Arrested and Beaten - The Book of Acts

In this Bible Story, the apostles are beaten and imprisoned for preaching the name of Jesus, healing the sick, and feeding the poor. Just as their Lord before them, the apostles find themselves suffering for the sake of restoration. This story is inspired by Acts 5:17-6:7. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Acts 5:18 from the King James Version.

Episode 220: As Peter, John, and some of the other disciples were sitting arrested in a dungeon, an angel of God came and rescued them. The angel commissioned them to go back into the temple and preach to the people. They obeyed and were arrested again. Just as the Sanhedrin were getting ready to put the men to death, a Pharisee named Gamaliel spoke up and reasoned with them again, rescuing the disciples. Though the disciples were beaten again and again, they rejoiced in getting to share the good news of God with the people.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray and laid their hands on the apostles
and put them in the common prison. Acts five eighteen.
Holy Spirit, strengthen me as I stand in the face
of persecution and ridicule. When I decide to reach out
and offer a hand to those in need, when I

(00:22):
feel arrested and imprisoned by the isolation of others, I
will remember your sweet Spirit, and I will remember the
life of Jesus. Like his disciples, he endured because the
sacrifice was worth the scars, the souls were worth the scrapes,

(00:42):
and their freedom was worth the fight. I will not
give up until your mission is fulfilled in my life. Lord,
I will remain relentless in my pursuit of your divine presence. Therefore,
with every fiber in my being, I say bring it on,

(01:05):
because I am a water walking, giant, slaying, lion killing,
serpent crushing, jericho, crumbling, wall building, presence filled, anointed child
of God, and I won't be stopped. In Jesus name. Amen,

(01:26):
thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,
brought to you by Bible In a year dot.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Com arrested and beaten, and our last story, Annanias and
Saffira were struck.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Down for their false sense of holiness and charity. They
feigned generosity to look holy and paid dearly for their deception.
Now we see the disciples following in the suffering of Jesus,
imprisoned and beaten, they maintain a hopeful joy that goes
beyond comprehension, inspired by the Book of Acts.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
We're so glad you joined us on the Bible into
your Podcast today. The Bible into Your Podcast is an
outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you
each week through the support of listeners just like you.
Your support today is so important that we want to
thank you for your gift by giving you a copy
of my book called The Jesus Book. It is a

(02:36):
powerful guide that shows how every book of the Bible
points to Jesus and how his living word, the truth
of God's Word, will transform your life. So to get
a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to Jack
Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot org
slash Jesus and thank you for your support. In our

(02:58):
last episode, we heard how God God dealt severely with
Anonias and Sapphira for their greed and deception. He was
showing the early Church and us that sin is a
serious subject and it is costly when God's children sin. Today,
will hear how the disciples continue to preach the risen
Christ and the suffering that begins as a result of

(03:21):
proclaiming the Gospel. Despite the opposition and even imprisonment. These
faithful servants remain joyful in their suffering as they hope
and trust in the Lord. And we'll hear how God
uses their circumstances to bring the message of salvation to
more and more people listen to the word of God.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
Now it was as cold as it was dark where
the disciples lay. The wet stone floors sucked the heat
right out of their bodies as they shivered in their
prison cells. The moonlight was barely peering out of cracks
in the coupled walls. The High Priest had arrested Peter
in the other and thrown them into prison out of fear.

(04:03):
Their movement was increasing at an unmanageable rate, and they
felt their power slipping through their fingers. John rested his
head against the stone wall and prayed with his brothers.
Echoes of their songs to God filled the depressing hallways.
Their prayers and songs were interrupted by the creaking sound
of the metal doors opening. Peter looked and saw that

(04:26):
the prison doors had been opened. Peter looked to his
left and to his right and saw a figure standing
in the shadows. He emerged from the darkness and was
revealed to be an angel of the Lord. Leave this place,
but do not run away, he said. The angel's voice
was deep and commanding. Go out and stand boldly in

(04:48):
the temple. Speak to people all the words of life.
So the disciples escaped the prison just as the sun
was rising. They stood up in the temple courtyards and
continued to preach the message of Jesus. The High Priest
emerged from his quarters to see Peter in the middle
of the yard. Seize them, he yelled, and the temple

(05:09):
guards tackled the apostles to the ground. James and John
had their faces shoved into the dirt. This was not
what they had in mind when they thought about following Jesus,
but it was better, filled with more excitement and purpose.
We warned you not to teach his name Caiaphas spat
Peter thought about fighting, but then remembered the words of Jesus.

(05:33):
Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.
Peter drew a deep breath and calmly replied, we obey
God before men. Priest Caiaphas bubbled over in rage and
had the guards strike Peter in the jaw. Andrew jolted forward,
but was met with a quick kicked in the stomach.
Caiaphas leaned over to Andrew and said, I should kill you.

