Acts 4:1-4

IN THE PRISON Acts 4:1-4.

Acts 4:1

And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

Acts 4:2

being sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Acts 4:3

And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide.

Acts 4:4

But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Acts 4:1-3 The sermon is not complete, there yet remains the final exhortation; there yet remains the response to the call. But the final words are fated never to be spoken. The hands of the apostles are not to immerse those who might have responded. For, while the words were still falling from the lips of Peter, the crowd was burst asunder by a body of armed men, who rushing through the midst of the multitude seized Peter and John and hurried them off to the public ward or jail.

Who were these men who came so boldly and acted so brashly? Luke tells us they were the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees. The Sadducees were the leaders in this opposition; they were stirred up against the apostles because they proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. This fact cut straight across their teaching of no resurrection. The high priest Annas was a Sadducee and hence the action of these men was either directed by him or would be supported in trial before him. The popularity of the good news attracting as it was, multitudes of those in Jerusalem was another evident reason for the opposition of the Sadducees, they were filled with jealousy. We are not told whether the priests spoken of in this arrest were Sadducees or not. The immediate cause of this arrest was probably the disturbance of the hour of prayer. The healing of the lame man caused no small stir in the temple and temple area. The captain of the temple had been appointed for the express purpose of maintaining order in the temple and its area; hence, when this miracle occurred it evidently so disrupted the temple service that the captain deemed it necessary to call the priests and the Sadducees to put down this excitement. (But since the healing of the lame man took place at three o-'clock and it was not until sundown that the apostles were arrested, they were thus given some two or more hours to preach. It does seem that the captain of the temple might have known ahead of time of the hatred of the Sadducees. He could have known that they were but waiting for some pretext by which they might lay hands on the apostles, therefore he seized upon this opportunity and went to them for that very purpose).

116.

Who were the leaders in the arrest of Peter and John?

117.

Why could the apostles be thus arrested? What had they done worthy of arrest?

118.

Why were the Sadducees troubled about the preaching of the resurrection from the dead? Who was the captain of the temple?

119.

Do you believe the captain of the temple knew of the antagonism of the Sadducees before he arrested Peter and John? If so, why?

Acts 4:4 Luke adds an encouraging word in the fourth verse. Although Peter and John were not there to rejoice with the others, there were many that heard their word and believedand that the number of men in Jerusalem came to be about five thousand. This is a wonderful word of victory for many of those baptized on Pentecost must have returned to their native homes. In spite of this fact, the number of men (to say nothing of the women) was now about five thousand.