Acts 5:25-30

 

Acts 5:25 (KJB)

Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

 

Then came a person who told the leaders that the men that were in prison, are now found, and it would probably be a strange situation for them since the Apostles that were let out of prison did not leave the area, instead they came right back to the temple and continued to preach the Gospel. I am sure by this time that the leaders probably thought that the Apostles would have been long gone and that maybe they were rid of them. There is one thing the world does not understand and that is the resiliency of the believer. Temporary hindrances or diversions do not discourage them, in fact, it strengthens their character.

 

Acts 5:26 (KJB)

Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

 

Thomas Jefferson said, “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” Since the Apostles had continued to preach and perform miracles with the people, the commander of the temple guard and some of the guards had gone to the Apostles and brought them before the council without incident. They had feared for their life because they had feared the people. If they would have hurt the Apostles, then they could have possibly been stoned and if it was with a mob mentality, they would have been stoned to death and then no doubt the Romans would have come and took over the situation.

 

Acts 5:27 (KJB)

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

 

Now the Apostles were brought into the chamber where the Sanhedrin were assembled and were to stand before them. They probably stood facing the High priest since he would have rule over the council plus it was he who started the questioning.

 

Acts 5:28 (KJB)

Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

 

If you were the High priest what would have been the first question that you would have asked them? For me it would have been, “how did you get out of prison?” The second question would have been, “Why didn’t you run away?“ They probably did not want to hear how God delivered them and then give glory to God. Their first line of questioning was within their continued hatred for the Lord Jesus Christ. They first bring up the fact that they had previously warned them to never teach again in the name of the Lord Jesus. They were also livid because of disobedience to their commands, all of Jerusalem was now learning about the Lord Jesus Christ. The teachings of the Apostles were very effective as God saved many of those who heard and in turn they took the message and taught it. They were also against the teachings of the Apostles because within those teachings, the facts came out that the leaders of Israel were the ones who partnered with the Romans to get rid of Jesus. They did not want to be held accountable for that sin although there is no way around the truth of their actions. They had probably thought that the Apostles wanted to bring vengeance on them for the actions they took against Jesus. This was on their minds and caused them to fear the Apostles. If the people started looking at what was being preached now with the miracles that were being done, they might begin to realize that the actions of the leaders were not only against Jesus, but against the people too. (Mat 23:13 KJV) But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

 

Acts 5:29 (KJB)

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

 

Peter did not hesitate for one second about the answer that he gave to the High Priest and the council. His response was what should be the response by every believer. They were commanded by God to proclaim the Gospel and they were commanded by the Sanhedrin to never speak in the name of Christ again. The Apostles knew that they must obey God’s command rather than the dictates of man. Whenever we are told to cease proclaiming the Gospel, we must never pay attention to it because we have a command from God via the Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel all of our lives. Pastors need to learn this truth because if they kowtow to the IRS and the Sodomites, then they have chosen to obey man and not God, thus making man their god. Romans 1 is in the Bible and must not be neglected. Whenever we neglect to preach any part of the Bible, we are in violation of Revelation 22:19. To neglect any portion of Scripture, is akin to removing it from the Bible. Nathan went to King David and confronted him with his sins of murder and adultery. Pastors and Christians need to confront those in public office with their sins. If one expects God to bless this country, then the church must step up and obey God rather than man. That is exactly what the Sanhedrin feared, that they were going to be exposed for being complicit with the Romans who were hated by all those in Israel. The people would have considered them to be traitors if all the facts were known.

 

Acts 5:30 (KJB)

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

 

Peter once again brings up the issue that it was these leaders who were responsible for the death of Jesus. (Acts 3:13 KJV) The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. Peter once again includes the patriarchs in his defense and that it was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who raised up Jesus. He wanted to get the point across that they had really gone against God in their hatred of Jesus. He continues that this Jesus which God raised up, they had killed Him by hanging Him on a cross. If you notice, Peter does not say that they had Jesus crucified but he speaks in a manner that they were so guilty of that crime that it was as if they did the crucifixion themselves without any help from Rome. Peter was not mincing any words because he had no fear of this council, even with the knowledge of what they did to Jesus less than two months ago. He was placing blame right at their feet.

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