The Unyielding Witness of the Apostles

April 11, 2024 - Thursday, Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr

Acts 5:27-33; Psalm 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20; John 3:31-36

After a miraculous escape from prison, the apostles again appeared before the Sanhedrin and refused to be silenced. Their answer, 'We must obey God rather than men,' nearly brought a death sentence upon them. No authority likes such boldness, and no authority tolerates such disobedience, but those who challenge the authorities in this way must discern well that they indeed obey God and are willing to pay the price.

The psalmist tells us that 'many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the LORD delivers him' (Psalm 34:20). Centuries later, Saint Paul said that 'through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God' (Acts 14:22). And that is what the apostles of Christ were willing to endure for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel. In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul compares Christ's apostles to 'the scum of the world, the refuse of all things' (1 Corinthians 4:13). When writing about the marks of his apostleship, he mentions his many imprisonments, countless beatings, and numerous close-to-death experiences (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-29).

The apostles refused to be silenced, stating that they have to give testimony to what they saw and heard (Acts 4:20). Jesus, in the Gospel, also testifies to what 'he has seen and heard' (John 3:32). The concept of testimony and witness is crucial in the Bible. Jesus testifies about the Father. He states that no one has ever seen and knows the Father except He alone (see Matthew 11:27; John 6:46). The apostles testify about Jesus - His life and teaching, His death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. They were witnesses to what happened 2000 years ago in Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. The faith of the Church is built on their testimonies recorded in the New Testament.

Now, people can accept or reject that testimony. The Jewish religious authorities refused to accept their testimony, and at the beginning of the Gospel of John, Jesus said that 'no one accepts his testimony' (John 3:32). It would take time, a lot of understanding, and patience on the part of Jesus to make some of those who followed Him accept His testimony and become His witnesses in the world. The acceptance of that testimony is crucial for everyone. Jesus says, 'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him' (John 3:36).

Speaking of God's wrath, Saint Paul stated that 'the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth' (Romans 1:28). The way to escape that wrath is through faith in Jesus, who 'delivers us from the wrath to come' (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Whoever believes in Christ passes from death to life, and so the wrath of God does not remain upon such a person. Getting that message into the world was a matter of life and death. That is why the preaching of the Gospel mattered so much to our ancestors in faith. But does it still matter to us?