The books of the Acts of the Apostles records in chapter 4, the disciples of Jesus, Peter and John being put in custody, Peter preaching to the Sanhedrin, the boldeness of the disciples, undisputable proof, notable miracle, the apostle’s prayer for boldness and the voluntary giving and sharing in the church. In the midst of all these happenings, there is yet one other incident that cursorily most of us just gloss over; one that can have an indelible impression on us today; one which is most applicable in our age; one that we often conveniently avoid – and this is the command of the Sanhedrin to the disciples, to NOT speak (at all) not teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18).

The response to this command was twofold by the disciples which was

  1. A question (most likely rhetoric) as recorded in Acts 4:19, to those who threatened them -Which is more right in the sight of God (not men), to hearken to your command and be silent or hearken to God (who said – Go ye therefore and teach all nations … – as part of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) given to them (and us)?
  2. A statement as recorded in Acts 4:20 which highlighted that to NOT speak about Jesus (the things they had seen and heard) would be unnatural, if at all possible. In other words, they were saying that Silence is not always Golden and we will continue to speak and teach in the name of Jesus.

Today, for most of us, even without the pressures to be silent, we rarely speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But for a moment think, should we be forced not to speak and teach in Jesus’ name, what would our response be – will we comply to be silent or will we with boldness aver as the disciples did saying “For we cannot but speak the things we which we have seen and heard; Judge us as to what you think is right in the sight of God, hearken to your commands or His“

Silence is not always Golden!