The sentence of flogging passed on the apostles in Acts 5.40 is an especially significant episode. After the intervention of , the gives up the idea of putting them to death, but cannot bring itself to let them go without a penalty. This flogging thus represents the first physical persecution inflicted on the apostles.
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A legal penalty provided for by the Law
Luke writes simply:
“They called the apostles in, had them beaten with rods, commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go” (Acts 5.40).
The Greek expression used refers to a Jewish flogging. According to the Law of Moses, a guilty man could receive up to forty lashes:
“He may give him forty lashes, but no more” (Deuteronomy 25.1-3).
As a precaution, so as not to exceed the legal limit in case of a miscount, Jewish tradition generally limited the penalty to thirty-nine lashes (2 Corinthians 11.24). Each apostle probably underwent this punishment.
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A public humiliation
This penalty was not merely painful. It also carried an element of humiliation. To be flogged meant to be officially recognized as a guilty and unworthy man.
In the eyes of the members of the , this punishment was meant to serve as a warning and to discourage any further preaching. The authorities no doubt hoped that physical suffering would achieve what threats had failed to obtain.
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The apostles follow in the footsteps of Jesus
A few weeks earlier, Jesus himself had been flogged before his crucifixion (Matthew 27.26; John 19.1). The apostles now experience what their Master had foretold to them:
“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15.20).
Jesus had also warned them:
“They will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the ” (Mark 13.9).
Thus, this suffering is not a failure of their mission, but the fulfillment of the Lord's words.
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An unexpected reaction
The most surprising thing is the reaction of the apostles:
“The apostles left the presence of the , rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus” (Acts 5.41).
This attitude contrasts with the one they had shown at the arrest of Jesus, when they had all fled (Matthew 26.56). The Holy Spirit has profoundly transformed these men.
Their joy does not come from the suffering itself, but from the privilege of being associated with the sufferings of Christ. This idea will be developed later by Peter:
“But rejoice, you share in the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4.13).
Paul will express the same conviction (Romans 8.17; Philippians 1.29).
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The failure of the Sanhedrin
The religious authorities once again forbid the apostles to speak in the name of Jesus (Acts 5.40). Yet in the very next verse, Luke adds:
“And every day, in the Temple and in the houses, they did not cease teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ” (Acts 5.42).
The punishment thus produces exactly the opposite effect to the one intended. The lashes do not extinguish their zeal; they strengthen it.
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The beginning of a long history of persecutions
This flogging inaugurates a series of sufferings that will mark the whole history of the early Church:
- Stephen will be stoned (Acts 7.58-60);
- James, the brother of John, will be put to death (Acts 12.2);
- Paul himself will receive the Jews' thirty-nine lashes five times (2 Corinthians 11.24);
- several apostles will suffer martyrdom according to ancient traditions.
Conclusion
The flogging of the apostles appears as an apparent victory for the . Yet Luke presents this episode as a spiritual victory for the disciples. Those who wanted to reduce the witnesses of Christ to silence succeed only in making them even more determined.
Thus, the apostles now understand that suffering for the name of Jesus is not a disgrace, but a privilege. Their joy in the midst of persecution already manifests the fulfillment of the beatitudes pronounced by Jesus:
“Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you on my account” (Matthew 5.11-12).