(05:56):
I should kill you all right. Before he was about
to give the word, a Pharisee by the name of
Gameliel rose up. Stop. He shouted, We have had false
prophets rise up before these men, have we not? God
has a way of pruning those who do not speak
the truth. If these men are fools, then we should
stay away from them. They will die eventually and their

(06:18):
movement will fade. But if these men speak the truth,
then it is us who are in danger if we
strike them down. Gomelliel was a voice of reason for
the Pharisees and was able to keep them from killing
Peter and the others, but not without a swift beating.
All the disciples were taken into the courtyard and beat
with clubs and whips. Then they were tossed by the

(06:40):
roadside to hobble home. The men lay on the ground,
sore and bleeding, but on each of their faces was
a smile. They were glad to suffer for the name
of Jesus. They were glad to suffer so that others
might thrive. It was their honor. So each day they
rose up again to go preach in each day they

(07:00):
were either thrown in prison or beaten. This became the
rhythm of their life. No one had killed Christians at
this point until a man named Saul came.

Speaker 4 (07:15):
Today's Bible passage begins inside a prison cell. Peter John
and the other apostles had not listened to the warnings
of the religious leaders, and they continued to preach Christ
and the Gospel all over Jerusalem. The high priest and
the Sadducees were jealous of the influence these men were
having on all the people, so they had them arrested

(07:36):
and thrown into prison again. But God sent an angel
in the night to open the gates of their cell.
The angel told them to leave and go teach in
the temple courts, so that people might hear all the
words of life. This was the driving force, the passion
of these men now to tell all who would hear
that Jesus's Lord, and that he would make a way

(07:56):
to free everyone who trusted it him from their sins
and to save them forever. This was the mission of Jesus,
the mission that he had given them, And now the
disciples were carrying out this work and witness of the Gospel.
The next morning, when the guard went to get the
men out of prison to bring them before the Council
of the People of Israel, they found only an empty cell,

(08:19):
and when they heard the report that the men were missing,
everyone was perplexed. How could they have escaped? Soon their
questions were answered because the apostles had not run away.
They were right in the temple, courageously continuing to tell
people about Jesus. So they were taken from there to
the High Priest and the Council of Religious Leaders and

(08:40):
questioned interrogated. These religious leaders reminded the apostles that they
had been strictly warned and told to stop talking about
Jesus and proclaiming this message. But Peter reminded them once
again that they were to obey God and not men.
So they laid out the gospel, how Jesus had come

(09:02):
from God, and these very men had crucified him, but
he arose conquering death to bring grace and forgiveness to
all who would believe in him. What a change has
taken place in these men's lives. These men who had
fled in fear when Jesus was taken to the cross,
and hid in terror after his death and burial, are
now standing without fear before the same men who had

(09:25):
sent Christ to his death. What was the difference? The
presence of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the promised helper that
Jesus had sent, filled them with the very power of God,
so that nothing any human ruler could do to them
would stop them from preaching the good news. It is
that same spirit to which we now have available to

(09:47):
us today in Christ. We can be filled with the
boldness and confidence to share our faith in Christ with
anyone and everyone and fulfill the mission and commission of Jesus.
Is that amazing God will use us to preach the gospel.
The Apostle's words stirred up deep anger, even hatred among

(10:08):
the council they wanted these men dead, but a lone
voice of reason stood up to speak. A man named
Gamaliol reminded the council of others who had come before
and led movements, and eventually these movements went away. But
then Gamaleo spoke these words in Acts five thirty eight
to thirty nine. So in the present case, I can

(10:29):
tell you keep away from these men and let them alone.
For if this plan or this undertaking is of men,
it will fail. But if it is of God, you
will not be able to overthrow them. You might even
find yourself opposing God. Well, his words were convincing, and
the council took his advice. They had no reason to

(10:52):
hold or imprison these men, so they released them. But
first they beat them and threatened them and warned them
never to speak in the name of Jesus again. Well,
did this stop Peter and John and the rest of
the apostles and the work of the church. Not at all.
And rather than leave that place licking their wounds and

(11:12):
lamenting their persecution, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy
to suffer in the name of the Lord Jesus. What
the council meant for intimidation was actually fuel for their fire.
They went out every day teaching in the name of Jesus,
preaching and telling more and more people what Christ could
do for them if they would put their faith in him. Soon, however,

(11:35):
the patience of the council would run out and a
new enemy of the Gospel would emerge, a zealous young
rabbi by the name of Saul. We'll hear about him
the next time. Dear God, we thank you for today's reading,
which reminds us that you can do great things through
us when we are yielded and surrendered to You. When
we tell people about Jesus and the power of the

(11:56):
Holy Spirit, we remember that witnessing is sharing Jesus in
the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results
to God. So may we boldly witness and tell our
family and friends and people that we meet of the
love and the grace of our Lord Jesus, no matter
what kind of opposition or resistance we face. May we

(12:17):
be courageous in sharing Christ in Jesus's name. Amen, thank
you for listening to today's Bible into your podcast, And
before we go, I wanted to let you know that
the Bible into Your podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint
Ministries and can only come to you each week through
the support of listeners like you. Your support today is

(12:40):
so important that we want to thank you for your
gift by giving you a copy of my book called
The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide that
shows how every book in the Bible points to Christ
and how you can better read and understand the Bible
and how God's Word transforms our lives. So to get
your copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to Jagram

(13:02):
dot org slash Jesus. That's Jagraham dot org slash Jesus
and thank you for your support.