The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-02-06
LESSON STORY.


That the apostles deliberately go to
Solomon's porch and preach to the peo-
pie is evidence of the heroic mood OF the
church at this stage of it's history.
In Solomon's porch, we recall, Peter
and John had been arrested for preach
ing in the Name; and had subsequently
gained signal moral victory over the
Sanhedrim. The Church exultingly cele-
brated this triumph, and was again ia
vored with an outpouring of the Spirit.
There was now among the members I'M
paralleled unity, and unparalleled conse-
Grafton. The episode of Ananias and
Sapphire had not daunted the courage
of the believers; not this; it had served
rather to show the danger of being false,
the certainty that all wrong doing would
be avenged The mass of believers, the
apostles leading, were willing to offer
their lives as we'll as their fortunes to
the cause OF the r sen One. So they
with one accord go to Solomon's porch
in the temple area to hold their meet
ings. 1t is knightly defiance of the
temple authorities. BY their acts they
say: ain this place the preaching of the
Gospel was suspended by the arrest OF
Peter and John. Here we are: arrest us
if you will. We give our lives to the
Gospel of the Risen Christ. Living or
dying we are his"
That there should be at this period
perhaps an unprecedented healing power
in the Christian faith; that the sick
should be brought to the apostles from
far and near; that the touches of the
sick should be placed where the shadow
of Peter would fall upon them as he
passed, in the belief that this would be
curative; that health giving influences
surcharged the spiritual atmospheric
all this, under psychologist law, is the
natural result of such heroism of faith.
Surely this challenge to the reluctant
Sanhedrim must draw response. 1t
does.
1, A Prison cannot Hold the
ApOstles,-vs l7-23,
The high priest rose up; that is, he
braced up; to use expressive modern
phrasing, he pulled himself together.
Whether this special high priest was
the deposed Annas. or his son-in-law
Caiaphas. we can only conjecture. 1t
may have been, as was often the case,
Caiaphas acting under the advice OF
Annas. But whether Annas or Caiap-
has. he was certainly the representative
of the Sadducean party. The Sadducees,
we recall, were chiefly notable for their
scorn Of the doctrine of immortality.
They we're resolute and bigoted mater
ialists. This explains the angry zeal of
this Saddueean high priest. 1t might
be that the invasion of the temple area
by the apostles could have been excused.
if the apostles had preached a dead
Christ; but the appropriation of Solo
mons porch to preach in the name OF
the Risen Christ was impertinence, in
suit, indctable heresy. So the Saddu.
cean high priest was compelled to bestir
himself
The result was that the temple police.
under instigaton of the Sanhedrim, laid
hands on the apostles. and put them IN
public Card. The entire twelve we're
arrested and confined 10 the guard
hous3. probably some building connected
with the temple.
But the angel LITERALLY messenger) Of
the Lord by night opened the prison
doors. and brought them ont. Whowas
this messenger of the Lord? With
respectful Difference to all who construe
otherwise, we are inclined to the opinion
that he was some Jewish or Roman
officer who possessed, and exercised in
bshalt of the apostles. the secrets OF the
prison. He could easily have been a
Roman officer, who, if detected, would
have had little to fear from the Sanhe-
drim. Nothing in the narrative necess-
aeily implies that this person who mys
teriously opened the door of the hold