Peter and John Arrested
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
2 greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming 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.
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
ὁ στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ (ho stratēgos tou hierou) — v.1: The “captain of the temple” was the στρατηγός (stratēgos), the second-ranking official in the temple hierarchy after the high priest. He commanded the temple police force (the Levitical guard) and was responsible for maintaining order in the temple precincts. His presence signals that this is an official intervention, not a spontaneous mob. The combination of priests, the temple captain, and the Sadducees represents the institutional power structure of the temple establishment.
v.2: The Sadducees are identified as the primary opponents. This is historically precise and significant. The Sadducees, who controlled the temple priesthood and the high priestly families, denied the resurrection of the dead (cf. Matthew 22:23, Acts 23:8). The Pharisees, by contrast, affirmed resurrection. Peter’s proclamation that Jesus had risen from the dead was therefore a direct theological provocation to the Sadducees specifically — not just a claim about one man but an affirmation of the doctrine they most strenuously rejected. The temple establishment’s opposition to the early church is primarily Sadducean, not Pharisaic. This is important: the Pharisees will sometimes prove sympathetic (Gamaliel in chapter 5, Paul’s claim in chapter 23).
v.3: They are put in custody overnight because Jewish law prohibited night trials. The Sanhedrin could only convene during daylight hours. The arrest itself follows the same pattern as Jesus’s arrest: the temple authorities seize the preachers and hold them for trial the next morning.
v.4: Despite the arrest, the word has already done its work. The community grows to about five thousand men (ἀνδρῶν, andrōn — males specifically, suggesting the total community including women and children was considerably larger). The church has grown from 120 (1:15) to 3,000 (2:41) to about 5,000 in the space of days. Luke’s point is clear: arrest does not stop the gospel. The authorities can imprison the preachers, but the word has already been heard.
Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
5 And on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem,
6 along with Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.
7 And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power or in what name have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are being examined today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands before you in good health.
11 This Jesus is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone.
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
vv.5–6: The Sanhedrin assembles in full session. Luke names the power structure: rulers (ἄρχοντες), elders (πρεσβύτεροι), scribes (γραμματεῖς) — the three constituent groups of the council. Then the names: Annas, who had been high priest (AD 6–15) and still wielded enormous power as patriarch of the high-priestly family; Caiaphas, his son-in-law, who was the reigning high priest (AD 18–36) and had presided over the trial of Jesus; John and Alexander, otherwise unknown but likely members of the extended high-priestly clan. This is the same body, with many of the same individuals, that condemned Jesus to death just weeks earlier. Peter and John are standing before the men who killed their master.
v.7: The question “By what power or in what name have you done this?” is both a legal inquiry and a theological trap. Performing signs “in a name” could imply sorcery or invoking forbidden spiritual powers. The question assumes the healing is real (they cannot deny it, as v.16 will confirm) and asks instead about the source of the power. Peter will answer the question directly and use it as the opening for his most concentrated proclamation.
πλησθεὶς πνεύματος ἁγίου (plēstheis pneumatos hagiou) — v.8: “Filled with the Holy Spirit” — Luke explicitly attributes Peter’s speech to the Spirit’s empowerment. This fulfills Jesus’s promise in Luke 12:11–12: “When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Peter is living that promise in real time.
vv.9–10: Peter’s opening is a masterpiece of irony. “If we are being examined today for a benefit done to a sick man” — the word “benefit” (εὐεργεσία, euergesia) was a formal civic term for a public good deed. Peter is pointing out the absurdity of the situation: we are on trial for healing someone? The Sanhedrin has put them in the position of prosecuting a miracle of compassion. Peter then answers their question with absolute directness: it was done “by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.” Two relative clauses, one after the other: you killed him; God raised him. The contrast is delivered to their faces.
