“Did not we straightly command you that you should not teach in this name? And, behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:28-29).

 Doesn’t it strike you how the Council hardened their hearts about their wicked plans in delivering Christ to be crucified to Pilate? According to Matthew 27:25, “His blood be on us, and on our children!” was among the shouts just before the Lord Jesus was crucified. The Council certainly was party to the roar of the crowd. They were very instrumental in this wicked rejection. No repentance is seen in this Council. The other thing that strikes me about this statement is that the Council dared to believe that they had effectively removed the evangelistic outreach of the early church simply because they decreed that no more teaching was to take place in this name. The wickedness of human hearts is really exposed when those in power become self-absorbed and make edicts that defy the sovereign plan of God. The Council decreed “No more teaching in this name!” And yet even they testified that all Jerusalem was filled with this doctrine. We will think more about this tomorrow. However, for today, let’s be encouraged that the conditions today are no more difficult than the conditions in the first generation. They filled Jerusalem with the doctrine of Christ. May we be filling our part of the world with His wonderful doctrine!

 For today: I want to have the Lord working in and through me to impact my world. How about you?