Exposed Acts 5:27
The Book of Acts – Chapter Five Another Restatement Acts 5:22-32 8 | Exposed| Acts 5:27 “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,” (Acts 5:27). Our previous studies highlighted Luke’s amazing presentation of two persecution scenes (Acts 4:5-22; Acts 5:17-40). The reason for the first and second scenes of persecution was the same, with the content of the interrogations being identical. However, the intensity of the second phase seems more robust than the first, easily explained by the increase in miracles, the boldness of preaching Jesus in the resurrection, and the disciples’ disregard for the instructions given at the first interrogation. Luke indicates the motivation of the high priest and Sadducees is not a theological difference concerning the resurrection but a fit of jealousy (Acts 5:17). After a deeper investigation, we discover a difference in Luke’s approach to the second phase of persecution. In the first phase, He moved from “they laid hands on them, and put them in custody” (Acts 4:4) to the interrogation itself. The Sanhedrin asked a simple question (Acts 4:7); Peter startled them with his answer (Acts 4:8-12); Luke records the response of the leaders to Peter’s statement (Acts 4:13-22). In both phases of persecution, Luke gives insight into the private discussion of the leaders, separate from the apostles. Both times the leaders are uncertain of what to do because they fear the people (Acts 4:21; Acts 5:26), and Luke highlights the movement of God in both phases (Acts 4:8; Acts 5:19). In writing about the second phase of persecution, Luke adds an element of contrast. Luke moves us from one scene, statement, or confrontation with various conjunctions in the first phase. We can see the unfolding of a continuous story. However, in this second scene, he consistently uses the Greek conjunction “de!” This Greek conjunction is a particle standing after one or two words in a clause, strictly adversative, but more frequently denoting transition or conversion. It introduces something else, whether opposed to what precedes or simply continuative or explanatory. Generally, it has the meaning of the conjunctions but, and, or also. Out of the eleven verses in the paragraph we are studying, Luke used the Greek conjunction “de” seven times to introduce the next step in the story (Acts 5:22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 33, 34). We cannot ignore the constant repetition of this word. Luke used the Greek word “de” to introduce additional aspects of the persecution and interrogation, denoting transition and further information. Could he be suggesting a distinct contrast between the leaders of Israel and the apostles? The motivation of the apostles was very different from the high priest and Sadducees; their experiences related to Jesus were radically different. The apostles experienced Jesus in His resurrection appearances for forty days and the infilling of His resurrection Person at Pentecost. The Sanhedrin knew nothing about this reality. Admittedly the education level of the leaders of Israel was far superior to the apostles, and the position, political power, and financial status of the Sadducees were far above the status of the apostles. The spirit of the Sanhedrin was one of distaste, dislike, scorn, fear, and hatred; the apostles seemed to dwell in love consistently! What a contrast! Although Luke used the Greek conjunction “de” to suggest continuation and additional information, the nature of the story itself indicates this contrast. The conflict raging between the two groups supports a radical difference. Luke reveals the true nature of the high priest, captain of the temple, and the Sadducees against the backdrop of the character and ministry of the apostles. There are three strong emphases in our passage that portray the contrast of the council with the apostles (Acts 5:27). Core “When they had brought” The council assembled the following day, sending officers to the prison to bring the apostles (Acts 5:21). While all was secure at the prison, the officers reported that they could not find the apostles (Acts 5:22-23), creating quite a stir among the council (Acts 5:24). Where were the apostles, and what were they planning? The council’s emotions changed from concern and fear to anger when someone reported the apostles were in the temple teaching about Jesus (Acts 5:25). They again sent the officers to secure the apostles though they were concerned that the temple would be crowded with people. How would this crowd react to another arrest of the apostles? The captain of the temple decided to go himself to ensure there was no violence. Luke the writes, “When they had brought,” a translation of the Greek word “agagontes.” The primary Greek word is “ago,” not the main verb, but is part of a particle phrase giving content to the main verb. The main verb is “set” (histemi), which is modified by “brought.” Luke provides us with a sense of the attitude and motive of the leaders toward the apostles by describing