Page 233 - Lift Him Up (1988)

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Hope and Salvation to the World, August 2
They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed,
but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the
Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
Psalm 125:1, 2
.
It was the cross, that instrument of shame and torture, which brought hope and
salvation to the world. The disciples were but humble men, without wealth, and
with no weapon but the word of God; yet in Christ’s strength they went forth to tell
the wonderful story of the manger and the cross, and to triumph over all opposition.
Without earthly honor or recognition, they were heroes of faith. From their lips
came words of divine eloquence that shook the world.
In Jerusalem, where the deepest prejudice existed, and where the most confused
ideas prevailed in regard to Him who had been crucified as a malefactor, the disciples
continued to speak with boldness the words of life, setting before the Jews the work
and mission of Christ, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Priests and rulers
heard with amazement the clear, bold testimony of the apostles. The power of the
risen Saviour had indeed fallen on the disciples, and their work was accompanied
by signs and miracles that daily increased the number of believers. Along the streets
where the disciples were to pass, the people laid their sick “on beds and couches,
that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.”
Here also were brought those vexed with unclean spirits. The crowds gathered round
them, and those who were healed shouted the praises of God and glorified the name
of the Redeemer....
Hitherto all the efforts made to suppress this new teaching had been in vain;
but now both Sadducees and Pharisees determined that the work of the disciples
should be stopped, for it was proving them guilty of the death of Jesus. Filled with
indignation, the priests laid violent hands on Peter and John, and put them in the
common prison....
The disciples were not intimidated or cast down by this treatment.... The God of
heaven, the mighty Ruler of the universe, took the matter of the imprisonment of the
disciples into His own hands.... By night the angel of the Lord opened the prison
doors and said to the disciples, “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all
the words of this life” (
Acts 5:20
) (
The Acts of the Apostles, 77-80
).
Shortly before His crucifixion Christ had bequeathed to His disciples a legacy of
peace. “Peace I leave with you,” He said, “my peace I give unto you”.... This peace
is not the peace that comes through conformity to the world. Christ never purchased
peace by compromise with evil. The peace that Christ left His disciples is internal
rather than external and was ever to remain with His witnesses through strife and
contention (
The Acts of the Apostles, 84
).
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