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Acts 4:1–4
“The priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon [Peter and John], greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody. . . . But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
Multitudes of Jews who were present in the temple courts when Peter and John healed the lame beggar crowded around the Apostles to hear the gospel and how Jesus is the fulfillment of the hope of the old covenant prophets (Acts 3). As we see in today’s passage, however, not everyone associated with the Jerusalem temple was happy with Peter and John’s message.
Luke tells us in Acts 4:1 that as Peter and John were preaching, “the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.” During the first century, the captain of the temple was charged with maintaining order in the temple courts, where huge numbers of people routinely came and went. Usually, he was a member of one of the chief priestly families, and he was second only to the high priest in rank. He commanded a contingent of officers, Levites who assisted him in keeping the peace. The Sadducees were one of the leading political and religious parties of the day, and most of the priests belonged to the Sadducee party. Their power and influence were largely tied to the temple, so the Sadducees died out after the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem temple in AD 70.
As we see in verse 3, this contingent of temple officials arrested the Apostles. Theological concerns motivated the seizing of Peter and John, for Luke tells us in verse 2 that the Sadducees, priests, and temple captain were “greatly annoyed” that the Apostles were “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” Unlike the other major Jewish political and religious party of the era, the Pharisees, the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead altogether, so they could not abide anyone’s preaching it in the temple, especially those who preached that the resurrection comes through Jesus. Because the priests came largely from the Sadducees, the Sadducees were well represented on the council that was implicated in Jesus’ death (see Luke 22:66–23:25). Theology matters—getting it wrong can put one at odds with the Apostolic gospel.
Peter and John’s arrest did not slow the gospel’s advance. Many of those who heard Peter’s sermon believed, bringing the total number of men in the church to about five thousand (Acts 4:4) and to thousands more once women and children are accounted for. We should not look for persecution, but we must remember that it is sometimes is associated with church growth. Matthew Henry comments, “Sometimes the church’s suffering days have been her growing days.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Our theology—what we believe about God and His will—has profound consequences. This is why we must do the hard work of studying the Scriptures and learning from the confessions and great teachers of the church as we form our theology. Our theology must conform to the Word of God to be life-giving, and those who have come before us can help us make sure that we are believing the truth.
For further study
- Proverbs 4:23
- Acts 23:8
The bible in a year
- Leviticus 10–12
- Matthew 26:1–19
- Leviticus 13–15
- Matthew 26:20–56