λίθος ὁ ἐξουθενηθεὶς ὑφ’ ὑμῶν τῶν οἰκοδόμων (lithos ho exouthenētheis hyph’ hymōn tōn oikodomōn) — v.11: “The stone rejected by you, the builders” — Peter quotes Psalm 118:22, the same passage Jesus applied to himself (Luke 20:17). The metaphor is architectural: the professional builders (οἰκοδόμοι, oikodomoi) examined a stone and rejected it as unsuitable, but that very stone became the κεφαλὴν γωνίας (kephalēn gōnias, “head of the corner”) — the cornerstone or capstone that holds the entire structure together. Peter is telling the Sanhedrin: you are the builders, you rejected the stone, and God made it the most important stone in the building. The accusation is direct and personal: “rejected by you.”
οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία (ouk estin en allō oudeni hē sōtēria) — v.12: “There is salvation in no one else” — this is one of the most absolute claims in the New Testament. Peter does not say Jesus is the best way or the highest way; he says there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. The exclusivity is total. The word σωτηρία (sōtēria, “salvation”) carries a double meaning in context: it means both the physical healing of the lame man (who has been “saved” from his disability) and the spiritual salvation of all humanity. Peter slides from one meaning to the other: the same name that healed this man’s ankles is the only name that can heal the human condition.
The Council’s Dilemma
13 Now as they observed the boldness of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.
15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another,
16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy sign has been performed through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
17 But so that it will not spread further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all 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 rather than to God, you be the judges;
20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 And when they had threatened them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;
22 for the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
τὴν παρρησίαν (tēn parrēsian) — v.13: “Boldness” — παρρησία (parrēsia) means freedom of speech, outspokenness, fearless confidence. It was a Greek democratic virtue — the right of a citizen to speak openly in the assembly. Peter and John display this civic boldness before the highest court in the land. The Sanhedrin is astonished because they recognize these men as ἀγράμματοι καὶ ἰδιῶται (agrammatoi kai idiōtai, “uneducated and untrained men”) — they have no formal rabbinic training, no scribal credentials, no theological education. They are fishermen. And yet they speak with an authority and eloquence that the professionals cannot match.
v.13: “They began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” — this is one of the most loaded sentences in Acts. The Sanhedrin sees something in Peter and John that reminds them of Jesus. The same boldness, the same scriptural mastery, the same unflinching directness before authority. The phrase “having been with Jesus” (σὺν τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἦσαν) is simple but profound: the explanation for their transformation is not education but association. They have been with Jesus, and it shows.
vv.14–16: The council is paralyzed. The healed man is standing right there in the room (σὺν αὐτοῖς ἑστῶτα, “standing with them”) — a living, walking, undeniable piece of evidence. The council’s private deliberation (v.16) is devastating in its honesty: they acknowledge the miracle is real (“a noteworthy sign”, γνωστὸν σημεῖον), acknowledge it is publicly known (“apparent to all who live in Jerusalem”), and acknowledge they cannot deny it (“we cannot deny it”). Their only strategy is containment: stop the message from spreading further. The irony is heavy — they are trying to suppress a truth they have just admitted is undeniable.
vv.19–20: Peter’s response is one of the foundational statements of Christian civil disobedience. “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you be the judges.” Peter does not claim a general right to disobey authority; he frames the issue as a specific conflict between divine command and human command. When the two conflict, God wins. The principle echoes Socrates’s defense at his trial (“I shall obey God rather than you”) and would have resonated with any educated Greek reader. But Peter’s version is not philosophical; it is experiential: “We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” The emphasis is on witness. They are not theorizing; they are testifying. They saw the risen Jesus, and no human court can make them unsee it.
v.22: Luke adds the detail that the man was over forty years old — meaning he had been lame for more than four decades. This is not just a medical note; it is an evidential one. The entire adult population of Jerusalem had been walking past this man for a generation. His healing is not something that could be fabricated or mistaken. The longer the disability, the stronger the evidence for the miracle.
The Church Prays Under Pressure
23 When they had been released, they went to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “Sovereign Lord, you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant, said: ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’
27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur.