how they conducted them from the temple to the council meeting. “Ago” is used sixty-seven times in the New Testament, and its basic meaning is “to lead.” However, twenty-four of those uses display a forced leading, such as in our passage. Often it is under the influence of a legal command, which surrounds it with “arrest,” “drag away,” or “capture.” Luke establishes the tone or style of the Sanhedrin’s actions. The leaders demonstrated the same spirit when they heard the apostles’ explanations concerning their continued ministry. “When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them” (Acts 5:33). What is present inwardly in the leaders of Israel that causes them to react this way? Why are they jealous? Amid their political position and power, why are they afraid of the crowd? They feel threatened by these uneducated apostles from Galilee! That is evident by their reaction to the first announcement of the apostles’ absence from prison (Acts 5:24). The apostles escaped from jail by some mysterious means. What might they do to them? The apostles’ motivation was the exact opposite! They were not filled with hate but love. They do not desire to kill or destroy but to save and restore. They do not seek the security of position but safety in submission to God. Physical comfort is not their desire, for they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). The contrast is not simply in outward actions but inner spirit. The inner nature of the high priest and Sadducees was not the same as the inner nature of the apostles! The Spirit of Jesus filled the apostles! They not only personally experienced the resurrected Jesus, but they were also united with His Spirit. When Luke described Pentecost, he said, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). “Filled” is a translation of the Greek word “pimplemi,” used for filling a sponge (Matthew 27:48; John 19:29). It depicts a person filled with something, to be whole imbued, affected, influenced with or by something. The Spirit of Jesus merged with the apostles, and His nature became their expression. As Jesus is the visible image of the invisible Father, so the apostles were filled with the same Spirit. While the leaders of Israel (agagontes) arrest, drag away, or capture the apostles, “guide” (hodegeo). In the last intimate conversations Jesus had with His apostles, He explained “hodegeo” to them. There were many things that He wanted to share with them, but they were not experienced enough to grasp the content. His confidence in them was in the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth.” “He will guide (hodegeo) you into all truth” (John 16:13). “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14-15). The Trinity God shared everything contained in God’s nature with the apostles through the Spirit of Jesus. The same Jesus moved with compassion for the multitudes, moved through the apostles (Matthew 9:36). Jesus willingly embraced a cross and rejoiced in suffering at the hands of the Sanhedrin through the apostles (Acts 5:41). The apostles became an expression of the nature of Jesus! John wrote about the heart of Jesus. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelations 3:20). That is why the crowds gathered from the surrounding cities of Jerusalem (Acts 5:16). While the members of the Sanhedrin were “arresting, dragging away, or capturing,” the apostles, in the Spirit of Jesus, were knocking, inviting, and uplifting! The leaders were filled with self-centeredness, self-sufficiency, and pride, while the apostles were filled with Jesus. It is the only answer to the radical difference between the two groups. Who do I want to be like? That is the radical decision of our lifetime. It has nothing to do with religious activities. The leaders of Israel scored top marks in that area. They kept the schedules of prayer, sacrifices, feast days, and fasting. They held their heads high above all others regarding the laws of the Old Testament, not a decision about Bible reading or financial tithe. Where did they miss it? The missed “Jesus!” Jesus, the fulfillment of the plan of Jehovah, stepped into their world, and they crucified Him, something of which Peter reminded the Jews. In the interrogation of the first persecution, Peter said, “Let it to known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole” (Acts 4:10). In the second persecution, the leaders condemned themselves by saying, “And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us” (Acts 5:28)! What will I do with Jesus? Will I be filled with Him? Will He be the core of my existence; will I merge with Him; will I allow His nature to source my being? Commission “They set” The officers went to the prison to secure the prisoners and transport them to an appearance before the council (Acts 5:22). They reported the startling news. “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside” (Acts 5:23)! That frightened the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests because they had no idea what the apostles might