Acts 4: Opposition to Name of Jesus and the Teaching of the Resurrection from the Dead
1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
“The glorious success of the gospel at Pentecost and for some time afterward could not last. The mighty dragon who had attempted to devour the Christ, who had been ‘caught up unto God, and unto His throne’ (Rev 12:5), then turned the full strength of his fury against the Woman, that is, the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. The inherent hatred of truth and righteousness on the part of the powers of darkness was quickly manifested in the bitter opposition encountered by the apostolic preachers of the gospel. The first move against the church came suddenly. ‘And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.’ (Acts 4:1)” (Coffman Commentary)
“The priests, and the captain of the temple…. For the first time in this book, we come across the chief agents in the condemnation passed on our Lord by the Sanhedrin. A few weeks or months had gone by, and they were congratulating themselves on having followed the advice of Caiaphas (John 11:48). They knew that the body of Jesus had disappeared from the sepulchre, and they industriously circulated the report that the disciples had stolen it (Matthew 28:13-15). They must have heard something of the Day of Pentecost—though there is no evidence of their having been present as spectators or listeners—and of the growth of the new society. Now the two chief members of the company of those disciples were teaching publicly in the very portico of the Temple. What were they to do? The 'captain of the Temple' (see Note on Luke 22:4) was the head of the band of Levite sentinels whose function it was to keep guard over the sacred precincts. He, as an inspector, made his round by night, visited all the gates, and roused the slumberers. His presence implied that the quiet order of the Temple was supposed to be endangered...
The Sadducees.—The higher members of the priesthood, Annas and Caiaphas, were themselves of this sect (Acts 5:17). They had already been foremost in urging the condemnation of Christ in the meetings of the Sanhedrin. The shame of having been put to silence by Him (Matthew 22:34) added vindictiveness to the counsels of a calculating policy. Now they found His disciples preaching the truth which they denied, and proclaiming it as attested by the resurrection of Jesus. Throughout the Acts the Sadducees are foremost as persecutors. The Pharisees temporise, like Gamaliel, or profess themselves believers. (Comp. Acts 5:34; Acts 15:5; Acts 23:7.)" (Ellicott's Commentary )
"During the centuries leading up to the Christian era (see ‘The New Testament World'), several parties had arisen within the Jewish religion [by the influence of Roman domain]. The most important of these were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees came mainly from the common people, and tried to preserve the Jewish way of life from the corruption of foreign ideas and political ambition. They were concerned with the outward show of religion, but not so concerned with correct attitudes of heart ( Matthew 12:1-2; Matthew 15:1-2; Matthew 23:5; Matthew 23:23-28). The Sadducees came mainly from the wealthy classes and were more concerned with exercising power in Jewish society than with following tradition. They were the high priestly party and had controlling power in the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council that sat in Jerusalem ( Matthew 16:11-12; Matthew 26:57; Matthew 26:59; Acts 5:17). A major difference of faith between the two parties was that the Pharisees believed in a physical resurrection of the dead, but the Sadducees did not ( Matthew 22:23; Acts 23:8).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary)
“It is a mark of historic truth that the chief opposition to the apostles is here assigned to the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection. The Pharisees, who affirmed it, were comparatively friendly; and not a few of them became Christians (Acts 15:5).’”(Dummelow Commentary) "The position of Sadducees and Pharisees is inverted in Acts as compared with the Gospels. While Christ lived, the Pharisees were the soul of the opposition to Him, and His most solemn warnings fell on them; after the Resurrection, the Sadducees head the opposition, and among the Pharisees are some, like Gamaliel and afterwards Paul, who incline to the new faith. It was the Resurrection that made the difference, and the difference is an incidental testimony to the fact that Christ’s Resurrection was proclaimed from the first. To ask whether Jesus had risen, and to examine the evidence, were the last things of which the combined assailants thought. This public activity of the Apostles threatened their influence or their pet beliefs, and so, like persecutors in all ages, they shut their eyes to the important question, ‘Is this preaching true or false?’ and took the easier course of laying hands on the preachers.” (Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture)
"Elders and scribes; the magistrates of the city, scribes, doctors, or teachers of the law,… ; howsoever these might be distinguished, they are all as one against the doctrine of the gospel, and endeavour to put out the light as soon as it began to shine, as Herod would have killed Christ in the manger." (Burkitt's Notes)
