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From: Acts 5:27-33

The Apostles Before the Sanhedrin

[27] And when they (the captain and the officers) brought them (the Apostles),
they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, [28]
saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this Name, yet here you have
filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this Man’s blood up-
on us.” [29] But Peter and the Apostles answered, “We must obey God rather
than men. [30] The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging
Him on a tree. [31] God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to
give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. [32] And we are witnesses to
these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey
Him.”

[33] When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

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Commentary:

29. The Apostles’ failure to obey the Sanhedrin is obviously not due to pride or
to their not knowing their place (as citizens they are subject to the Sanhedrin’s
authority); the Sanhedrin is imposing a ruling which would have them go against
God’s law and their own conscience. The Apostles humbly and boldly remind
their judges that obedience to God comes first. They know that many members
of the Sanhedrin are religious men, good Jews who can understand their mes-
sage; they try not so much to justify themselves as to get the Sanhedrin to re-
act: they are more concerned about their judges’ spiritual health than about their
own safety. St. John Chrysostom comments: “God allowed the Apostles to be
brought to trial so that their adversaries might be instructed, if they so desired.
[...] The Apostles are not irritated by the judges; they plead with them compas-
sionately, with tears in their eyes, and their only aim is to free them from error
and from divine wrath” (”Hom. on Acts”, 13). They are convinced that “those who
fear God are in no danger, only those who do not fear Him” (”ibid.”) and that it is
worse to commit injustice than to suffer it. We can see from the Apostles’ beha-
vior how deep their convictions run; grace and faith in Jesus Christ have given
them high regard for the honor of God. They have begun at last to love and serve
God without counting the cost. This is true of Christian maturity. “In that cry “ser-
viam”! [I will serve!] you express your determination to ‘serve’ the Church of God
most faithfully, even at the cost of fortune, of reputation and of life” (St. J. Escri-
va, “The Way”, 519).

The Church often prays to God to give its children this resilience: they need it
because there is always the danger of growing indifferent and of abandoning the
faith to some extent. “Lord, fill us with that spirit of courage which gave your mar-
tyr Sebastian,” his feast’s liturgy says, “strength to offer his life in faithful witness.
Help us to learn from him to cherish your law and to obey you rather than men”
(”Roman Missal”).

A Christian should conform his behavior to God’s law: that law should be his very
life. He should obey and love God’s commandments as taught by the Church, if
he wishes to live a truly human life. The law of God is not something burdensome:
it is a way of freedom, as Sacred Scripture is at pains to point out: “The Lord is
my portion, I promise to keep Thy words. I entreat Thy favor with all my heart; be
gracious to me according to Thy promise. When I think of Thy ways, I turn my
feet to Thy testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep Thy commandments.
Though the cord of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget Thy law. At midnight
I rise to praise Thee, because of Thy righteous ordinances. I am a companion of
all who fear Thee, of those who keep Thy precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of
Thy steadfast love; teach me Thy statutes” (Psalm 119:57-64).

Conscience, which teaches man in the depths of his heart, gradually shows him
what the law of God involves: “Man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. His
dignity lies in observing this law, and by it he will be judged (cf. Romans 2:15-16).
His conscience is man’s most secret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone
with God, whose voice echoes in his depths. By conscience, in a wonderful way,
that law is made known. [...] The more a correct conscience prevails, the more
do persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and try to be guided by the
objective standards of moral conduct” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 16).

Good and evil are facts of life. A person can identify them. There are such things
as good actions—and there are evil actions, which should always be avoided. The
goodness or badness of human actions is not essentially dependent on the cir-
cumstances, although sometimes these can affect it to some extent.

Like the eye, conscience is designed to enable a person to see, but it needs
light from outside (God’s law and the Church’s guidance) to discover religious
and moral truths and properly appreciate them. Without that help man simply
tires himself out in his search; he seeks only himself and forgets about good
and evil, and his conscience becomes darkened by sin and moral opportunism.

“With respect to conscience,” [Pope] Paul VI teaches, “an objection can arise:
Is conscience not enough on its own as the norm of our conduct? Do the Deca-
logues, the codes, imposed on us from outside, not undermine conscience [...]?
This is a delicate and very current problem. Here all we will say is that subjec-
tive conscience is the first and immediate norm of our conduct, but is needs light,
it needs to see which standard it should follow, especially when the action in
question does not evidence its own moral exigencies. Conscience needs to be
instructed and trained about what is the best choice to make, by the authority
of a law” (”General Audience”, 28 March 1973).

A right conscience, which always goes hand in hand with moral prudence, will
help a Christian to obey the law like a good citizen and also to take a stand,
personally or in association with others, against any unjust laws which may be
proposed or enacted. The State is not almighty in the sphere of law. It may not
order or permit anything it likes; therefore not everything legal is morally lawful
or just. Respect due to civil authority—which is part of the Gospel message and
has always been taught by the Church—should not prevent Christians and people
of good will from opposing legislators and rulers when they legislate and govern
in a way that is contrary to the law of God and therefore to the common good.
Obviously, this legitimate kind of resistance to authority should always involve
the use of lawful methods.

It is not enough for good Christians to profess PRIVATELY the teaching of the
Gospel and the Church regarding human life, the family, education, freedom, etc.
They should realize that these are subjects of crucial importance for the welfare
of their country, and they should strive, using all the usual means at their disco-
sale, to see that the laws of the State are supportive of the common good. Pass-
ivity towards ideologies and stances that run counter to Christian values is quite
deplorable.

30. “Hanging Him on a tree”: this is reminiscent of Deuteronomy 21:23: if a
criminal is put to death “and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain
all night upon a tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man
is accursed by God.” This is a reference to crucifixion, a form of capital punish-
ment which originated in Persia; it was common throughout the East and was
later adopted by the Romans.

32. God sends the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him, and, in turn, the Apostles
obey the indications of the Spirit with complete docility.

If we are to obey the Holy Spirit and do what He asks us, we need to cultivate
Him and listen to what He says. “Get to know the Holy Spirit, the Great Stran-
ger, on whom depends your sanctification.

“Don’t forget that you are God’s temple. The Advocate is in the center of your
soul; listen to Him and be docile to His inspirations” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”,
57).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.