Acts of the Apostles 5 v 27=32

The Epistle for the coming Sunday is the passage from Acts.

 The Apostles had been preaching and performing wonders, to the annoyance of the Pharisees. They were consequently arrested, and the High Priest called a whole Council to which the Apostles faced.

The High Priest opened the proceedings by reminding the apostles of the prohibition of their preaching, which had been addressed to Peter and John, but it was obviously directed to the whole Church..  Further, they were accused of lying the guilt, for the death of this man, the High Priest refusing to name the man, Jesus. 

By accusing the Jewish leaders of murdering the Messiah, whom God had raised from the dead, the Christians were in effect calling for divine retribution upon them.  The Jewish leaders regarded the death of Jesus, as a result of the legal trial of a malefactor; the Christians were making it out to be murder; and then claiming that the Jewish leaders were guilty men.

Peter’s reaction to the accusation, was a plainer and more direct reaffirmation of what he said previously, that they could not obey such an order.  The orders of God take precedence over human commands.  It is the price of being a Christian, that we must obey God rather than man, and bear the cost of doing so.

Peter reaffirmed the statement meaning the Jewish leaders were guilty.  He again mentioned that God raised Jesus from the dead. He was in fact alleging that it was the ancestral God of the Jews who had done this. For the Jewish leaders to have killed Jesus, was an act against the God they claimed to worship,

This crucified man, was however the One God had called to sit at God’s right hand.

Peter said they were obeying God not men.  God had risen Jesus from death and exalted Him as Leader and Savior; they were witnesses and had been led by the Holy Spirit, which was given to them by God.

We pray that God be glorified