Acts 5:18–42

¹⁸and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying, ²⁰“Go, stand in the temple courts^a and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

²¹At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin^b— the full assembly of the elders of Israel— and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report: ²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening.^{c 25}Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”

²⁶At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles — but not by force, for fear the people would stone them. ²⁷They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them. ²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. ³¹God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

³³When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved^d to put the apostles to death. ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

³⁵“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men. ³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁴⁰At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴²Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.