CRITICAL REMARKS
Acts 5:17. The high priest.—Annas, as in Acts 4:6. Indignation.—Not envy or jealousy (R.V.), but hot, angry zeal.
Acts 5:19. Not the but an Angel of the Lord; i.e., sent by the Lord, or the Exalted Christ.
Acts 5:20. All the words of this life.—I.e., of this resurrection life which the Sadducees denied, or of this eternal life which the apostles preached, or of this blessed life which the angel himself enjoyed, or all of these together.
Acts 5:21. All the senate, or eldership. Whether a special meeting of the presbyters (a wider conception than the Sanhedrim) was summoned to assist the Sanhedrim (Meyer, Wendt, Holtzmann), or only the Sanhedrim, called in the Old Testament Apocrypha, the senate (Schürer, ii. 149) was convened (Zöckler, Hackett), cannot be determined.
Acts 5:24. They doubted of them.—Better, were much perplexed concerning them—i.e., the apostles (Alford), or the words reported about the apostles (Hackett). Whereunto this would grow.—What this would become, this incident of their escape from prison and this movement of which they were the leaders.
Acts 5:26. Lest they should be stoned depends upon “not with violence” (Alford, Hackett), rather than upon “they feared” (Holtzmann).
Acts 5:28. This man’s blood upon us recalls Matthew 27:25.
Acts 5:29. We ought to obey (πειθαρχεῖν, to obey or acknowledge as ruler, stronger than ἀκούειν, Acts 4:19) God rather than man.—Compare Socrates to his judges, πείσομαι δὲ μᾶλλον τῷ Θεῷ ἤ ὕμιν (Plato, Apologia, xvii. D).
Acts 5:31. With, or by, rather than “to.” See Acts 2:33. Not to be, but (as) a prince (as in Acts 3:15)—i.e., as theocratic Lord and King of His people, and a Saviour—i.e., as the originator of the Messianic salvation (Holtzmann).
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 5:17-32
Annas upon the Move; or, the Bursting of the Storm
I. The high priest and the angel of the Lord.—The high priest’s action against the apostles was:
1. Dictated by evil motives.
(1) Indignation. If not grieved at the miraculous activity of the apostles in healing (which they probably were) he and his associates felt annoyed at the persistence of the apostles in teaching doctrines which they, the high priest and his colleagues, did not believe. Most men are intolerant of beliefs to which they cannot themselves subscribe. No matter how excellent in character and beneficent in action other people may be, unless these swear by their superiors’ Shibboleths, they are disliked, if not oppressed, for their non-conformity. The Christian Church, to the amazement of the world, has often followed in the steps of the Jewish Sanhedrim!
(2) Jealousy. The high priest and his associates were offended at the growing influence of the apostles and the cause they represented. Few things are harder to bear with equanimity than the popularity of rivals and much more of opponents. The increase of the apostles in public esteem meant the decline of the Sanhedrists in national favour.
2. Concurred in by his associates. “Those that were with him” were not his colleagues in the Sanhedrim afterwards mentioned as the council (Acts 5:21), but his co-religionists, belonging to the sect of the Sadducees. Evil-doers never want allies. The difficulty has ever been to find fellow-helpers in good.
3. Observed by an unseen eye. The Lord noticed the angry feelings of the high priest, his rising indignation and jealousy, the secret confabulations between him and his associates, the order issued for the arrest of the apostles, the execution of that order by the officers of the Sanhedrim, and the consignment of the servants of Jesus to the public ward. “All things are naked and manifest unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13; compare Acts 1:24; Revelation 2:18; Revelation 2:23).
4. Counterworked by an invisible agent. “An angel of the Lord,” celestial intelligences being all subject to the exalted Christ (1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 22:16), visited the prison by night at his King’s command (Hebrews 1:14), opened its doors, as he or another (Acts 12:7) afterwards did to Peter, and having fetched them out commanded them to resume teaching in the temple. When Christ and His battalions take the field against confederacies of evil, whether human or angelic, these are sure to be overthrown and their projects scattered to the winds (Psalms 2:4-5).
