Acts 5:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

NIV: The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead--whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.

NASB: The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross.

CSB: The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

NLT: The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.

KJV: The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

NKJV: The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.

The members of the Sanhedrin are concerned the people will realize they murdered Jesus and rebel or even stone them (Acts 5:26, 28). Peter boldly declares that they not only killed Jesus, they cursed Him by hanging Him from a "tree" (Deuteronomy 21:22–23). In fact, the council was worried about this before they even arrested Jesus, and wanted to wait until after week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread (Mark 14:1–2). They took the opportunity Judas gave them, however, and arrested Jesus late at night, out in the countryside. In order to shift the public blame off themselves, they blackmailed Pilate to order Jesus' death (John 19:12) and incited a crowd to demand Pilate release an insurrectionist instead (Matthew 27:20–23).

Even though the council stands behind the necessity of the death of Jesus (John 11:49–53), they don't want the people to get upset with them. Jesus was always popular among the people, and His apostles are proving to be as well, both for their ability to perform miracles and their message (Acts 5:12–16).

It's unclear if "God…raised Jesus" means He enabled Jesus' powerful public ministry or if it means God raised Jesus from the dead. If he means the resurrection, that would be consistent with Peter's previous arrest (Acts 4:1–2). It would also fit with Paul's successful courtroom tactic: getting the Sadducees and Pharisees to fight amongst themselves instead of convicting him in a sham trial (Acts 23:6–10). It's even possible Paul—then named Saul—was present at this event, and later remembered Peter's example during his own arrest.

Acts 5:27–42 occurs in the aftermath of a miraculous jailbreak. The chief priests arrested the apostles for teaching and healing in Jesus' name (Acts 5:17–18). On the morning of the inquiry, the guards find the prison cells empty and the apostles, again, preaching in the temple courtyard (Acts 5:22, 25). The guards bring the apostles back, and the Sanhedrin questions them. When the apostles insist Jesus is alive, the priests want them killed. But a Pharisee, Gamaliel, calms the situation. The Sanhedrin do flog the apostles before releasing them, starting the long history of physical persecution against Christ-followers. Verse 29 is a cornerstone of Christian ethics: that God's will is worth suffering for.

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.