Dogged Disciples
April 25, 2023
Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” . . . Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4: 19-20, 29-30
‘Dogged’ is an old word meaning ‘tenacious’, ‘determined’, ‘firmly persistent’, ‘not easily deterred’. It is a good word to describe the disciples of Jesus. In Acts chapter 4 we read about Peter and John finding themselves in trouble as a result of their faithfulness to the Gospel. In obedience to Jesus they had offered healing to a lame man they encountered at the temple gate (ch 3). The man was healed in the name of Jesus and when a crowd gathered to see this amazing event, Peter and John peached to them about who Jesus was. As a result they were thrown into prison by the authorities who wanted to put a stop to the growing Jesus ‘movement’. The next day Peter and John were released with a warning and strict instruction “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (v. 18)
What were the disciples to do? Jesus had commanded them to preach the Gospel and now the local authorities had ordered them to stop doing so, or else. How would they respond to this situation?
First of all, they did not back down. Knowing that they were right to obey God, they told the authorities, “ We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”(v.20)
Second, they returned to the other disciples and reported what the authorities had said. Then they all immediately turned to God in prayer. They didn’t first try to think of strategies to deal with this development, they went directly to God. He was their first stop, as it were, in dealing with this threat.
And how did they pray? Did they ask for the persecution to end, or for their protection, or for their enemies to be silenced? No. Interestingly their prayer was entirely about the mission they had been given: “consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word.” They asked for help to continue the mission under the prevailing circumstances.
What did they need? They asked for boldness, so that they would not give in to the pressure to obey men rather than God. And they asked God to continue to show his power through them by performing signs and wonders.
It was all about magnifying Jesus and obeying what he had commanded them to do. Their focus was on the mission, getting the job done, no matter what. Their ability to remain undistracted by their circumstances is an example for us.
Are we dogged disciples or are we easily distracted and discouraged? God is able to supply whatever we need to fulfil our mission. The disciples asked for boldness and they received it (v. 31)
How dogged am I? How dogged are you?