II. The high priest and the senate of Israel.—Having effected the arrest of the apostles, the high priest and his confederates convened a meeting of the Sanhedrim or High Ecclesiastical Council.
1. When? At daybreak, about 6 a.m., before which hour a meeting of the court could not be held,—about the time when the apostles had resumed their public exhortations in the temple.
2. Why? To try the prisoners who on the preceding night had been committed to the cells, and were now to be fetched from confinement and placed at the Baruch
3. In what spirit? With a firm determination to put down the nuisance of teaching in the temple porch about Jesus and the resurrection. Thousands of civic and ecclesiastical rulers since then have attempted to do the like, and with as little success. Upon the whole the world’s potentates (and sometimes also the Church’s rulers) do not relish preaching that talks about Jesus and the resurrection.
III. The high priest and his apparitors.—
1. The bootless errand. Commissioned to fetch the apostles, the officers of the Sanhedrim repaired to the prison house and found it shut, with the warders at their posts. Having opened its massive gates and penetrated to the interior, to their astonishment they discovered no man within. However they had escaped the prisoners were gone.
2. The perplexed judges. When the officers returned with their tale, the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests were filled with terror. “Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all.” They could not tell what to make of it. What the upshot of this incident might be they could not predict. Not for an instant dreamt they of treachery on the part of the gaolers; they discerned that it was a miracle by which they were confronted, and they feared.
3. The startling announcement. Whilst pondering the situation, they became further dismayed by the exciting news, reported by a messenger, that the men wanted had resumed their old work of preaching in the temple. This must have strongly confirmed the Sanhedrists’ suspicion that the escape from prison had been effected by supernatural means. Prisoners who had attained liberty by treachery would hardly have returned to their accustomed haunts. The fact that the apostles were again preaching in the temple indicated they had some superior authority at their backs.
4. The second apprehension. The captain of the temple and the officers of the Sanhedrim, having renewed endeavours to arrest the preachers, used no violence on this occasion because of secret alarms for their own safety, the people being on the side of the apostles. Nor was violence required, since the apostles offered no resistance—in this following both the teaching (Matthew 5:39) and example (John 18:8) of their Muster.
IV. The high priest and the apostles.—1 The accusation. Set before the council, the apostles were charged by the president, in the name of his colleagues, with three crimes:
(1) With having disobeyed the instructions given by the court at a previous sederunt. A grave offence had the court’s orders been just, and dangerous considering the men who composed (Acts 4:5-6) the court, and the temper in which these then were (Acts 5:17).
(2) With having filled Jerusalem with their teaching, an indirect admission of, and unwilling testimony to, the growing popularity of the new religion, as well as of the unwearied assiduity of its teachers in promulgating their tenets.
(3) With seeking to fix on them, the Sanhedrists, the guilt of their Master’s murder. This was putting into words what the councillors’ own hearts kept whispering. Conscience is ill to silence even in the worst and most ignorant of men; how much more in men who are good (after a fashion) and enlightened?
2. The defence. Offered by Peter and the apostles, or by him on their behalf and with their concurrence.
(1) A great principle restated. That it was their (the apostles’ and every one’s) duty to obey God rather than man. Of this principle they had reminded the court on a former occasion (Acts 4:19), and now satisfy themselves with its repetition. About the second and third charges, which, being true, needed no defence, they are silent, confining their remarks to the one which, though also true, required justification. And the justification they offered was short, simple, sufficient, and unanswerable.
(2) A great story rehearsed, in four parts. First, that they had slain Jesus by hanging Him on a tree—they, the Jewish nation in general, and the Sanhedrists in particular. Peter and his fellow-apostles had manifestly lost nothing of their boldness and plain-speaking since last they stood before their accusers. Second, that the God of their fathers had raised up Jesus from the dead (once more the obnoxious doctrine!), and exalted Him to the right hand of the Majesty on high (a claim for divine dignity to the man they had slain!). Third, that Christ had been exalted as Prince and Saviour, from which it could be gathered that they had totally misconceived His character and mistaken His person. Fourth, that the grand object contemplated by His exaltation was that He might give repentance unto Israel (them and the people) and remission of sins. A strong pressing home of guilt on His accusers.
