Evening star., 1925-04-18

Antagonism against the early
church quickly followed the healing
of the cripple at the Beautiful Gate.
The friction developed from the teach
ing Of Peter and John in the temple.
The priests were provoked by a spirit
OF jealousy at the apostles usurping
their official prerogative Of preaching
in the temple. The captain of the
temple was aroused by the danger of
riot within the sacred precincts.
where he was required to preserve
order. The Sadducees were indignant
at the apostles teachings concerning
the resurrection of the dead, which
they denied, but Peter and John de.
clared had taken place in connection
with Jesus.
Friction between these forces and
the early church resulted in the i'm
prisonment of Peter and John. This
was the first step of the separation
of Christianity from Judaism. In its
beginning, the members of the church
looked upon their fellowship as a re-
form group within their national faith
The apostles and all. the members
of the early church were Hebrews and
devout worshipers in the temple
Their religious zeal stirred them up
TO stricter faithfulness in observing
all the ordinances of the Jewish law
thereby winning for themselves the
approval of the Pharisees.
When the two apostles appeared
before the Sanhedrin, which had tried
Christ, the attitude of these men sur.
prised the court. The poise and cour-
age Of the two men, whom they
looked upon as being "unlearned and
ignorant men," surprised the Sanhe.
drin, who were at a loss as to how
they should proceed against them
They did not take up the teachings
that had caused the apostles arrest
because they evidently did not desire
to consider the evidence that would
have been presented to prove the
resurrection of Christ Jesus. The
fishermen were too much for the cum
ming members of the court, who
sought to silence their preaching
without giving any condemnation OF
their healing ministry.
Contempt of Court.
Peter had risked the danger OF be.
ing condemned for sorcery by his de.
fense that through Christ Jesus
whom they had crucified and who had
risen, he had cured the lame man.
His unprecedented and impromptu
defense revealed a devotion to his
Lord, that ought to have warned the
Sanhedrin from trying to stop the
apostles preaching, which they de
manded of both Peter and John. AL
though Christ had recognized the
authority of the Sanhedrin, the
apostles by their refusal to accept
with meekness and cringing thankful
ness the decision of the nations
highest religious authority, risked
being tried for contempt of court
when they announced their decision
In making their argument for obey
ing God rather than men, they stated
the fundamental principles of re-
ligious liberty. They appealed to the
judges TO decide point Of conscience
when they asked them to settle
whether it was right for them to dis
regard God in obeying men. They
exhibited the spirit of the martyrs
and the ministers of Christ. who are
moved to be obedient to the will OF
their Lord rather than to follow the
edicts of men. The attitude of the
Sanhedrin served to warn the disci
pies of the rapidly approaching dan
ger of persecution and being denied
the privileges of the temple. This
can be seen in the prayer that they
offered, when they went to their owr
company and reported what the court
had done.
In the decision of the Sanhedrir
and the apostles one can see the evi
dence that gave religious freedom tc
the five thousand followers of the
risen Christ from the direction of the
Great Council. In their decision tc
be independent of the Sanhedrin' s
authority, the church experienced q
spiritual blessing, that made them ar
inYincible organization. Facing a com
mon peril, the church became one un
der the pressure of opposition. The
spiritual unity revealed itself in a
oneness of heart, and spirit. 1t was
this spiritual oneness that made sue
cessful the experiment of the Mother
Church in Jerusalem of an economic
brotherhood, which leveled the in