"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."
-Acts 5:42
Zeal is a conviction that spawns a focused intensity and a resolute determination. It does not cower when it encounters obstacles. It does not retreat when it faces resistance. It does not give ground to doubt or criticism. Even when mockers denounce its work, a zealous heart faithfully tarries on.
Zeal seems to come naturally to youth. Although they may not be able to articulate it, the lively spirit that children exhibit affirms life is a blessing, abounding with evidence of God’s goodness and affection for humanity. It is remarkable to consider, unfortunately, how quickly zeal dissipates as youth gives way to adulthood. Children tend to marvel at the world around them, whereas adults tend to malign the world around them. Children tend to see the world as an adventure, whereas adults tend to see the world as an affliction. When grown-ups become emotionally apathetic and spiritually lethargic, they lose the wonder of existence, meandering through their days harboring resentment and discontentment. How differently would their outlook be through the eyes, heart, and zeal of a child?
Like many, I exhibited zeal in my adolescence. Words like “impossible” and “never” did not burrow their way into my vocabulary or thoughts until my later years. I once believed that if I gave enough effort and commitment to whatever goal was set before me, success would be sure to follow. My well-meaning, but ultimately misguided, perception was crushed by an incident that happened to me in elementary school.
I participated in many athletic programs throughout my grammar school years. Although I never stayed with any specific sport for an extensive period of time, little league baseball produced a spirited energy within me, and held my interest longer than the others. When I first started playing baseball, I had high hopes of earning an infield position. Unfortunately, my first assignment was as an outfielder. While I understood every position in baseball was critical to the total strength of the team, I was discontent with my role. In my mind, being an outfielder was unspectacular. The infield was the center of activity. After all,infielders get opportunities to stop grounders and throw out runners at the bases. They receive thunderous cheers from parents after they execute important defensive stops. Very few spectators get off their seats to applaud outfielders catching fly balls. But I accepted my post and gave it my best.
One day, an opening for a more prominent position was made available when our catcher was injured during a game. He aggravated his left wrist, which prevented him from being able to absorb the impact of pitches. The coach called a timeout and had the team huddle together. He told us our catcher could not finish the game. He then asked if someone would be willing to fill in as catcher. Without flinching, I raised my hand and said, “I will.” Bear in mind, I had never practiced as a catcher before. There were fundamental techniques my body was not be prepared to engage. Maneuvering with the additional weight of the protective gear. Maximizing hand and eye coordination to grab a spiraling pitch out of the air. The coach was justifiably cautious but equally touched by my willingness to help the team. He said, “Ok”.With much assistance from the primary catcher, I put on the protective catching equipment. Immediately, my mobility felt uncomfortably restrictive. Every twist and turn of my body was labored. It was as if I was moving in slow motion. Then I put on the catcher’s mask. As I draped it over my face, my view drastically narrowed. The numerous slits in the mask, which were designed to shield me from potential facial injuries, hampered my line of sight, leaving me with no peripheral vision.
When the moment of truth came, I took to the field. As I crouched down behind home plate, I was flooded with excitement and dread. I tried to ignore my quickened heart rate and trembling hands, but the lack of physical proficiency and the emotional turmoil shattered my false confidence and bravado. My limited movement and delayed reflexes caused me to miss every pitch. Balls sailed by me with rapid pace. I found myself spending as much time at the backstop retrieving baseballs as I did squatting behind home plate trying to catch the baseballs.
I managed to last just a few batters before the coach pulled me from the game. My catching premier was a disaster and left me feeling dejected. The embarrassment of being unable to handle a catcher’s assignment quieted my pretentious attitude. I quickly wanted to move past that lackluster performance and return to being an outfielder.
That experience taught me zeal can either be godly or worldly. What differentiates the two is mindset and motivation. When one’s zeal is applied solely to the things of this world, it leads to a state of despair. Fame. Popularity. Success. Such pursuits derive from selfish objectives. What one hopes to achieve through worldly zeal never ultimately satisfies the internal hunger of the soul. Dreams get bigger but the list of disappointments gets longer. But when one’s zeal is applied to the things of God, it leads to a state of delight, filled with contentment and satisfaction. Priorities are realigned in conformance with the directives of God’s Word and the direction of the Holy Spirit. Conditioning character and sacrificially investing in others become key aims. In sum, godly zeal helps one focus on the greater issues of life, such as spiritual growth, family unity, and kingdom-building work.
