Persecution and Religious Authority
Persecution is the last resort where legitimate argument fails. So all laws for the punishment of dissenters from popular religious dogma spring from the spirit of persecution. The Jewish rulers wanted to put Jesus to death because He did not keep the Sabbath according to their traditions, instead of "according to the commandment." They could advance no argument to convict Him of sin or crime; therefore He must be put to death. Peter and John had been instrumental, in the name of Jesus, in healing a lame man at the gate of the temple. This carried with it the fact of Christ's resurrection, and the proclamation that in no other name was there salvation for any person. So the preaching of the apostles must be summarily stopped. No argument could refute their position, or it would have been willingly set forth. That a "notable miracle" had been done in the name of Jesus could not be denied, neither could the logical conclusion that Jesus had risen from the dead be refuted; therefore imprisonment and bodily punishment must be resorted to in order to carry out the purpose of the chief priests and rulers. And all enforcement of religious dogma, or squelching of scriptural truth by human authority, is of the same character.