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Obeying God Rather than Human Authority (6/28/26)
In preparation for this week’s commentary, I looked up Acts 5:29 in a variety of translations. There was one place I checked and found that throughout the telling of the story of the apostles, their teaching, their imprisonment, their mysterious freedom from prison, their re-arrest, the crowd’s response, and their final release, there were numerous footnotes, exploring Greek words, offering helpful interpretations, suggesting implications for our lives, etc. I looked for the footnotes on Acts 5:29. There were none, not one. It was as if the editors of that edition of the Bible felt there was nothing else to be said; the text said it all.
“We must obey God rather than any human authority” (NRSV, Acts 5:29).
There have been times when Christians have had moral disagreements with their government. There were many faithful in Germany who obeyed God’s voice rather than that of Adolf Hitler. There have been times when an employee chose to ignore an unjust practice advocated by her or his boss.
But for most of us, the most present “human authority” is our collection of friends. When all those around me argue for a common point of view, what do I do if I feel that God’s will points in another direction? I shall probably stay quiet. Alas.
The apostles were told to shut up, but they felt that God wanted them to speak. They did not say, “We want to speak, so we are going to speak no matter what you say.” They explained their action not by saying it was what they wanted to do, but by saying it was what God wanted them to do.
When I look at our Lord’s willingness to die rather than violate divine purpose, I ponder if I am willing to suffer even as little as being embarrassed in order to do what I think God wants done.
If obeying God is so important, what am I doing to learn the will of God? Prayer? Bible study? Christian conversation? Inner reflection? Looking at Jesus?
What Someone Else Has Said: In On Being a Christian (Doubleday), Hans Kũng has written: “…God wills nothing but (our) advantage, (our) true greatness, and (our) ultimate dignity. This then is God’s will: (humankind’s) well-being.”
Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Dear God, in the Scripture, You have shown us how those early apostles sought to do Your will. Now, be with us as we seek to find Your will and work to live out Your will…”
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By NC Conference of The UMCIn preparation for this week’s commentary, I looked up Acts 5:29 in a variety of translations. There was one place I checked and found that throughout the telling of the story of the apostles, their teaching, their imprisonment, their mysterious freedom from prison, their re-arrest, the crowd’s response, and their final release, there were numerous footnotes, exploring Greek words, offering helpful interpretations, suggesting implications for our lives, etc. I looked for the footnotes on Acts 5:29. There were none, not one. It was as if the editors of that edition of the Bible felt there was nothing else to be said; the text said it all.
“We must obey God rather than any human authority” (NRSV, Acts 5:29).
There have been times when Christians have had moral disagreements with their government. There were many faithful in Germany who obeyed God’s voice rather than that of Adolf Hitler. There have been times when an employee chose to ignore an unjust practice advocated by her or his boss.
But for most of us, the most present “human authority” is our collection of friends. When all those around me argue for a common point of view, what do I do if I feel that God’s will points in another direction? I shall probably stay quiet. Alas.
The apostles were told to shut up, but they felt that God wanted them to speak. They did not say, “We want to speak, so we are going to speak no matter what you say.” They explained their action not by saying it was what they wanted to do, but by saying it was what God wanted them to do.
When I look at our Lord’s willingness to die rather than violate divine purpose, I ponder if I am willing to suffer even as little as being embarrassed in order to do what I think God wants done.
If obeying God is so important, what am I doing to learn the will of God? Prayer? Bible study? Christian conversation? Inner reflection? Looking at Jesus?
What Someone Else Has Said: In On Being a Christian (Doubleday), Hans Kũng has written: “…God wills nothing but (our) advantage, (our) true greatness, and (our) ultimate dignity. This then is God’s will: (humankind’s) well-being.”
Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Dear God, in the Scripture, You have shown us how those early apostles sought to do Your will. Now, be with us as we seek to find Your will and work to live out Your will…”