“Being grieved that they taught the people - The ground of their grief was as much the fact that they should presume to instruct the people as the matter which they taught them. They were offended that unlearned Galileans, in no way connected with the priestly office, and unauthorized by them, should presume to set themselves up as religious teachers. They claimed the right to watch over the interests of the people, and to declare who was authorized to instruct the nation. It has been no unusual thing for men in ecclesiastical stations to take exceptions to the ministry of those who have not been commissioned by themselves. Such men easily fancy that all power to instruct others is lodged in their hands, and they oppose others simply from the fact that they have not derived their authority from them. The true question in this case was whether these Galileans gave proof that they were sent by God. The working of the miracle in this case should have been satisfactory. We have here, also, a striking instance of the fact that men may turn away from evidence, and from most important points, and fix their attention on something that opposes their prejudices, and which may be a matter of very little moment. No inquiry was made whether the miracle had been really performed; but the only inquiry was whether they had conformed to their views of doctrine and order.”(Albert Barnes' Notes)
“Reader! Mark in the awful characters of those men, the malice of hell, at the success of the Gospel. Can the imagination conceive any higher proof of the desperately wicked state of the human heart, than is here shewn? To imprison those Servants of the Lord, for so illustrious a miracle as Jesus had wrought, by their instrumentality. But, Reader! you will stop at the surface of this matter, if the Lord the Spirit doth not lead you deeper, to see, that all men by nature, and unawakened by grace, are the same. Both Sadducees, and Pharisees; Priests of the law, and mere Professors of the Gospel, unacquainted with the plague of their own heart, are all the same.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 4: Peter Respond to Accusations
5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
Peter and John are questioned about the healing of the lame man. “So wisely did God order that they should first hear a full testimony to the truth in the temple, and then in the great council; to which they (the apostles) could have had no access, had they not been brought before it as criminals.” (Wesley Notes)
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ [Psalm 118:22] 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,… "Jesus had promised His Apostles that when they had to face courts the Holy Spirit would teach them what they should say (Luke 12:12). Here then the promise was being fulfilled. But we are no doubt also intended to see that this is part of the Holy Spirit’s continuing witness to Jesus (John 15:26-27) in line with the forward movement of His people. The filling was for the purpose of inspiring Peter’s words and giving them due impact before the highest authority in the land, reaching to the very heart of Jerusalem.”
(Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible)
"The change produced in a man by the influences of the Holy Spirit is truly wonderful. He who followed Christ 'afar off,' and trembled at the voice even of a maid-servant, can now face undismayed the assembled dignitaries of the nation, and without faltering charge them with the commission of the most outrageous crime, the crucifixion of the Son of God, the Saviour of a lost world." (Justin Edwards' Family Bible)
Judged for a good deed... "Evil times we must needs say they are, when good deeds and evil are dangerous alike; when to cure or to kill is equally criminal. 'Should I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?'... Bede said of the ancient Britons, immediately before their destruction by the Saxons, that they were come to that height of wickedness, as to cast an odium upon pious and profitable persons, tanquam in adversarios, as if they had been public enemies, not fit to be endured." (Trapp's Commentary)
Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth… by Him this man stands here before you whole... It was with Enoch- the son of Seth, the son of Adam- that men began to call on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 4:26) “The name of Jesus stands for His glorious being. It was because the man had come into vital union with the ever-living Christ, that disease was stayed and health restored. The name of Jesus rings through these chapters like a sweet refrain. Evidently He was living and at hand, or the streams of power and grace could not have poured forth to make desert lives begin to blossom as the garden of the Lord.” (F.B. Meyer's Commentary)
Jesus = Yeshua = Yahweh is salvation
Whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead… “The boldness of the declaration was startling. He does not shrink now from confessing the Nazarene as the Messiah. He presses home the fact that, though Pilate had given the formal sentence, it was they who had crucified their King. He proclaims that He has been raised from the dead, and is still as a Power working to heal as when on earth.” (Ellicott's Commentary)
“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’” [Psalm 118:22] “He quotes the same Scripture passage to the assembled Sanhedrin, which the Lord had mentioned in their presence (See Matthew 22:23-41).
They knew that the Lord meant them when He quoted that verse, that they were the builders, who were to reject Him. They had done so in fulfillment of that prophecy. Peter’s words are directed straight at them, ‘He is the stone which has been set at naught by you, the builders.’
