Acts That Rub Against the Body Politic

Today in the Acts of the Apostles we hear the account of the angel of the Lord opening the prison doors and sending the Apostles to proclaim the gospel in the Temple of Jerusalem.

The Temple was a compound that held together the layers of governance and worship. It was the seat of Israel’s political power, it was a bank, and it was the house of God with outer courtyards whose core was the Holy of Holies — the presence of God represented in the show bread, incense, table of offering, table of sacrifice, and separated by the Holy Veil tended by the temple virgins.

The ark of the covenant by this time was no longer present having been hidden or lost around the time of the Babylonian Exile.

So when the angel opens the prison gates and commands the Apostles to speak he does not send them to the priest’s court, much less to the Holy of Holies which would be to violate the laws of the temple. He sends them to the outer courtyards, the courtyard of the gentiles, where questions are disputed. In modern terms, they stand at the curb, before the church, proclaiming Christ.

In the morning the halls echo with the reports. The prisoners have escaped. Interestingly, the coming realization of the Apostles freedom does not generate ‘mystery’ among the Jewish leaders of how this could have happened as they were securely guarded and entombed within the thick walls of their physical power. Rather, it creates in them a political response — what will this mean for us. How has our power been compromised before the people. Upon image, clout, perception, even marketing, was pivotal to the Jewish leader’s sense of moral authority.

“When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to.” — Acts 5:24

The political apparatus has changed little.

Today, by Christ’s Resurrection we have been set free, the tombs opened, our tongues freed. Let us not wonder what this may mean for us — the demands placed upon us or how ridiculous we may appear. Let us glory in the mystery and mercy of the Lord and proclaim his gospel truth within the courtyard of the gentiles that rubs against the political powers that refuse to resonate the Truth. Let us keep our gaze fixed upon him.

“Go, and standing speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” — Acts 5:20