questioning the next day, at which time they give glory to God in the name of Jesus. “If we are being called to account and are asked how he was healed, then know this: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man stands before you healed.” (Acts 4:9-10)
We understand the reasons for the angry consternation of these trained theologians. First, the radical heretic, Jesus, had been killed very recently to quell what looked like a dangerous movement in the people of the culture. There had been rumors that he was the Messiah, but that had been disproven by the very fact of his execution by crucifixion. With him gone and his disciples scattered, that problem was thought to have been put to rest. And now this! Another claim of a miracle, and, worse yet, the assertion that it had been performed in the power of Jesus’ name; and, very dangerously, rumors of this had gone broadly out into the city. Additionally, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
Very unsure of what to do next, they talked nervously amongst themselves. “What are we going to do to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people?” (Acts 4:15b) The priests ordered Peter and John to stop teaching about Jesus, but they responded, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20) In the confusion swirling throughout the city and the temple, the priests don’t know what to do. In order to buy time, “After further threats, they let them go.” (Acts 4:21a)
The priests, the Pharisees, and the scribes are well-schooled in the system of belief that is Judaism, and understand it very well. It has been their source of life-long power. Yes, some ominous events have recently shaken the Temple system, but surely it was only an earthquake that had ripped the Temple curtain from top to bottom, and knocked off and left open the capstones of crypts in the open-air mausoleums surrounding the walls of the city some weeks back. Surely it was the disciples themselves, or perhaps the Zealots, who rolled away the stone from the heretic’s tomb, and stirred all those rumors that have now been exacerbated by the healing of the lame man. With careful attention to all that is righteous, order can be restored, and all will once again be well at the Temple and for the nation.
The disciples had made an empowered decision about what they valued concerning what they believed. But more than that, they had walked with Jesus. The time with Jesus had changed them greatly, and had completely rewritten their beliefs. Everything they had learned about God in the same cultural religious system as their interrogators was now seen in a new and very personal light. The resurrection life of Jesus flowed through them not just vicariously, but experientially—they had cast out demons, healed the sick, and now, right in the center of the Holy City, had healed a man known to be lame since birth. They walk free now not because they have been released, but because they are truly free. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
We are all surrounded continually by the forces that shape our experiences and influence our beliefs. And each of us, common to humanity, must try to work through what separates truth from lie, fact from fiction, the real from the surreal. This usually begins because life isn’t working out as well as we’d like. It takes some courage, sometimes a great deal of courage, to challenge our own beliefs. It helps if there is someone who can help guide our steps, who speaks a word of encouragement in the right way at the right time. Perhaps it begins like this: “Come, follow me…” (Matt. 4:19)
Q. Do I follow religious conventions, or the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Leave a Reply