Acts 5:17-32

In this week's passage from Acts the Apostles are arrested for a second time by the religious authorities and thrown in to jail for preaching and teaching in Jesus name. But instead of remaining in jail until they can be questioned an angel of the Lord appears and frees them from prison and sends them off with the mandate that they are to go and tell the people "the whole message about this life."

There are several important things that jump out in this passage. When the high priest had the apostles arrested it is said that he and all who were with him where filled with jealousy. Another translation says that they were filled with righteous indignation. The religious authorities needed the Temple to remain the center of the religious life of the people. The apostles represented a threat to this status quo. If the people followed the apostles they might begin to question what was going on in the temple, undermining the authority of the leaders. When people feel threatened they easily act out of their emotions to keep things how they are, and the results are rarely good. Change represents a risk and often we are not ready to jump in with both feet and embrace the waters of the unknown.

When the angel released the apostles from jail he did not just let them go, he sent them forth with a commission. They were sent forth to proclaim to those around them what God had done in their life. They could not simply go home and wash off their wounds, they needed to share their experience. We are let out of our own prisons every day. We lock ourselves up and we are locked up by others, but God sets us free. What prisons have you been released from? What prisons do you need to be released from?

Remember that our own stories do not end with our release. We too are sent forth to proclaim the goodness of God.