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Δέσποτα (Despota) — v.24: “Sovereign Lord” — the word Δεσπότης (Despotēs) means absolute ruler, master, sovereign. It is a stronger term than Κύριος (Kyrios, “Lord”). The prayer begins by addressing God as the creator of everything — heaven, earth, sea, and all their contents. This is not a casual opening; it is a deliberate assertion of God’s supremacy over the earthly powers that have just threatened the apostles. The Sanhedrin is powerful; God made the world. The prayer establishes the scale: the opposition is real, but it is small compared to the one they are praying to.
vv.25–26: The community quotes Psalm 2:1–2, a royal psalm originally celebrating the enthronement of Israel’s king. The psalm describes the nations and their rulers conspiring against “the Lord and his Anointed One” (κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ). The early church reads this as a prophecy of the opposition to Jesus: the “anointed one” (christos) is Jesus, and the conspiracy against him included both Gentile and Jewish authorities.
vv.27–28: The application is specific and names names. “In this city” — Jerusalem, where the community is praying right now — the conspiracy of Psalm 2 was enacted. Herod (Antipas, who mocked Jesus, Luke 23:6–12) and Pontius Pilate (who condemned him), along with the Gentiles (the Roman soldiers who executed him) and the peoples of Israel (the crowd that called for his death), all gathered against Jesus. The comprehensiveness is deliberate: every category of human power — Jewish and Gentile, royal and gubernatorial, military and popular — was aligned against Jesus. And yet (v.28) all of it accomplished nothing more than “whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur.” The greatest conspiracy in human history served God’s predetermined plan. The same theology Peter preached at Pentecost (2:23) is now prayed by the community: divine sovereignty and human rebellion coexist, and sovereignty wins.
vv.29–30: The prayer’s petition is remarkable for what it does not ask for. The community does not pray for protection. They do not pray for the threats to stop. They do not pray for the Sanhedrin to be punished. They pray for boldness (παρρησία, the same word used of Peter in v.13) to keep speaking. Their request is not for safety but for courage. And they ask God to keep doing what he has been doing: healing, signs, and wonders in the name of Jesus. The logic is breathtaking: we have been threatened for speaking in this name and performing signs in this name, so please give us the boldness to keep speaking in this name and keep performing signs in this name. The prayer is a refusal to be intimidated, expressed as dependence on God.
ἐσαλεύθη ὁ τόπος (esaleuthē ho topos) — v.31: “The place was shaken” — a physical response to prayer. The shaking (σαλεύω, saleuō) echoes Old Testament theophanies: Sinai shook when God descended (Exodus 19:18), the temple shook at Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6:4). This is a mini-Pentecost: the Spirit fills the community again, and they speak with the boldness they just prayed for. The prayer is answered immediately and physically. The threat of the Sanhedrin has produced not retreat but a fresh outpouring of the Spirit.
The Sharing Community
32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common to them.
33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),
37 owned a tract of land. He sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία (kardia kai psychē mia) — v.32: “One heart and one soul” — this is the classical Greek and Old Testament expression for complete unity. Καρδία (kardia, “heart”) represents the will and intention; ψυχή (psychē, “soul”) represents the inner life and emotions. Together they describe a community so unified that its members share not just resources but identity. The phrase echoes Deuteronomy 6:5 (“with all your heart and with all your soul”) — the love they owe to God, they now also share with each other.
v.32: “Not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own” — the description resembles the Greek philosophical ideal of the perfect community. Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics both discuss the ideal of shared property among friends. The early Pythagoreans reportedly practiced communal ownership. Luke, writing for a Greco-Roman audience, would have been aware of these parallels. But the motivation here is not philosophical; it is spiritual. The sharing is a fruit of the Spirit’s work, not a political program.
v.34: “There was not a needy person among them” — this phrase echoes Deuteronomy 15:4: “There will be no poor among you.” Moses’s vision for Israel was a community where poverty would be eliminated through faithful obedience and generous sharing. The early church is being presented as the fulfillment of that vision — the community Moses imagined has finally appeared, not through legislation but through the Spirit’s transformation of hearts.
v.35: “Laid them at the apostles’ feet” — this phrase, which recurs in Acts, describes a formal act of donation. The proceeds are placed under the apostles’ authority for distribution. The apostles function as stewards of the community’s shared resources. This arrangement will become strained in chapter 6, when the distribution process fails to reach Hellenistic widows, prompting the appointment of the Seven.
