“We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.
~Acts 5:23-24
The guard and priests had recently seen the miraculous healing of the lame man at the temple, healed by the Name of Jesus, as well as hearing of thousands more believing (Acts 4:5-12). So, with so many coming to Christ and the reports of more and more healings, all the priests in the council surrendered their own lives to the Messiah!
Nope. “But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is, the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail” (Acts 5:17-18).
That very night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, releasing the apostles and telling them to go back to the temple and preach the Good News of Jesus. So, when the officials went to get the apostles from their locked, guarded cells, no one was inside. As this was being reported to the captain of the guard and the chief priests, someone came in and said that those same men that should be in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people (5:19-25). Another undeniable miracle! So now, with this miraculous prison break, the guards and temple priests all believed that Jesus is the Messiah!
Uh, sorry…no. The apostles were brought back in before the Council, where the high priest reminded them that they were given strict orders not to teach the name of Jesus. Peter and the apostles reminded them that they would continue to obey God, not men—and so the priests had the apostles beaten, once again ordering them to keep quiet about Jesus.
Because of the religious leaders’ pride, jealousy, and legalism, they missed the miraculous works of God.
Oh, beloved, does this cut you as it does me? How many daily miracles do I simply ignore because of pride, jealousy, or even just complacency? The indescribable hues of sunrise, uniquely painted by God each morning. The “lucky” or “coincidental” timing that either spared catastrophe or triggered blessing (when there’s no such thing as “coincidence”). Healing of a sickness through medicine or physician that we take for granted because of our modern normalcies (although it had to sift through God’s Providence). Or the raised hand in church of one (or 21 people) responding to the salvation call…is it “just another Sunday” or do we leap with the angels, praising the Lord for the dead who are now alive in Christ?!
Are we, like the pharisees, missing the miraculous? As followers of Christ, are the miracles of God so commonplace that we look right past them, onto what’s next or, worse, what’s in it for me?
Let’s begin today to open our eyes. Ask the Holy Spirit—who miraculously lives within every believer!—to reveal God’s glorious work around us and in our lives. Let’s amplify the awe factor from the moment we open our eyes with God’s breath in our lungs, which in itself is amazing. Observe the miraculous in Creation’s beauty, made by God for His glory and enjoyment, which we get the privilege of sharing in. See the very face of God in every person with whom we come into contact—the fellow believer with whom we’re united and made family by the Holy Spirit, as well as the lost, who is made in God’s image and is potentially one gospel conversation away from moving from darkness to light. Embrace deep gratitude for every blessing, no longer taking for granted what we think we “deserve” or is just “expected” in our particular time/place of life. When the prison doors open—for another or even in our own lives—let’s not give into jealousy, pride, or complacency. Instead, let’s celebrate the freedom found in our great God and the glorious name of Jesus. Let’s look for the miraculous and give glory to the Miracle-Maker.
Father God, You are Great and Awesome—showing up and showing off Your Glory constantly. Open my eyes to every miracle you set before me…may I not miss acknowledging Your hand in it all.
encouraged by grace 