club mentality

Reading through Acts, chapter 4 I was fascinated by the attitude of the "Temple establishment" in Jerusalem toward Peter and John.  The two disciples had just been involved in a miracle that provided a life-long lame man with legs to walk and leap about.  Several thousand people quickly heard about this.  They were familiar with this lame man because he was a fixture at the temple gate as he daily sought handouts.  Thousands came to faith in Christ as Peter and John were faithful to point to Jesus as the source for the healing.  The Temple establishment (sadduccees, scribes, elders and priests, etc.) were distressed.  They thought they'd extinguished the impact of the miracle worker from Galilee when they had Him crucified.  Now it appeared to be backfiring as the very one they had killed had apparently achieved the impossible: he'd overcome death and now was back to his old tricks of healing people.  One has to wonder how people can become so twisted...so distorted as to ignore the obvious:  the Temple establishment was trying to shut down the living God.  I thought about how this could happen.  One observation is that they had formed a separate code of living and this gave them meaning, structure and purpose. 

Acts 4:¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name."

I think we need to be on guard that we not allow any human "club" or culture displace the fellowship of faith we have with the Lord, Himself.  The Temple crowd (priests, Sadduccees, etc.) had taken on a way of life that gave them all they wanted on the horizontal level.  They preferred to keep their comfortable club relationships with each other rather than submit to God, Himself!

 

blessings,

Rob Smith