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Acts Chapter 4
Peter and John before the Council of the Jews.
The arrest of the apostles:
v. 1. And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,
v. 2. being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
v. 3. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day; for it was now eventide.
v. 4. Howbeit, many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Up to this time the Lord had permitted the growth of the Church to be undisturbed, the work of the apostles going on without interruption and the disciples having plenty of opportunity to be strengthened in the faith. But it was impossible for the old enemies of the Lord to remain idle under the circumstances. The present occasion offered them a welcome chance to interfere and to hinder the activity of the apostles. Peter had not yet finished his discourse to the people, and John also was addressing some part of the multitude, when a body of armed men came rushing across the court. There were the priests, angry, no doubt, because the people had disregarded the evening sacrifice and the hour of incense offering in their astonishment over the healing of the lame man. There was the captain of the Temple, "the man of the Temple mount," who had charge of the priests and Levites that guarded the Temple and its surroundings, acting also as police for the grounds. At night the number of guards for the twenty-one outer and three inner stations amounted to 240 Levites and 30 priests. The excuse for his officiousness probably was that the peace of the Temple was being disturbed by the concourse. And there were finally, and principally, the Sadducees, the members of the high-priestly party, who felt that their grievance was especially hard to bear. For the whole brunt of Peter's preaching was in opposition to the Sadducees' denial of the resurrection of the dead; all the discourses of the apostles were based upon that one fact, that Jesus was raised from the dead, and that this fact proved His Messiahship. Jesus had, on one occasion, indeed, maintained the resurrection of the dead against the error of the Sadducees, Mat_22:23-33, but they had hardened their hearts against the truth and were determined not to tolerate its teaching. The confession of the resurrection of the dead upon the basis of Christ's resurrection is a source of mockery and enmity toward the Christians to this day. The Jewish officials knew that the success of their plan depended upon quick action. So they took time for neither expostulation nor accusation; they simply laid forcible hands upon the two apostles, arrested them, and put them into a place of custody for the night, since they intended to arraign them in the morning. In spite of this action of the rulers, however, the preaching of Peter and John was not without result. For of the people in the audience that heard the Word there were many in whose heart faith was kindled. that believed in the Lord proclaimed to them. And thus the number of believers came to be, the men only being counted, after the Oriental custom, a total of about five thousand. With the power of the Spirit in the Word influencing the hearts, the Church expanded in spite of threatening danger.