Acts 5:19-20 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Before Christ came, truth was considered to be the benediction of the few rather than the birthright of the many, the property of certain classes rather than the possession of the masses. But when Christ appeared He broke down the caste of light and learning, and brought the glorious truths of the gospel into the open market of the world. I. THE COMMAND OF THE ANGEL. It was in direct opposition to the command of the Jewish hierarchy. There occurs a period in all lives when there is a conflict between the higher and the lower, between the external voice of authority and the inward voice of conscience, a period when the soul must dare to assert the majesty of eternal right in the face of the whole world. When the Lord speaks to us, either in the written Word or through the voice of conscience, or it may be in the events of providence, we must disregard custom and creed and yield to the dictates of the still small voice within. II. THE PLACE OF THE APOSTLES' MINISTRY. The temple of nature is one vast symbol of God. In the circle of sky above our heads, in the round ocean beneath our feet, we see the image of His eternity, in the light we see His perfection, in the lily His purity. Every common bush is aflame with the glory of God. And so it was in the temple at Jerusalem. It contained the symbols and the shadows of redemption. We have in the action of the apostles the recognition of the great principle of the right and privilege of every man who is filled with the Spirit to teach and to preach in the temple of the living God. III. THE PERSONS TO WHOM THE APOSTLES SPOKE. It is the crowning glory of the gospel, that it appeals to the people and admits the masses into the inner shrine and sanctuary of truth. It is impossible to estimate the transcendent blessing which a cheap Bible has conferred upon mankind, and the liberty to read the sacred oracles in one's native tongue. IV. THE PURPORT OF THE APOSTLES' MESSAGE. The life of Christ challenges the attention of the world. "This life" is the life of God manifest in the flesh, the life of the Divine and the human in one person, the life of the Eternal looking through the windows of time. In Christ is the fountain of life. He came to give life, and to give it more abundantly. (J. C. Shanks.) Parallel Verses KJV: But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,WEB: But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out, and said, |
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