(3) A great claim reasserted. That they, the accused, were witnesses of these facts and doctrines complained of—witnesses appointed and put forth by Him, and for Him, and therefore His witnesses responsible to Him alone. Yea, going beyond this, that the Holy Ghost jointly witnessed with them, since, having been given to them by God and dwelling in them, He spoke and acted through them in the words they uttered and the miracles they wrought.
Learn.—
1. That “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” (Psalms 34:7).
2. That “He who sitteth in the heavens” laughs at His enemies and has them “in derision” (Psalms 2:4).
3. That the doubts of the chief priests as to whereunto this (Christianity) would grow have been largely answered—the faith planted by the apostles intends to grow till it fills the whole earth (Luke 13:21).
4. That nothing can release from responsibility to God (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
5. That Christ will pardon even His greatest enemies if they repent.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Acts 5:17. Misdirected Indignation.
I. Against the publication of the truth, rather than against the dissemination of error.
II. Against well doing, instead of against evil doing.
III. Against good men, and not against bad.
IV. Against other people’s supposed wickedness, and not against one’s own real sins.
Acts 5:19. Ministering Spirits.—The angels of God are represented in Scripture, and in this instance appear—
I. As the friends of the righteous.—Shown by the service rendered to the apostles.
II. As watchers in the night.—Proved by the observation taken of the apostles’ incarceration.
III. As rescuers from trouble.—Seen in the opening of the prison doors, and liberation of the prisoners.
IV. As directors in the way of duty.—Exemplified by the order given to the liberated apostles.
V. As messengers of the heavenly life to the world.—Suggested by the commission put into the hands of the apostles.
VI. As conveyers to the heavenly life and eternal joy.—Evinced by the interest taken in the gospel of life.—Compiled from, Lange.
Acts 5:20. The Preacher’s Commission.
I. His authority.—The divine commandment—“Go ye!”
II. His vocation.—To “speak,” not to write, but to proclaim with the voice.
III. His sphere.—The temple; or, in New Testament times the Christian Church.
IV. His theme.—All the words of this life—the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel.
V. His audience.—“The people,” to believers and unbelievers; to the former for edification, to the latter for conversion.
Acts 5:23. The World’s Veto upon Preaching.
I. Unreasonable.—To expect men to keep silence who have been commanded by Christ to speak, who know what they speak to be true, and who feel themselves impelled to speak by the inner voice of conscience.
II. Unjust.—To command men to desist from preaching is to invade the domain of conscience which belongs alone to Christ, and is therefore in the highest degree culpable and reprehensible.
III. Unkind.—To impose silence upon men who offer mankind the highest conceivable blessing (repentance and remission of sins) on the easiest possible terms (faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ) is surely the opposite of benevolent.
IV. Unsuccessful.—Those who attempt to put down preaching never really succeed. So long as Christ lives and reigns they never will succeed. All interdicts upon the gospel break down. The more men are punished for preaching, the hotter grows their zeal to persist in the forbidden work.
Acts 5:29. Obedience to God and Man.
I. It is possible to obey man rather than God—which is sin. Unfortunately this is often done, when inclination and supposed self-interest side with man’s orders rather than with God’s.
II. It is proper to obey God rather than man—which is duty. Proper in the sense of right, when God’s orders and man’s come into collision, man being a creature who is himself under authority to God.
III. It is practicable to obey man as well as God—which is both desirable and dutiful, when man’s orders are not countermanded by God’s.
The Power of the Civil Magistrate.
