College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Acts 4:5-22
BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN. Acts 4:5-22.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest.
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders,
if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole;
be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole.
He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner.
And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.
Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
And seeing the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought through them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
But that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye:
for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard.
And they, when they had further threatened them, let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done.
For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was wrought.
120.
Why is the statement made in Acts 4:4 of particular encouragement?
Acts 4:5-6 The night passed. In the public ward there ascended, no doubt, prayers, songs and supplications from the hearts of Peter and John. The other apostles and the church in Jerusalem were probably also gathered to petition the throne of grace on behalf of Peter and John.
The morning came and at about ten o-'clock, as was the custom, the Sanhedrin was called to assemble. Luke is very explicit as to who were present as authorities in this trial. He first describes the assembly in a general statement, the rulers and the elders and scribes; then explicitly, when he tells us there were present: Annas the high priest and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest. Annas and Caiaphas were related, Caiaphas being the son-in-law of Annas. The predecessor of Pilate had deposed Annas of his rightful position as high priest and had put his son-in-law in his place. The people, however, did not recognize this unlawful procedure and considered Annas as the high priest as did Luke when he recorded this word. There is no historical information as to who John and Alexander were. We can only know that they were men of position and authority in the Sanhedrin. As many as were kindred of the high priest came out to see and hear what they could of this strange trial. And they were not to be disappointed.
The Sanhedrin before whom the apostles were arraigned consisted of seventy men (or seventy-oneseventy members plus Moses. Numbers 11:16). The Sanhedrin was composed of twenty-four priests, twenty-two lawyers (not lawyers as we understand that term) and twenty-four elders. These were the rulers and elders spoken of earlier. This council was the highest court in the Jewish state. They had no power to pass the death sentence but their recommendation to Herod carried real weight. The cases before this court were all of a religious nature. (Suffice to say here that this Sanhedrin gathered in a semicircle and set the apostles before them to be tried).
121.
What relation to the assembled council do the words rulers and elders and scribes have?
122.
Tell of the relationship of Caiaphas and Annas.
Acts 4:7. Note carefully that there was no charge made by the council. In a move of subtle strategy they framed a question, the answer of which they hoped would contain a basis for a charge. Here is the question:
By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?
Done what? Yes, so it was, that if the apostles had broken any law they would, in their answer to this question, confess their guilt and try to defend themselves.
Acts 4:8-12 However, the time had come for the words of Jesus to find fulfillmentBut when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. (Matthew 10:19-20.)
And so it was that Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, said the very thing that would offer to the Sanhedrin a defense that had no answer. Here are the thoughts of his defense. What have we done? We have healed a poor impotent man. This we would consider a good deed. Now if we this day are to be examined concerning this deed, I am perfectly willing to face the charge. In what power was this miracle wrought? Why, be it known to you and to all the children of Israel that in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God also raised from the dead, even in Him does this man stand before you whole. He is the stone which was set at nought of you, the builders, who was made the head of the corner; and in none other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven given among men wherein we must be saved.
What a marvelous progression of thoughts. Note them: (1) He calls attention to the man who was healed, he was standing with them. How did he come to be thus? (2) Through Jesus of Nazareth. Who is He? You know. He is the one whom you crucified. He is the one God raised from the dead; yea, He is the very stone which was set at nought of you, the builders.
This last statement was full of meaning to these rulers. Peter pictures the rulers as the builders of the temple of God and then points out to them that they are like the builders of a temple who, coming upon the rock that has been hewn out to be the cornerstone, fail somehow to recognize it as such and set it aside to go ahead with the construction of the building without it. The fact that Jesus came as the prophets had foretold, as a root out of a dry ground, as a servant and not as a Lord, no doubt had to do with the failure of the rulers of Israel to see in Him the chief cornerstone.
But more especially had their greed, pride, lust and covetousness blinded their eyes to this wonderful truth. If Jesus was indeed the Christ, if He had been raised from the dead, if He was the chief cornerstone, then Peter could say with force and truth that: In none other is there salvation, that God had not provided any other means or person under heaven wherein salvation could be found.
123.
What was the Sanhedrin? What cases did they try?
124.
What subtle strategy does the question of the council reveal?
125.
What words of Jesus were fulfilled upon this occasion?
126.