do (Acts 5:24). But the solution quickly came to them when they discovered the apostles were at the temple teaching the people (Acts 5:25). The council did not attempt to discover how the prisoners escaped. They made no inquiries as to why the prisoners were in the temple teaching the people. Indeed, the apostles understood they would be captured again. The council simply ignored all of those facts! But Luke gives us insight. The angel of the Lord delivered the apostles (Acts 5:19). The angel opened the prison doors, and the prisoners departed without the guards’ awareness. The angel commissions them to “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life” (Acts 5:20). The angel did not release them for safety, but for ministry, not for self-protection, but the proclamation of the message of Jesus! God did not move in their lives for their comfort but for the redemption of their world. Luke contrasts the release of the apostles with the intent of the council. The identical Greek verb Luke used for the angel’s command to the apostles, he used for the council’s action. The angel said, “Go, stand (histemi) in the temple and speak to the people all the words of the life” (Acts 5:20). The council captured the apostles, and “they set (histemi) them before the council” (Acts 5:27). Luke uses the same Greek word but with different intent and motive. Proclamation of the name of Jesus, regardless of comfort or safety, was the angel’s intent; silencing the declaration of Jesus’ name enforced by punishment was the council’s intent. The same is always true in our world. Every Divine intervention in our lives is to proclaim His name. But this was the intention of the Trinity God from the beginning of the Book of Genesis. The prophets had one message: “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18). Now the apostles were proclaiming the same message. The upset within the heart of the council was not about the miracles, the assemblies, or even the idea of Jesus’ resurrection. They could not tolerate the name of Jesus. We discover the power of the Trinity God in the person of Jesus. In Jesus, we find forgiveness and victory over sin. In Jesus, God fulfills His plan for our lives. There is no other subject to discuss. The apostles were set before the people in the temple to proclaim Jesus; they were set before the council to be accused. Content “Questioned” Luke ends our passage with the statement, “And the high priest asked them” (Acts 5:27). The Greek word “eperotesen” is translated as “asked them.” This phrase in other Biblical versions is translated as “the high priest questioned them” and “the high priest began his examination.” This verb means to attempt a legal or semi-legal procedure to know the truth about a matter by interrogation. It means to put a question to someone, and here it refers to a judge questioning someone when making an investigation. Again Luke strongly contrasts the apostles with the council. See how the council states their guilt. “And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us” (Acts 5:28)! Their core issue is the constant proclamation of Jesus’ name. The apostles’ proclaiming the name of Jesus continually highlights their guilt. If Jesus was raised from the dead through the power of Jehovah, they were guilty of rejecting the plan of God for Israel. Each time the apostles proclaimed Jesus, they questioned and examined (eperotesen) these leaders. The message of Jesus continually demanded the council think again and re-examine their involvement in His death. Luke contrasts the guilt and constant pressure of the council with the apostles’ attitude. In both interrogations, the apostles expressed no sense of guilt. However, they were as guilty of Jesus’ crucifixion as these leaders were! The apostles pledged to go to the death with Him but did not. They all scattered in fear and left Him to die alone. They all were betrayers equal to Judas. Yet, the proclamation of His name did not produce guilt and shame in the apostles as it did with the leaders of Israel. The apostles experienced what they were consistently challenging the leaders to share. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). They embraced the resurrected Jesus through Pentecost and would not waver. Guilt was no longer their state, but God filled them with such great confidence that they could not but speak His name! Do we not all stand in the place of need? Through the proclamation of His name, He has pronounced us all guilty. Have we not all crucified Him afresh (Hebrews 6:6)? Have we not allowed barriers of tradition and self-protection to reject the full embrace of who He is? Through our self-promotion, we have dethroned Him to the position of our errand boy. We desire angels to deliver us, but we do not want to go to the temple to proclaim the name of Jesus. We crave our safety and comfort. We are all at the crossroads of this scene. Will we be proclaimers of His name with victory in His presence or rejectors of His reality with the message of accusation?