Acts 5:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.

NIV: On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

NASB: Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.

CSB: As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

NLT: When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.

KJV: Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

NKJV: Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.

When the Sanhedrin ordered Peter and John to stop speaking and preaching in Jesus' name, they expected the men to obey, despite the fact Peter and John told them they wouldn't (Acts 4:18–20). When the priests find out that not just Peter and John but all the leaders of the Jesus-followers are teaching in the temple courtyard, they arrest them all (Acts 5:17–18). The next morning, the council makes the reasonable assumption that the men will still be in prison, so they send officers of the temple guards to collect them. The officers arrive at the jail to see the guards faithfully standing before the doors of empty cells (Acts 5:22–23).

At the moment, the captain and the priests are just "perplexed." How did they escape? Where did they go? When they find the apostles are again in the temple courtyard, again preaching in the name of Jesus, even insisting that Jesus has risen from the dead, they become "enraged" and murderous (Acts 5:33).

It is good that the priests are perplexed. It is sometimes God's will that we face something unexpected—it forces us to stop and ponder what is happening and what it means. That is one of the purposes of miraculous signs. In the Bible, miracles identify God's messengers; the people understand this, and when faced with miracles of healing and freedom from possession they listen to and believe the apostles' message (Acts 5:12–16).

Not too long before, the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus for a sign. Jesus pointed out that the signs were right in front of them, they just refused to believe. He said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 16:4). Earlier, He had explained the sign of Jonah was a prophecy that He would be buried for three days and rise again (Matthew 12:38–40). This happened right under the noses of the Sanhedrin, and they know Jesus' tomb is empty (Matthew 28:11–15).

But the Sanhedrin's goal isn't to follow the signs to the truth. It is to recover the attentions of the people, which they believe are rightfully theirs (Acts 5:17). So they ignore the miracles of healings and impossible escapes, and concentrate on the threat to their own authority.

Acts 5:17–26 occurs after the chief priests arrested Peter and John for preaching and healing in Jesus' name, and ordered them not to do so again (Acts 4:1–22). Now, all the apostles are healing and preaching in Jesus' name (Acts 5:12–16), and so the priests arrest them all. At this point, the Sanhedrin is still afraid of the people (Acts 5:26); after all, the apostles are so powerful the people believe even Peter's shadow can heal the sick (Acts 5:15). Soon, the council will get bolder. A mob will kill Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), and then a Pharisee named Saul will help the council drive almost all the Jesus-followers out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1–3).

The apostles continue to make hard decisions in the name of Jesus, both inside and outside the church. When Ananias and Sapphira lie to God, the Holy Spirit inspires Peter to pronounce God's judgment on them, protecting the church from the love of the world. Despite the Sanhedrin's watchful eye—and direct orders (Acts 4:17–18)—the apostles continue to preach and heal openly. The guards arrest the apostles, but the Sanhedrin settles for beating them instead of capital punishment. The apostles consider it an honor to suffer on behalf of their Savior.

In Acts 5, persecution from unbelievers begins to accelerate. The Sanhedrin has become aware the apostles teach that Jesus rose from the dead (Acts 4). Now, they start to push back in earnest, arresting and beating the apostles. Soon, a mob will kill Stephen, a deacon (Acts 7:54–60), and the Sanhedrin will empower Saul to run down and arrest any Jesus-follower he can find (Acts 8:1–3). The apostles will stay in Jerusalem. Other Jesus-followers will carry His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation with God into the Roman Empire and beyond. The apostles' faithfulness and submission to the Holy Spirit is why we have the gospel message today.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.