Peter and John Speak Boldly before the Council

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, priests, the captain of the temple, and Sadducees came to them. They were upset because Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. So they arrested them and kept them in custody until the next day, because it was already evening. Even so, many who heard the message believed, and the number of the men grew to about five thousand.

The next day, rulers, elders, scribes, and members of the high priest’s family gathered in Jerusalem. They made Peter and John stand before them and asked by what power or in what name they had acted. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said that the healed man was standing there well because of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they had crucified and whom God had raised from the dead. He said that salvation is found in no one else.

The council saw how bold Peter and John were. They noticed that these men were not trained speakers, and they recognised that they had been with Jesus. The healed man was standing there with them, so the council could not deny what had happened. After talking together, they decided to threaten Peter and John and order them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus anymore.

Peter and John answered that the council could judge for itself whether it was right in God’s sight to listen to them rather than to God. They said they could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard. The council threatened them again, but then let them go, because the people were praising God for the healing. The man who had been healed was more than forty years old.

When Peter and John returned to their own people, they reported what had happened. Together they prayed to God, the Maker of heaven, earth, and sea. They remembered the words spoken through David about rulers joining against the Lord and his Anointed, and they named Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel gathering against Jesus. Then they asked God to notice the threats and help them speak his word boldly.

After they prayed, the place shook, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke God’s word with boldness.