Acts 4:15-18 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

But when they had commanded them to go aside To withdraw, not being willing they should hear the acknowledgments that were extorted from them; they conferred among themselves Privately. Now the scripture was fulfilled which foretold that the rulers would take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, Psalms 2:2; saying, What shall we do to these men? If they would have yielded to the convincing, commanding power of truth, it would have been easy to say what they should do to them. They should have placed them at the head of their council, received their doctrine, been baptized by them, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and joined in fellowship with them. But, when men will not be persuaded to do what they ought to do, it is no marvel that they are continually at a loss what to do. The truths of Christ, if men would but entertain them as they should, would give them no manner of trouble and uneasiness; but if they hold, or imprison them in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:18,) they will find them a burdensome stone, that they will not know what to do with, Zechariah 12:4. For that a notable miracle, Γνωστον, a signal and well-known miracle: it was known that they had done it in Christ's name, and that Christ himself had often done similar miracles: this was a known instance of the power of Christ, and a proof of his doctrine. That it was a great miracle, and wrought for the confirmation of the doctrine they preached, being σημειον, a sign, was manifest to all that dwelt in Jerusalem The miracle being wrought at the gate of the temple, universal notice was taken of it; and they themselves, with all the craft, and all the effrontery they had, could not deny it to be a true miracle. Hence they concluded that it would be neither reasonable nor safe to punish these men now. Nevertheless, on the other hand, they judged that both their credit and their interest required them to suppress the rumour of it as far as they could, and therefore, said they, that it spread no further among the people And be a means of raising discontent, and, perhaps, of occasioning some dangerous insurrection among them; let us straitly threaten them Απειλη απειλησωμεθα αυτοις, Let us threaten them with threatening: the expression is a Hebraism, being, it seems, St. Luke's translation of the very words of the council into Greek; that they speak henceforth to no man To no individual whatever; in this obnoxious name They could not prove that they had said or done any thing amiss, any thing but what was proper, yea, necessary to be said and done; and yet they must no more say or do the like! All the care of these rulers, &c., is, that the doctrine of Christ should spread no further among the people; as if the healing and saving institutions of the gospel were a plague begun, the contagion of which must be stopped immediately. See how the malice of hell fights against the counsels of heaven! God will have the knowledge of Christ to spread all over the world; but the chief priests would have it spread no farther: at which He that sits in heaven laughs. And they called them The whole council having agreed to this proposal, as the most proper they could now think of, they called in Peter and John, and, telling them how much they were offended at the liberty they took; commanded them In a very strict and severe manner; not to speak at all, privately, nor teach, publicly, in the name o f Jesus We do not find that they gave them any reason why the doctrine of Christ must be suppressed; they did not say it was either false or dangerous, or of any ill tendency; and they were ashamed to own the true reason, namely, that it testified against their hypocrisy and wickedness, and shook their tyranny.