The rejected stone had become the cornerstone. The One whom they had delivered up and cast out had been given the prominent place of the corner stone upon whom, as the foundation stone, everything rests, and who unites the building.”(Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible)
Peter, like his Master, ”puts his judges and accusers in the ridiculous attitude of builders laying the foundation of a house, but rejecting the stone which was cut out for the corner." (McGarvey) “Neither is there salvation in any other. In the church, of which the tabernacle was a figure, there must be but one king, one priest, one altar, one mercy seat. There is therefore no other name but that of Jesus, by which men must be saved. This was a bold stroke before the rulers, who had boasted that they were ‘Moses’s disciples.’ John 9:28.” (Sutcliffe) Have you the desire to keep the Commandments of God? ”And remember that Christ is the end of all things. He only is our resting-place, and He is our peace… Thou shalt never have rest in thy soul, neither shall the worm of thy conscience ever cease to gnaw thine heart, till thou come to Christ." (William Tyndale)
"They, too, rulers, elders, chief priests must be saved. But only in Him God had procured salvation free and complete for all who will have it by believing on Him." (Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible)
Acts 4: The Name of Jesus Forbidden / Peter’s Answer
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name. 18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
“Two young Galilean fishermen, before the same formidable tribunal which a few weeks before had condemned their Master, might well have quailed. And evidently ‘Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest,’ were very much astonished that their united wisdom and dignity did not produce a greater impression on these two contumacious prisoners. They were ‘unlearned,’ knowing nothing about Rabbinical wisdom; they were ‘ignorant,’ or, as the word ought rather to be rendered, ‘persons in a private station,’ without any kind of official dignity. And yet there they stood, perfectly unembarrassed and at their ease, and said what they wanted to say, all of it, right out. So, as great astonishment crept over the dignified ecclesiastics who were sitting in judgment upon them, their astonishment led them to remember what, of course, they knew before, only that it had not struck them so forcibly, as explaining the Apostles’ demeanour- viz.,’that they had been with Jesus.’ So they said to themselves: ‘Ah, that explains it all! There is the root of it. The company that they have kept accounts for their unembarrassed boldness.’" (Alexander MacLaren's Expositions)
And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. "To make matters more difficult for them, the healed man was proof that Jesus was still alive and working miracles (13-14). Since the apostles had broken no laws, and since the healing had increased the Christians' popularity, the Jewish leaders dared not punish the apostles. They could do no more than command them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. But the apostles refused to obey (15-22).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary)
“Not to speak ...nor teach in the name of Jesus - Any other doctrine, and any other name, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites and infidels will bear, but the doctrine which is according to godliness, proclaiming salvation through the blood of Christ crucified, they will not bear. If their doctrine were not the truth of God it could not be so unpopular; there is such an enmity in human nature against all that is good and true, that whatever comes from God is generally rejected by wicked men.
Whether it be right in the sight of God - As if they had said: Worldly prudence and a consideration of our secular interests would undoubtedly induce us to obey you; but acting as before God, and following the dictates of eternal truth and justice, we dare not be silent. Can it be right to obey men contrary to the command and will of God? When he commands us to speak, dare we hold our tongue? We have received our authority from God through Christ, and feel fully persuaded of the truth by the Holy Spirit which now dwells in us; and we should be guilty of treason against God, were we on any consideration to suppress his testimony. Your own consciences testify that we should be sinners against our heavenly King, were we to act according to your orders; and the conclusion is, that we cannot but speak what we have seen and heard.”
(Adam Clarke Commentary)
“This was a principle held very fast by the heathens. Antigona in Sophocles saith, Magis obtemperandum est Diis apud quos diutius manendum erit, quam hominibus, quibuscum admodum brevi tempore vivendum est. Better obey God with whom we must ever live, than men with whom we have but a while to continue.”
(John Trapp Complete Commentary)
“Was it not by the same spirit, that Socrates, when they were condemning him to death, for teaching the people, said, ‘O ye Athenians, I embrace and love you; but I will obey God rather than you. And if you would spare my life on condition I should cease to teach my fellow citizens, I would die a thousand times rather than accept the proposal.’” (Wesley)
“The Sanhedrin ordered the apostles not to speak or teach at all as Jesus’ spokesmen. This order provided a legal basis for further action should that be necessary (cf. Acts 5:28). Peter and John saw the command of the Sanhedrin as contradicting the command that Christ had given them ( Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19-20). They could not obey both, so they had to obey God (cf. Jeremiah 20:9). This is the only basis for civil disobedience that Scripture permits. In all other matters we must obey those in authority over us ( Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). [Note: See Charles C. Ryrie, ‘The Christian and Civil Disobedience,’ Bibliotheca Sacra127:506 (April-June1970):153-62. This article was reprinted with minor changes in idem, You Mean the Bible Teaches That ..., pp11-22.] Speaking what one has seen and heard ( Acts 4:20) is the essence of witnessing ( Acts 1:8). Contempt and threats have silenced many witnesses, but these tactics did not stop the Spirit-filled apostles. [Note: See Barrett, p238.]”
(Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable)
These verses “contain an important principle in favor of religious liberty the liberty of conscience and of private judgment. They contain the great principle of Christianity and of the Protestant religion, that the responsibility of men for their religious opinions is direct to God, and that other men have no power of control.” (Albert Barnes' Notes)
Believers often speak what the church has taught them to speak rather than what the Bible teaches. This does not mean that we do not listen to that voice, as well as old or new commentaries, but it means that we are responsible to God directly for what we speak and teach, so we best listen for that still small Voice, as we give greater weight to the Bible.
Acts 4: Threatenings of Rulers and Prayers of the Saints
21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
“Further threatened them ... These were not idle threats. Later, the apostles were arrested and beaten (Acts 5:17-40); and still later, Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel (Acts 6:8-7:60). There is a progression in this inspired history toward that murderous fury which at last signaled official Israel's total rejection of Jesus Christ. For the moment, the popularity of the apostles with the people prevented all but the threats." (Coffman Commentary)
For the man was over forty years old- "'made him well known and an object of universal sympathy.' (McGarvey p. 75) 'he had reached an age when such cures simply do not occur.' (Bruce p. 104) Point to Note: Some claim that the key to church growth in the first century was the fact that they had miraculous powers. But this section of Scripture reminds us that the miracles didn't convince everyone!" (Mark Dunagan Commentary on the Bible)
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Yahweh, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ [Psalm 2:1, 2] 27 For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
And being let go, they went to their own companions... "Like draws to like; Judas went to his own place, and the Apostles to their own company. The best answer to threats is prayer. The Apostles' one petition just then was for boldness. They scorned to ask for their own safety; it was enough if Jesus was glorified." (F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary)
They lifted up the voices, "Yahweh, You are God..." "The sense is, Lord, thou hast all power. And thy word is fulfilled. Men do rage against thee: but it is in vain." (Wesley)
"We may observe, too, the body of belief expressed in the prayer. First it lays hold on the creative omnipotence of God, and thence passes to the recognition of His written revelation. The Church has begun to learn the inmost meaning of the Old Testament, and to find Christ there. David may not have written the second Psalm. Its attribution to him by the Church stands on a different level from Christ’s attribution of authorship, as, for instance, of the hundred and tenth Psalm. The prophecy of the Psalm is plainly Messianic, however it may have had a historical occasion in some forgotten revolt against some Davidic king; and, while the particular incidents to which the prayer alludes do not exhaust its far-reaching application, they are rightly regarded as partly fulfilling it. Herod is a ‘king of the earth,’ Pilate is a ‘ruler’; Roman soldiers are Gentiles; Jewish rulers are the representatives of ‘the people.’ Jesus is ‘God’s Anointed.’ The fact that such an unnatural and daring combination of rebels was predicted in the Psalm bears witness that even that crime at Calvary was foreordained to come to pass, and that God’s hand and counsel ruled. Therefore all other opposition, such as now threatened, will turn out to be swayed by that same Mighty Hand, to work out His counsel. Why, then, should the Church fear? If we can see God’s hand moving all things, terror is dead for us, and threats are like the whistling of idle wind." (Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture)
For Jesus has these attributes found in their prayer: "He is Lord and Master of heaven and earth and seas and all things. He is the One Who has spoken through the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures in which He has already declared the opposition that they must face. He is the One Who foreordained all that is coming about. He is therefore the One Who can hear the threatenings of their adversaries and give His servants boldness to speak His word, working wonders through them in order to reveal that the Kingly Rule of God is here." (Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible)
"The apostles knew that souls were perishing without Jesus. They looked to Jesus Christ as the only escape from eternal ruin. They knew that there is no peace of mind or proper life conduct aside from Jesus and His truth." (Charles Box's Commentaries on Selected Books of the Bible)
"What a note of jubilant triumph was in that glorious prayer, offered by this threatened little band! They realized that they were under the special protection of God, who had made the world, had spoken by the prophets, and was the Father of Jesus." (F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary)- Jesus being of one substance with the Father.
"The place was shaken. . . .—The impression on the senses was so far a renewal of the wonder of the Day of Pentecost, but in this instance without the sign of the tongues of fire, which were the symbols of a gift imparted once for all, and, perhaps also, without the special marvel of the utterance of the tongues. The disciples felt the power of the Spirit, the evidence of sense confirming that of inward, spiritual consciousness, and it came in the form for which they had made a special supplication, the power to speak with boldness the word which they were commissioned to speak." (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers)
Acts 4: Enemies within the Church
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.