I. Its source.—God (Romans 13:1). Civil government a natural institution and divine ordinance.
II. Its sphere.—Civil affairs, or men considered solely as citizens. Things temporal and material, social and political.
III. Its limitations.—
1. Into the domain of conscience, and that signifies into the realm of religion it dare not intrude.
2. Even in its own sphere it is forbidden to enjoin anything which contravenes the law of God.
3. The power of the sword, or the infliction of pains and penalties, is permissible solely within its own specific province.
IV. Its guide.—
1. The light of the natural conscience.
2. The teachings of revelation so far as these bear on the duties of magistrates and citizens.
Acts 5:32. Witness of the Holy Ghost.
I. The subject of His witness.—“These things.” The facts of Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation, and the doctrines founded on and connected with them.
II. The medium of His witness.—“Those who obey Him,” the Holy Ghost, by believing the gospel; whom He thereupon inhabits, and through whom He delivers His testimony.
III. The object of His witness.—The unbelieving world who, by beholding the faith of Christians and listening to their testimony, are frequently brought to believe.
The Gift of the Holy Ghost.
I. The Author of this gift.—God, the Father, from whom the Holy Ghost proceedeth. No contradiction to Acts 2:33.
II. The recipients of this gift.—Those who obey God, who commands men to repent and believe upon His Son.
III. The nature of this gift.—An inhabitation of the repenting and believing heart by the gracious influences of the Divine Spirit.
IV. The object of this gift.—To enable those who receive it to witness for Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:17-32. The Fortunes of the Twelve.
I. Incarcerated by the Sanhedrim.—A signal honour to suffer affliction for Christ’s sake.
II. Delivered by an angel.—“Are they not all ministering spirits?” etc.
III. Honoured by the people.—These at this time heard the apostles gladly. Popular favour not always a good sign. Here, however, it was.
IV. Supported by the Holy Spirit.—A proof that they were obeying His directions.
Acts 5:17-32. The Sanhedrim and the College of the Apostles.
In considering the lessons to be drawn from this history we see—
I. How God overrules persecution and opposition for the good of His Church.—It seemed indeed a dark hour for the cause of Christ when all of the apostles were shut up in the common prison, and left, apparently, in the power of their bitterest enemies.
II. This history shows us rationalism confounded.—Just when rationalism thought to put down the supernatural, lo! it appears in a new manifestation before them. There was evidently a power working for these apostles which prison-walls, bolts, bars, and guards of soldiers could not restrain. The perplexity of the council is further increased when one came saying, “Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.” It was this conduct, as much as the strangeness of their deliverance, that impressed the senate. Then, as often since, men were made to see that there is a hidden, spiritual force about the gospel which cannot be accounted for, save on the ground that the life of Christ is in it.
III. We can also learn from this that the enemies of the gospel are made to fear and respect those who are fearless in proclaiming it.
IV. Finally, we have in this history Peter’s address to the Sanhedrim.—It is the jewel of which all of which all the rest is only the casket. As a defence nothing could be more admirable and to the point than the words of Peter. The specifications in the indictment against the apostles were two: first, that they had disobeyed the lawful authority in continuing to preach after they had been strictly charged to speak no more in the name of Jesus; second, that by their preaching they were stirring up the people to avenge the crucifixion of Jesus upon the Sanhedrim. To the first Peter replies, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” This was their justification for the disobedience charged. In answer to the second he fearlessly tells the Sanhedrim their guilt, and charges upon them the death of Jesus. It is most significant that in the defence which Peter makes, as indeed in all apostolic preaching, special prominence is given to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The apostle well knew that the larger portion of the Sanhedrim was of the sect of the Sadducees, yet he does not hesitate in his testimony. There are three great indestructible facts that have remained all through the ages as witnesses to the reality of the resurrection. The first is the testimony of the apostles; the second is the Christian Church; the third is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The proof which they furnish is conclusive, and we may rest assured that our holy faith, so glorious in the hopes which it inspires and so wonderful in the destiny which it opens for sinful men, is founded upon the ROCK.—S. J. Niccolls, D.D.