No one likes to see a miscarriage of justice. That's why the disciples of Jesus get lots of sympathy in Acts. They keep getting arrested on trumped up charges and accused of saying things they never said and breaking Roman and Jewish law. Luke wants us to know that they're totally innocent (just like Jesus), but that everyone has it out for them anyway. In the end, lots of Christians die. They fought the unjust law and the unjust law won… for a few hundred years anyway.
Questions About Injustice
- Luke always portrays the followers of Jesus as totally innocent, but do you think their accusers saw things differently? Did they honestly believe Christians were breaking the law?
- How do jealousy and anger play roles in the disciples's arrests and trials?
- Why do the Roman authorities keep refusing to put Christians to death when the angry mobs want them to? Compare this to the way Pilate caved to the whims of an angry mob.