1  And as they were speaking[1] to the people, the priests and captain of the temple[2] and the Sadducees came upon them,

2  being distressed on account of their teaching the people[3] and preaching by Jesus the resurrection from among the dead;

3  and they laid hands on them, and put them in ward till the morrow; for it was already evening.

4  But many of those who had heard the word believed; and the number of the men had become about five thousand.

5  And it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders[4] and scribes were gathered together at Jerusalem,

6  and Annas the high priest[5], and Caiaphas[6], and John, and Alexander[7], and as many as were of the high priestly family;[8]

7  and having placed them in the midst they inquired, In what power or in what name have *ye* done this?

8  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit[9], said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel ,

9  if *we* this day are called upon to answer as to the good deed done to the infirm man, how *he* has been healed,

10  be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaraean, whom *ye* have crucified, whom God has raised from among the dead, by *him* this man stands here before you sound in body .

11  *He* is the stone which has been set at nought by you the builders, which is become the corner stone.[10]

12  And salvation is in none other, for neither is there another name under heaven which is given among men by which we must be saved.

13  But seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlettered and uninstructed[11] men, they wondered; and they recognised them that they were with Jesus.

14  And beholding the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to reply;

15  but having commanded them to go out of the council they conferred with one another,

16  saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed an evident sign has come to pass through their means is manifest to all that inhabit Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.[12]

17  But that it be not further spread among the people, let us threaten them severely no longer to speak to any man in this name.

18  And having called them, they charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.[13]

19  But Peter and John answering said to them, If it be righteous before God to listen to you rather than to God, judge ye;

20  for as for us *we* cannot refrain from speaking of the things which we have seen and heard.

21  But they, having further threatened them, let them go, finding no way how they might punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified God for what had taken place;

22  for the man on whom this sign of healing had taken place was above forty years old.

23  And having been let go, they came to their own company , and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

24  And they, having heard it , lifted up their voice with one accord[14] to God, and said, [15]Lord, *thou* art the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them;[16]

25  who hast said by the mouth of thy servant David[17], Why have the nations raged haughtily and the peoples meditated vain things?

26  The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.

27  For in truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hadst anointed, both Herod[18] and Pontius Pilate[19], with the nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city

28  to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass.

29  And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and give to thy bondmen with all boldness to speak thy word,

30  in that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.

31  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.

32  And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one, and not one said that anything of what he possessed was his own, but all things were common to them;[20]

33  and with great power did the apostles give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

34  For neither was there any one in want among them; for as many as were owners of lands or houses, selling them, brought the price of what was sold

35  and laid it at the feet of the apostles; and distribution was made to each according as any one might have need.

36  And Joseph, who had been surnamed Barnabas[21] by the apostles (which is, being interpreted, Son of consolation), a Levite, Cyprian by birth,

37  being possessed of land[22], having sold it , brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

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[1] (4:1). As Peter and John were trying to explain the miracle to the crowd the Sadducees tried to silence them as they rejected their message and the Gospel.

[2] (4:1). captain of the temple. An official second to the high priest.

[3] (4:2). teaching the people. The religious leaders were offended that uneducated men were teaching the people. They believed that they were the only people who had the right authority to teach people about the things of God.

[4] (4:5). elders. Older men entrusted to teach and rule in the synagogue.

[5] (4:6). Annas the high priest. Annas was succeeded by his son-in-law Caiaphas. When Jesus was arrested he came before Annas and later to Caiaphas. He was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the inaugural High Priest of the recently established Roman province of Judaea in A.D. 6. Annas served officially as High Priest for ten years.

[6] (4:6). Caiaphas. Son-in-law to Annas. He was high priest for 18 years. He was appointed by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus. He was the leader of the Sanhedrin when Jesus was brought before the Jewish council.

[7] (4:6). John, and Alexander. Nothing is known about them.

[8] (4:6). High Priests in the New Testament. Annas (A.D. 6-15), Caiaphas (A.D. 18-36). Ananias (A.D. 46-58).

[9] (4:8). filled with the Holy Spirit. An empowering of the Holy Spirit to do the work of God.

[10] (4:11). Peter quotes Psa. 118:22. Jesus also quotes this Psalm in Matt. 21:42.

[11] (4:13). unlettered and uninstructed. Peter and John were not trained and educated in the matter of the law of Moses.

[12] (4:16). cannot deny it. The Sanhedrin could not deny that a miracle had happened, however they did not affirm it.

[13] (4:18). in the name of Jesus. Peter is careful to say that the miracle is done by Jesus.

[14] (4:24). one accord. Christians are united in their mindset.

[15] (4:24). A prayer of thankfulness to God.

[16] (4:24). God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them. God is the only one who is able to answer the prayers of His people because He alone is the One who reigns over all creation.

[17] (4:25). David. Youngest son of Jesse. Married Michal, Abigail, Ahinoam and Bathsheba. He was the father of Solomon. Reigned in Hebron for 7 years and 33 years in Jerusalem. Anointed by Samuel in Bethlehem. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was the second and the greatest king of Israel. His name means, “beloved.” He died at the age of 70 in Jerusalem. 

[18] (4:27). Herod. Herod Antipas, Son of Herod the Great.

[19] (4:27). Pontius Pilate. The fifth Roman governor of Judea during Jesus’ ministry. Pilate’s wife cautioned him against being accountable for the death of the innocent Jesus. Pilate washed his hands and proclaimed that the blood of Jesus was on the people’s hands before delivering Jesus to be whipped and crucified.

[20] (4:32). but all things were common to them. This demonstration of Christian generosity did not invalidate the right to own personal property. The sharing of resources was not mandatory but rather a voluntary act aimed at reducing need among the members.

[21] (4:36). Barnabas. A Levite of Cyprus and member of the assembly at Jerusalem. His name was Joseph, but was given the name Barnabas to indicate his character (son of encouragement). He travelled with Paul on ministry journeys to preach the Gospel.

[22] (4:37). possessed of land. Levites could not own land in Israel. Barnabas likely owned land in Cyrus. Josh. 13:14, 33, 18:7. Levites have the Lord as their inheritance and so they receive no land inheritance. Deut. 18:1-2. The Levites were set apart for service in the temple, so they did not need land. The ancient Jewish writer Philo mentions Jewish colonies on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.