Godly zeal distinguished the apostles and believers. Events in Acts 5 speak to this truth. But not everyone honored the aspiration to let Christ be exalted in their endeavors. The sacrificial act that many disciples entered into in Acts 4, that being the voluntary conviction to sell homes and land holdings in order to give the monetary return wholly to the apostles for the purpose of redistributing the earnings to people in want, was presented in a counterfeit manner by one couple in Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of property, but chose to retain a portion of the proceeds. One wonders if Ananias and Sapphira could not fully entrust their lives to God. Perhaps, like the rich young man in Matthew 19, the husband and wife struggled with placing their hope in God’s providence rather than in their possessions. Regardless, Ananias went to the Jerusalem temple and laid some money at the apostles’ feet, which, by all appearances, indicated that he and Sapphira had made the noblest of contributions to Christ’s ministry.
Peter, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, immediately recognized the deception. He supernaturally understood that Ananias wanted praise and credit providing a substantial offering without surrendering everything it required. False intentions and fake worship practices incur God’s rebuke and wrath. As a result of Ananias’s charade, he fell dead at Peter’s feet, the very place Ananias’s insincere showing occurred. A few hours later, Sapphira attempted the same ruse. She shared the same fate as her husband and instantly died after Peter’s divinely-inspired reprimand. As the report of these events spread, great fear and respect seized those inside the church, as well as many outside the faith.
Acts 5:12 points out that the apostles relentlessly served people. They performed healings. They cast out evil spirits. They reallocated donations to those in need. Because of their allegiance to tell and teach others about Jesus, they became fixtures in Jerusalem’s temple. The threats from the religious establishment did not dissuade the apostles from talking about Christ. Although the apostles did not have the consent or endorsement of the Jewish priests and elders, they continued gathering in the outer courts of the temple to evangelize, disciple, and worship.
The resulting work of the Holy Spirit through the apostles was incredible. Residents of Jerusalem who were ill were cured in mass. Shortly thereafter, people from neighboring towns brought sick family members and friends to Jerusalem in hopes that the apostles would offer a healing touch. All who were brought before the apostles were freed from their infirmities. The religious leaders tolerated the message and actions of the apostles for a time, but eventually their anger and frustration outweighed their acceptance and patience. Of all the places, the temple courts, where the religious leaders were to be highly revered, the apostles, unschooled commoners, were amassing a substantial following. Even though the labor of the Holy Spirit was both evident and inviting, it insulted and infuriated the priests and officials.
Scripture states the rejection of the gospel began at the top of the religious structure, with the high priest, the very person who should have been the most responsive to God’s movement. The Sadducees, like the high priest, were filled with jealousy at the apparent gifts of the apostles and the growing fellowship that was generating. Once again, Peter and John were arrested and thrown in prison, along with the other ten apostles. Even if the priests and religious leaders had no criminal activity they could levy upon the apostles, they could momentarily thwart their ministry. To them, this was a minor victory, but a victory none-the-less. But overnight, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the apostles’ prison cell, released them, and instructed them to resume preaching the gospel in the temple courts.
The next day, the high priest and officials convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin and called for the apostles, assuming they were still securely bound in jail. The officer-in-charge went to the apostles’ prison cell, unlocked it, and found no one was inside. When the word of the apostles’ inexplicable disappearance was given to the high priest and officials, they were perplexed as to what could have happened to the apostles. Their state of confusion did not last long because the apostles were busy preaching in the outer courts of the temple, as the angel of God had advised them to. The temple guards immediately removed the apostles from the temple court and took them to the Sanhedrin for interrogation.
The high priest’s initial statement to the apostles is very insightful. He chastised Christ’s followers for disobeying the religious panel’s order not to teach in Jesus’ name. This was a manmade mandate, not a heavenly-ordained mandate. As such, the apostles responded to the high priest and official by saying, in essence, God’s decrees trump those of man. One would hope that the apostles’ miraculous prison liberation would have revealed something to the Sanhedrin about the fact that God’s blessing was upon the apostolic ministry. But that was not the case. If not for the timely advice of one of the Pharisees, a man named Gamaliel, who Paul credited as his former teacher in Acts 22:3, the apostles likely would have been condemned to death on the spot. Gamaliel offered wise counsel to the high priest and officials, reasoning that if the work of the apostles was that of man, it would fail in due time. If the work of the apostles was sanctioned by God, however, then the Sanhedrin council would be fighting a lost cause because the religious leaders would be, in essence, opposing God directly. Either way, they needed to excuse themselves from the affairs of the apostles. Gamaliel’s speech persuaded the Sanhedrin to refrain from having the apostles executed that day.
