Preparing For Persecution V

 As long as the Apostles and those of the primary church did nothing to draw the attention away from the Pharisees, as long as they didn’t do something the Pharisees couldn’t match, whether feeding the hungry or caring for orphans, they were unperturbed by these new additions to the cacophony that was Jerusalem at the time. But then, everything changed.

There was a certain man, lame from his mother’s womb, who would be carried daily and laid at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to beg for alms. Whether willingly or unwillingly, this was the man’s job, his lot in life, and every day, someone brought him, laid him at the gate, and begged for spare change. On that particular day, Peter and John passed by, and the man, who after a life lived begging likely had his bequest well-rehearsed, asked them for alms as well. If they’d been prosperity preachers, they’d likely have ordered their personal assistants to peel off a couple of twenties and hand them to the man. It would have made for a good photo opportunity, after all, but they weren’t, so there was no exchange of legal tender to be had. They did have something, though, something not of themselves, something more precious than a couple of shekels, and they willingly gave it to the lame man.

Acts 3:4-9, “And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.”

The man had been a staple at the gate called Beautiful all of his days. Everyone who passed through knew him, and they knew of his condition from birth. This wasn’t someone who was brought in for the sake of spectacle; he just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and Peter and John, knowing the authority and power they possessed in Christ Jesus, gave him the gift of healing.

This is what had the Pharisees and Sadducees up in arms. This is why they saw the followers of Jesus as an existential threat. They had done something that they themselves could never hope to replicate, and to someone whom everyone knew to have been lame since birth. It’s one thing to hear about something happening somewhere else to someone you’ve never met, but everyone knew this man; they’d always seen him lying in the dust of the earth begging for alms, yet here he was, walking, leaping, and praising God.  

These followers of the Way were walking in a power they couldn’t possibly match, and they realized the danger they posed to their authority. They were healing the sick and preaching the Christ, and people were responding. They were repenting of their sins, they were getting baptized, and word of these new people of the Way was spreading faster than ever the Sadducees, scribes, and elders thought possible.

Then one of them, since it always starts with one, had an Eureka moment, an epiphany of sorts. Why don’t we just have them arrested? We can deal with them at our leisure then, maybe have some faux trial with some trumped up charges, but they have to be something more than we’re just scared that we can’t match the power they wield or the tenacity with which they go about preaching this Jesus. Didn’t we deal with Him already? Wasn’t that what the whole thing with Judas and Barabbas was all about?

There was likely some basking in the afterglow of the brilliant idea that one individual came up with because evil is usually self-congratulatory to a fault. Once it was settled that this was the best course of action, they apprehended Peter and John, and all that remained was for them to be brought up on charges and put before the highest religious authorities in the land.

Perhaps that would be the end of it. All it might take for them to be scared straight and fall in line was to see the pomp and grandeur of Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and the high priest's family to boot.

To liken it to a practicing Catholic being brought before the Pope and all the highest-ranking bishops and asked to answer questions relating to heresy would not be overstating the matter. There was no greater religious power during that time than Annas, the high priest, and his entourage. Even with the apropos comparison, we must remember that the high priest and his cadre of henchmen held immense power, able to do everything from throwing people in prison to orchestrating the execution of someone they deemed as their competition. The point must be made lest we think Peter and John had an easy time of their experience or that it was inconsequential.

It’s a general rule that those whom the masses perceive to be in spiritual authority over them are heeded when they give a specific instruction. It’s why, in the not-so-long-ago past, the powers that be had to employ the services of known spiritual leaders to tell the people to be good little boys and girls and roll up their sleeves, you know because it’s what Jesus would do after all. Yes, I’m being snarky, but for good reason. If the West survives, and that’s a big if, we will look back on that as the lowest point of Christianity in America by far. You used Jesus, the Jesus, as a lever and cudgel to convince people to do something against their best interest and contrary to their long-held beliefs. When all the dirty little details of what occurred come out, and they always do, you will understand the true measure of evil that was visited upon the household of faith by those whom the household of faith holds in high esteem. Granted, it was a test run for something much worse, and the same people will be employed to sell the church on that worse thing. It worked the first time, didn’t it?

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.