Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2032
Delivered on Lord’s Day Morning, July 8, 1888
“But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” Acts 5:19,20.
THE second persecution of the Church, in which all the Apostles were put into the common prison, was mainly brought about by the sect of the Sadducees. These, as you know, were the Broad School, the liberals, the advanced thinkers, the modern-thought people of the day. If you want a bitter sneer, a biting sarcasm, or a cruel action, I commend you to these large-minded gentlemen. They are liberal to everybody, except to those who hold the Truth of God—and for those they have a reserve of concentrated bitterness which far excels wormwood and gall.
They are so liberal to their brother errorists, that they have no tolerance to spare for evangelicals. We are expressly told that “the high priest, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees) were filled with indignation.” That which had been done deserved their admiration, but received their indignation. Such gentlemen as these can be warm at a very short notice when the doctrine of the Cross is spreading and God the Holy Spirit is bearing witness with signs following. Let them display their indignation, it is according to their nature.
To them the only answer which God gave was spoken by His angel: “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” Argument will be lost upon them—go on with your preaching. They have lost the faculty of believing—go and speak to the people. They are so given over to their doubts, that it is like rolling the stone of Sisyphus to persuade them to faith. They are so eaten up with objections, that to attempt to answer all the questions they raise would be as vain as the labor of filling a bottomless tub. Go on with your preaching, you Apostles—but address yourselves mainly to the people.
Extend as widely as possible the range of the Truth of God, and thus answer the opposition of its adversaries. It is better to evangelize than to controvert. The preaching of the Word of Life is the best antidote to the doctrine of death. Clearly enough, if they had known it and had been capable of seeing it, these blind Sadducees were answered at every point when the Apostles were brought out of prison and bore witness to their Lord.
Here was the creed of the Sadducees—they said that “there was no resurrection, neither angel, nor Spirit.” But these Apostles stood up and witnessed to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. What did they make of that? An angel had come from Heaven and had brought these Apostles out of prison. Then there were angels. As these Apostles were set free while the sentries remained standing before the doors—and those doors were afterwards found fastened—if there were no Spirit, assuredly materialism had acted in a singular fashion.
Every item of their negative creed had been made to fall like Dagon before the ark. The Lord always arranges Red Seas for Pharaohs. All that the Apostles had to do was to go on with their preaching and this they did, for “daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
This morning may we be profited while we consider our text and its surroundings. May He who spoke by His angel now speak to our hearts by His Spirit.
I. In reviewing the whole story which we read just now, from the seventeenth verse to the end of the chapter, my first thought is that THE AGENTS EMPLOYED FOR SPREADING THE GOSPEL ARE MEN, AND NOT ANGELS.
The angel of the Lord opened the prison door and set free the preachers, but might not be a preacher himself. He might give the ministers their charge, but he had no charge to preach himself. Surely the angel who brought them out of prison was quite able to have gone and proclaimed the Gospel, and so he might have brought many out of their prison spiritually. But no. It must not be. His commission permits him to say to the Apostles, “Go and speak to the people,” but it does not permit him to join in their testimony.
I think that almost with reluctance the angel of the Lord returned to his Master and left the chosen men to go upon their blessed errand. As our Lord took not on Him the nature of angels for man’s redemption, so neither does He employ the agency of angels for man’s conversion. I feel glad that in the preaching of the Everlasting Gospel angels are not our competitors, at this present time at any rate. “Unto the angels has He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.” They are ministering spirits but they have not received the Holy Spirit anointing them to the ministry of Christ.
This Divine choice of human instrumentality puts honor upon manhood. Those redeemed by the blood of Christ are men and their redemption from sin by power is to be instrumentally accomplished by men. The great fight which began in the Garden of Eden is to be waged by men even to the end. The conquest of the revolted world is to be achieved by men under the leadership of the all-glorious Son of Man. You see your calling, Brethren. I pray you, everyone, to preach the Gospel in your vocation—but specially would I plead for zeal with those whose very vocation it is to preach the Gospel.