The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name.And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name.
3 sermons cite this verse
… persuasive, then they wouldn't have got the hiding. But they got the hiding and then sent out. And this is what Acts 5.41 says, And the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing, because they had been set free and were now able to go home and have coffee and have a nice evening. Bless our evening and our tomorrow, Lord. Amen. No. And they left rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of getting a hiding for the name of Jesus Christ. Now, this is revolutionary, folks. This is absolutely revolutionary. This is completely upside down from where most of us live our lives. This is upside down from where most of us have decided Christianity is supposed to take us. Some of us are actually here this morning because we thing that Christianity and God is a means to an end, and the end is our well-being. That God is a cosmic genie. That somewhere in here, there's one of those wee brass lamps, and if somebody is one of the ushers or somebody can give it to us, then we can take it home, rub the brass lamp's belly, produce the genie, and ask him for stuff. And apparently that's why he exists, so that we can get a lot of stuff, so that we can be successful in our business, so that illness will not come our way so that all will be well with our families. Get a life! It's not true to the Bible, and it's not true to human experience. Do you know how much pain and heartache is represented …
… portrait of the quality of people that are there in Acts chapter 5 the apostles start to get persecuted and Luke gives us a description of all the things they went through then he comes to Acts chapter 5 verse 41 an incredible verse in the book of Acts and he says after they were persecuted the apostles walked away rejoicing. Think about that. They had been persecuted, but they were rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the name of Christ. Think about the quality of people that when they face persecution, they rejoice because they've been counted worthy to suffer for Christ. The very next two chapters, six and seven, shows a picture of a Grecian convert, Stephen, who proclaims the gospel and knows he's going to get stoned for it, and he dies, and he dies of stoning. Chapter 8 gives us a picture, a portrait of Philip, a guy who left everything to scatter out to Samaria and make the gospel known. Chapter 9, he gives us a portrait of Saul, the great persecutor of Christians now turned into a great proclaimer of the gospel, and he focuses on Saul's complete turnaround. Acts chapter 10, he gives us a picture of how Peter's life was changed, and he began to share the gospel of the Gentiles, and a whole new face emerged in the church. And then from 11 all the way to 28, we see the growth of the church through all kinds of different people who are going everywhere proclaiming the gospel and saying things like Paul says in Acts 20, 24, …
… and a path deeper into God. Then the apostles left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Rejoicing. We've been shamed. We've been shamed for the name. You really need to preach that to your church a lot because we live in a day of victimization where that's the last thing people are going to say when they've been shamed. Blame, follow shame. That's the name of the game today. Not in the Bible. It's not there. It is not there. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed. that's Bible. Because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. You ever had that experience? You are insulted for the name of Christ. You are blessed. The spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. What a privilege. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice in that. …