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The consultation of the Sanhedrin:
v. 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.
v. 14. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
v. 15. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
v. 16. saying, What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
v. 17. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
The Jewish rulers had expected Peter and John to show fear or timidity in their presence, to be overawed by the dignity and learning of the members of the council. Instead of that, however, there was in their bearing a freedom and confidence and in the speech of Peter a fearless candor which compelled respect on their part. The longer they contemplated the manner of the men, the more this conviction was forced upon them. And this impression was heightened by the fact that the judges had perceived, either by their dress or by their dialect, that the two men before them were really unlearned and ignorant men, that they not only were not versed in the Law and in all the Jewish learning, but actually had not been able to write, were altogether illiterate. And there was still another point which the members of the council now noted, namely, that these men had belonged to the small company of Christ's followers. This recognition came to them at this point, since they had seen Peter and John both as attendants of Jesus, and since John was a personal acquaintance of Caiaphas, Joh_18:15; Joh_18:18. No wonder that all these facts, gradually absorbing the consciousness of the judges, caused them to sit in embarrassed silence. For as far as the miracle was concerned, any attempt at denial would have been worse than futile, since the former cripple was there before their eyes, standing upright and sound upon his feet. The evidence of the miracle spoke no less forcibly than the apostles themselves. And so the rulers had nothing to say. Finally the silence was broken by the proposal, and the command based upon it, that the men leave the council-chamber for some time, being undoubtedly taken out under guard. Now the judges felt free to consider the matter; they exchanged their thoughts and opinions of the case. The gist of the discussion is given by Luke. There was no denying that a very evident miracle had been performed, which had also come to the knowledge of all the people of Jerusalem. To attempt a denial of these facts would have been worse than useless, it would have been foolishness of the most extreme type. And yet someone proposed an effort to stop the spread of the truth, and the proposal was eagerly made a resolution. In order that the message and the movement which accompanied it might spread no farther and be dispersed among the common people, like seed that promised a bountiful crop, they resolved earnestly to threaten the apostles that they speak no more about the name of Jesus, making Him and His Gospel the subject of their discourses. With none of the people, to not a single individual, should they speak about the name Revelation red by them above all other names. Note: The unbelieving children of this world cannot deny that the power of God is mighty in the teaching and in the lives of the Christians. And yet they remain hostile to the name of Christ and make every effort to suppress the proclamation of the Gospel. Thus the unbelievers, with their unbelief and with their enmity toward Christ, act in direct opposition to their own conscience and better knowledge