Acts 4:1–20

Peter and John Are Taken to the Sanhedrin

4Peter and John were speaking to the people. The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees came up to the apostles. ²They were very upset by what the apostles were teaching the people. The apostles were saying that because Jesus rose from the dead, people can be raised from the dead. ³So the temple authorities arrested Peter and John. It was already evening, so they put them in prison until the next day. ⁴But many who heard the message believed. The number of men who believed grew to about 5,000.

⁵The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶Annas, the high priest, was there. So were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others in the high priest’s family. ⁷They had Peter and John brought to them. They wanted to question them. “By what power did you do this?” they asked. “And through whose name?”

⁸Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹Are you asking us to explain our actions today? Do you want to know why we were kind to a disabled man? Are you asking how he was healed? ¹⁰Then listen to this, you and all the people of Israel! You nailed Jesus Christ of Nazareth to the cross. But God raised him from the dead. It is through Jesus’ name that this man stands healed in front of you. ¹¹Scripture says that Jesus is

“ ‘the stone you builders did not accept.

But it has become the most important stone of all.’

¹²You can’t be saved by believing in anyone else. God has given us no other name under heaven that will save us.”

¹³The leaders saw how bold Peter and John were. They also realized that Peter and John were ordinary men with no training. This surprised the leaders. They realized that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴The leaders could see the man who had been healed standing there with them. So there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵They ordered Peter and John to leave the Sanhedrin. Then they talked things over. ¹⁶“What can we do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle. We can’t say it didn’t happen. ¹⁷We have to stop this thing. It must not spread any further among the people. We have to warn these men. They must never speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.”

¹⁸Once again the leaders called in Peter and John. They commanded them not to speak or teach at all in Jesus’ name. ¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves. Which is right from God’s point of view? Should we obey you? Or God? ²⁰There’s nothing else we can do. We have to speak about the things we’ve seen and heard.”