Βαρναβᾶς ... υἱὸς παρακλήσεως (Barnabas ... huios paraklēseōs) — vv.36–37: Barnabas — “Son of Encouragement” (or “Son of Consolation”). The Aramaic name Bar-Nabas likely means “son of prophecy” or “son of exhortation,” and Luke interprets it as “Son of Encouragement” (υἱὸς παρακλήσεως), using the same root as παράκλητος (paraklētos, “Comforter/Advocate” — the title Jesus gave to the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, 26). Barnabas will become one of the most important figures in Acts: the man who vouched for Paul when everyone else was afraid of him (9:27), who was sent to Antioch to nurture the first mixed Jewish-Gentile church (11:22), and who accompanied Paul on the first missionary journey (chapters 13–14). He is introduced here as a model of generosity — a Levite (and therefore someone connected to the temple system) who sells his property for the community. His introduction immediately before the Ananias and Sapphira story in chapter 5 is deliberate: Barnabas is the positive example; they are the negative one.
v.36: Barnabas is a Levite from Cyprus. This tells us several things: the diaspora is already represented in the Jerusalem church (Cyprus is a Mediterranean island far from Palestine), and Levites — members of the priestly tribe — were joining the movement. The temple establishment is opposing the church, but members of the temple’s own tribe are joining it.
General Notes on the Chapter
Acts 4 introduces the first of many conflicts between the church and the established authorities. The pattern established here will repeat throughout the book: the apostles preach, the authorities arrest, the apostles testify boldly before the court, the authorities are unable to refute the evidence, and the church grows. Opposition does not slow the gospel; it accelerates it. The chapter begins with Peter and John in custody and ends with the church praying with boldness and the ground shaking beneath them.
The Sanhedrin scene (vv.5–22) is a study in the collision between institutional authority and spiritual authority. The council has every worldly advantage: legal power, political connections, the temple, the guards, the precedent of having successfully eliminated Jesus himself. Peter and John have no credentials, no training, no institutional backing — and a healed man standing next to them. The council’s private admission (“we cannot deny it”) is the turning point: the evidence has defeated the institution. All the Sanhedrin can do is issue threats and hope for compliance. The threats will not work.
Peter’s declaration in v.12 — “there is salvation in no one else” — is the most exclusive christological claim in Acts and one of the most absolute in the entire New Testament. It is worth noting the context in which it is spoken: not in a theological seminar but in a courtroom, by a man under arrest, before the very people who killed Jesus. The claim is not abstract; it is confrontational. Peter is telling the Sanhedrin that the man they condemned and executed is the only source of salvation for them or anyone else. The boldness is extraordinary.
The community prayer (vv.24–30) is one of the most remarkable prayers in the New Testament. Faced with threats and the possibility of further arrest, the church does not pray for protection but for boldness. The prayer reveals a community that has internalized the theology of divine sovereignty: if God’s purpose determined even the crucifixion (v.28), then the Sanhedrin’s threats are not outside God’s plan either. The response to opposition is not fear but prayer; the result of prayer is not safety but renewed courage and a fresh filling of the Spirit. The shaking of the room (v.31) is God’s answer: I hear you, I am with you, and I am giving you exactly what you asked for.
The introduction of Barnabas (vv.36–37) is Luke’s characteristic technique of planting a character who will become important later. Barnabas appears here as a model of generosity, quietly selling his land and laying the proceeds at the apostles’ feet. He will reappear as the man who believes in Paul when no one else does, who bridges the gap between Jewish and Gentile Christianity, and who partners with Paul in the first great missionary expansion. Luke’s readers will remember this moment when Barnabas’s larger significance unfolds: the Son of Encouragement was generous from the beginning.