How did Peter answer the question of the Sanhedrin?
127.
Give a brief outline of Peter's defense.
128.
Why did the words of the apostles concerning the cornerstone have particular application to those who heard?
129.
What reasons could you give for the failure of the Jews to see in Jesus the chief cornerstone?
130.
Why were the words in Acts 4:12 especially appropriate?
131.
Why could the defense of Peter and John be called a bold defense?
Acts 4:13-18 Whatever else the rulers beheld or understood on that day, one thing they did not miss, and that was the boldness of Peter and John. In the face of judgment and death, they were unafraid to lay the charge of the death of Jesus at the feet of the very ones who were judging them. They were unafraid to call upon the leaders in Israel to find salvation in the name of the very one they had slain.
There could not but arise both admiration and wonder for these men, and especially so when they knew that they were unlearned and ignorant men, i.e., unlearned in the learning of the Rabbinical school; ignorant of the various intricate points of the law and tradition. Some men are prone to set at nought all others as ignorant and unlearned, who have not been trained in just the way and manner they have. (From all of these things, dear Lord, deliver us).
There could be but one answer to the bold logic and appeal of the words of Peter and Johnthey had been with Jesus. The wisdom of Jesus was admitted by them and now all they could say was that they must have been with Jesus and from Him imbibed His spirit and wisdom. The one fact they failed to realize was that not only had they been with Jesus but that Jesus was now in them.
These rulers were placed in a position of great embarrassment for they had no charge to begin with and they could find no flaw in the defense of Peter; and finally, they could say no word against what had been donefor the man who was healed stood in their very midst and the people were highly in favor of what had occurred. The name of God was being exalted as a result of this incident. What could they do? And so it is with all attempts to cover up hypocrisy and sin with a cloak of apparent righteousness.
132.
What is meant by the thought that Peter and John were unlearned and ignorant men?
133.
What reason did the rulers assign for their boldness? What was right about it? What had they failed to see?
The council did the only thing they couldthey stalled for time that they might consider their dilemma. So, commanding the apostles to go outside of their council, they conferred among themselves. But their private conversation only brought to light the facts of the case which they all knew to be so. Here were the points in the case:
1.
A notable miracle had been wrought through the apostles.
2.
It was manifest unto all those of Jerusalem.
3.
There would be no need to deny it.
What will be done with these men?
No punishment beyond a mere charge could be given. And in this charge, they could give no reason for not speaking any more in this name. The real reason, of course, was the desire of the Sadducees to stop this teaching and to put down this movement that was offering so much competition by way of popularity and influence. But these things could not be spoken of in a gathering of the mighty Sanhedrin. So they called in the apostles and gave them the simple charge, backed by the Sanhedrin:
Not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
134.
Show how the defense of Peter placed the Sanhedrin in a dilemma.
135.
What was the immediate action of the council? What were the facts of the case brought to their attention from the private conference?
136.
What was lacking in the charge given as punishment?
137.
What was the real reason back of the charge?
Acts 4:19-20 If this council expected the apostles to cower because of their power and position they were sadly disappointed, for Peter and John immediately answered that it was not a matter of obeying men, even though it was the Sanhedrin. What they were speaking and doing was in obedience unto God Himself. The statement of Peter and John was formed in such a way as to appeal to the judgment of those present; to appeal to their honesty before God. Their words were in essence:
Put yourselves in our place; suppose God told you to do one thing and man told you not to do itwhich one would you obey? Well, that is exactly our situationJesus Christ whom we beheld risen from the dead, commissioned us to tell of His resurrection and saving power; now you tell us not to speak of the very thing the risen Christ has told us to speak. You be the judge; to whom should we hearken?
138.
Why did not Peter and John keep quiet and then go on preaching in spite of the charge?
139.
What was the answer of Peter to the request of the Sanhedrin? To what did it appeal?
Acts 4:21-22 But the council had made a decision and to it they must be true; hence, we see them further threatening the apostles (they promised them punishment if they disobeyed this charge). But they let them go with no punishment, not because they wanted to, but because they feared the people. The common folk, who had no position to maintain, no name to uphold, were glad to behold the power of God and to give Him the glory. Luke gives us one more fact about this man who started all this chain of eventsHe was, says Luke, more than forty years old.
140.
Why weren-'t the apostles given a severe punishment?