Acts 5:21–33

²¹The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching.

The High Priest and his companions called together all the Jewish elders for a full meeting of the Council; then they sent orders to the prison to have the apostles brought before them. ²²But when the officials arrived, they did not find the apostles in prison, so they returned to the Council and reported, ²³“When we arrived at the jail, we found it locked up tight and all the guards on watch at the gates; but when we opened the gates, we found no one inside!” ²⁴When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles. ²⁵Then a man came in and said to them, “Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!” ²⁶So the officer went off with his men and brought the apostles back. They did not use force, however, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.

²⁷They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them. ^28*“We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man,” he said; “but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!” ²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God, not men. ³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross. ³¹God raised him to his right-hand side as Leader and Saviour, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven. ³²We are witnesses to these things—we and the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to those who obey him.”

³³When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death.