Although the apostles could have been released without harm, the religious leaders had them stripped and whipped through the heinous practice of flogging. Furthermore, they demanded, yet again, that the apostles abstain from speaking about Jesus Christ anymore. The apostles’ reaction has much to teach us. With bloodied bodies, they walked away rejoicing. Rejoicing that they had suffered for the cause of Christ. Rejoicing that their disgrace was a result of their desire to help others know Christ’s grace. The apostles had an undaunted spirit. Acts 5:42 magnifies the measure of their resolve. They continued teaching about Jesus in the temple courts, as well as in peoples’ homes, in spite of the warnings and behavior of the religious leaders. The apostles’ unashamed outlook provides three characteristics of godly zeal worthy of deliberation.
One, a godly zeal is active. The Bible states that the apostles preached the gospel day after day. To speak daily about Jesus reveals how important the Savior was to the apostles. Not only was the legacy of Christ worthy of contemplation, it was worthy of communication. Jesus was more than a sound, moral teacher to these men. He was more than a wise, inspirational counselor. He was more than a gallant, ethical martyr. The apostles believed, rightly so, that Jesus is the Author of life, Who sacrificed Himself for humanity. Through Christ, forgiveness is made available to anyone willing to accept His gracious gift. This magnificent message demands an active ministry, not a passive one.
Self-serving motives disappoint. Self-made plans fall apart. Impure agendas are exposed. But godly zeal stands the test of time and the test of character. It refuses to retreat. It refuses to be silent. It gives without abandon. The apostles demonstrated the convicting power of zeal through their unwavering passion to share Christ’s message. The sincerity of their ambition reveals an abiding love that is both patient and steadfast. Even in the face of harassment and heckling, the apostles counted it pure joy to speak of the difference Jesus had made in their lives.
Two, a godly zeal is apparent. It is often said that actions speak louder than words. The apostles obviously believed both were of equal value for it was through their words and actions that they directed others to Jesus. They voiced hope-filled words. They offered healing and help. They exhausted nearly every means they could in order to bring Christ’s salvation to the people. In fact, not only did the apostles continue relaying the gospel message in the temple courts, they took the message into peoples’ homes. No individual or family was above, or below, an offer of salvation.
The apostles’ daily act of worship is a critical consideration. Many in the Hebrew faith had confined worship to the temple and synagogue settings. One day a week, based on Old Testament instruction, was set aside to honor God. This day was known as the Sabbath, which means “desist”. It was a day the Israelites ceased, or desisted, from working in order to observe God’s commandment to rest, thereby allowing God’s followers to publicly gather and worship Him.
Although the Sabbath should have been but one means of transparent devotion, it had become the exclusive form of worship for many of the Israelites in the New Testament era. And even at that, several religious leaders had distorted the nature of the Sabbath, turning it into an opportunity to flaunt their spiritual superiority, as well as instill social control over the biblically uninformed. The Sabbath was consecrated to be one day in a weeklong, better yet lifelong, spirit of worship, but, by and large, it had become a passionless observance.
The apostles believed that worshipping God is a privilege that should be enjoyed and offered up daily. This conviction was so strong that it prompted them to praise God inside and outside the confines of the religious structure. To them, worship was personal and therefore portable. They carried praise everywhere, even to the most private setting: a person’s home. Every day, not just the Sabbath day, is a day that warrants the admiration and declaration of the glory of God, and His Son: Jesus Christ. The apostles refused to disassociate their religious lives from their personal lives. An admiration for Christ trumped pretense. We see through their example that a spiritual relationship with God demands total allegiance, a zealous allegiance that is both active and apparent.
Three, a godly zeal is audible. The apostles never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. How did they reveal that they believed Jesus was the Son of God and that Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary was sufficient to eternally cover humanity’s transgressions? They told others about it. In a world that prefers to dwell on shallow sentiments, reading about the bold stance and message of the apostles is highly motivating. They knew truth would be difficult for some to absorb; they spoke it anyway. They knew truth would cause some people to be upset and indignant; they said it anyway. They knew truth would be met with rejection and persecution; they shared it anyway. Although the world did not want to hear what the apostles had to say, they needed to hear what they had to say.
Truth is rarely accepted in culture, but that does not negate mankind’s need to receive it. The apostles unapologetically accepted the role of being truth-talkers. They modeled a lifestyle of godly zeal that deserves review and replication. They honored God with serving hands and surrendered hearts, so-much-so that they daily chose to give glory to God through their speech and their service. They viewed each day as yet another opportunity to herald the glory of Jesus, the One in Whom zeal is appropriately placed.
Does your life emanate godly zeal?
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