Continuing with POWER observations from Acts 5, we have the first records of difficulty. Members of the church, apparently believers, Ananias and Sapphira lied about the selling price of their property. Peter called them out. Then we had more signs and wonders (Acts 5:12 – 16).

In Jerusalem, city of God, where no good deed goes unpunished, the reward for the apostles’ healing a lot of people is that they get to go to prison:

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. (Acts 5.17, 18, ESV)

And then the fun begins. Please don’t say that God doesn’t have a sense of humor! Can you picture the guards diligently and vigilantly guarding an empty prison?

But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” (Acts 5.19 – 23, ESV)

Forgive the alliteration – it’s a character flaw: there is opposition, but God’s power prevails over prevarication and prisons, and tomorrow we’ll see what happens to accusations of partiality.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15.13, ESV)