Who Should We Obey?

Acts 4:17-20

“But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

N. T. Wright, Acts for Everyone (Part One)

Peter’s answer . . . is theological, and forms the basis of all Christian resistance to the powers of this world form that day to this. We could paraphrase it like this: “You’re the judges around here? Very well, give me your legal judgment on this one! If we’re standing here in God’s presence, should we obey God, or should we obey you?”

Peter answers his own question. They can actually answer it how they like, but he and his friends are not going to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and about all the things which God has done through him (68).

Aaron Orendorff

Peter is clear in his response to the High Council: “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” It is important to note that the church’s opposition to power—their refusal to obey an unjust law—is not rooted in that law’s opposition to an implication of the gospel; but rather it the law’s opposition to the gospel itself. This, of course, doesn’t mean that the implications of the gospel—defense for the defenseless, justice for the oppressed, care for the poor and so on—are unimportant or that they never deserve as strong a statement as “It’s either the law of man or the law of God.” What is does mean is that we must be very careful to distinguish between our causes and God’s causes. Are we speaking what we have seen and heard or what we think and enjoy? Are we defending the name of Jesus or are we defending our own?