Acts 4
Peter and John have just healed the lame beggar and spoken boldly to the crowds about Jesus. Now they are arrested. The very next morning they stand before the Sanhedrin2 - the council of seventy elders that had condemned Jesus to death. Peter might have been afraid. Instead, filled with the Holy Ghost, he declares that the lame man is made whole by the power of the name of Jesus Christ. The council is stunned. They recognize that Peter and John have been with Jesus.
Rather than back down, Peter and John insist they cannot help but speak the things they have seen and heard. They cannot be silent, no matter what the council commands. The authorities release them but order them to speak no more in that name. Yet the gospel spreads. Thousands more believe. The new believers live as one body - of one heart and soul, holding all their possessions in common, sharing freely with those in need. Into this chapter, God introduces Barnabas, a Levite whose very name means "son of encouragement."
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People in this chapter
Brother of Andrew, partner of James and John. Renamed "Peter" (Rock) by Jesus. Confessed Christ as Son of God; denied him on the night of his arrest; was restored on the lakeshore and preached the first Pentecost sermon.
Joseph from Cyprus, renamed Barnabas ("son of encouragement") by the apostles. Sold a field for the early church. Brought Saul into the Jerusalem fellowship when others feared him. Led Paul on the first missionary journey. Split with Paul over John Mark - and then took John Mark with him.
Acts 4:1-4Arrested at Evening
1And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
The resurrection of Jesus is not a private spiritual experience. It is something “preached” - announced publicly, testified openly. This is not mysticism or hidden knowledge. It is word-of-mouth proclamation, person to person, and it spreads like fire. The Sanhedrin cannot control it because it is not coming from an institution or a hierarchy. It is coming from ordinary men who have seen an extraordinary thing.
Even as Peter and John are arrested, the word bears fruit. Five thousand men - more than double the three thousand at Pentecost - believe. Persecution is coming, but so is harvest. The more the authorities clamp down, the more believers multiply. This is the kingdom pattern: the seed must fall into the ground and die, but it brings forth much fruit.
Acts 4:5-12Standing Trial
5And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas[res:bibleodyssey-caiaphas], and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9If we this day are examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
The council asks the right question without knowing it. “By what power, or by what name?” In the ancient world, names carry more than identity. A name carries power, authority, essence. The question is not rhetorical. Peter will answer it directly.
Peter does not hedge. He says it plainly: “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified.” He is not avoiding the council's role in the crucifixion. He is placing the resurrection directly next to the death. Yes, you killed Him. And yes, God raised Him from the dead. The full truth is what sets them free.
This is not arrogance or exclusivism in the modern sense. This is testimony. Peter is not inventing a requirement. He is reporting what he has witnessed: salvation comes through the name of Jesus. This will become the apostolic claim across every page of the New Testament. It is not negotiable; it is the gospel itself.
Acts 4:13-18Unlearned and Ignorant Men
13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 14And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. 17But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. 18And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
This is the council's involuntary testimony5. They cannot deny that a miracle has been done. So they make an observation instead: these men have been with Jesus. The council expected that association to end at the crucifixion. But it does not. Peter and John are not suddenly wise or powerful in themselves. They carry the power and presence of someone they have been with - Jesus, whom God raised from the dead.
The Sanhedrin is cornered. The healed man is standing right there. The whole city knows. They cannot deny the miracle. So they try to contain it. They forbid Peter and John to speak in the name of Jesus. This is the language of desperation. You do not forbid what you have defeated. The council's own command proves the power they are attempting to silence.
Acts 4:19-22Released to Their Own
19But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 21So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. 22For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
Peter does not argue theology. He appeals to something the council already knows: there is a higher authority than their authority. He does not say, "I will not obey you." He says, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right to obey you or to obey God." The question judges the Sanhedrin by their own conscience. Every person listening must make that same choice.
This is not stubbornness. It is compulsion. Peter and John are not choosing to be difficult. They are saying that they cannot keep silent about what they have seen and heard. The resurrection of Jesus is not a private experience they keep to themselves. It presses out. It demands to be spoken. To silence it would be to do violence to their own witness and their own conscience.
The chapter pauses here to remind us: the man was forty years old. For forty years he had been lame. The miracle of his healing is permanent, public, undeniable. This is not a spiritual experience or a theological claim. This is a man who had never walked, walking. The council cannot argue with his testimony any more than they can argue with the empty tomb.
Acts 4:23-31The Prayer for Boldness
23And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24And when they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?[res:psalm2-acts4-intertextual] 26The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 29And now, Lord, behold their threatnings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness we may speak thy word; 30By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
When Peter and John return, they go to their “own company” - the gathering of believers. This is crucial. They do not go home alone. They do not digest the threat privately. They go to community and report everything to those who love them and pray with them. The threat becomes the occasion for united prayer.
The church does not pray for safety. They do not ask God to keep the Sanhedrin away or to remove the threat. They pray for boldness. They ask God to grant them power to speak His word with the same fearlessness the authorities just tried to suppress. They are not defensive. They are offensive - in the spiritual sense. They are asking for power to advance, not merely to survive.
The place is shaken where they are assembled. This is not metaphor. The building moves. The Spirit is tangible, powerful, overwhelming. And in that moment, they are all filled with the Holy Ghost anew. The filling is not permanent until the end of their lives. It is renewed, repeated, fresh. Every time they are about to speak, they need the Spirit's empowering. And it comes.
The answer comes immediately. They speak the word of God with boldness - the very thing they asked for, the very thing the council tried to forbid. No threat can prevent it. The boldness is not courage born of fearlessness. It is courage born of faith. They are afraid, perhaps. But they are more afraid of disobeying God than of the Sanhedrin.
Acts 4:32-35All Things Common
32And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
The believers share one heart and one soul. This language is powerful. It is not that they have a policy in common, or a creed. They have a single orientation, a unified will. The resurrection of Jesus has so reordered their hearts that they move together as one body. This is the natural condition of believers filled with one Spirit.
The sharing of possessions is not communism imposed from above. It is the spontaneous response of people who have encountered the risen Christ. When you have seen the resurrection, property ceases to be your security. The living Christ becomes your security. So you release your grip on possessions and let them flow to where they are needed. This is radical - it gets to the root.
The apostles give witness to the resurrection with great power. Not with smooth words or philosophical arguments. They give witness through the transformation they have become. And through that witness, great grace rests on them all. Grace is not just a theological concept. It is the practical outworking of God's favor in concrete, daily provision.
The astonishing claim: “Neither was there any among them that lacked.” Not because they had unlimited resources, but because they responded to need as it arose. Believers with land or houses sold them and brought the price to the apostles' feet. The money was then distributed to each person according as he had need. This is not theoretical generosity. It is specific, immediate, person-by-person care.
Acts 4:36-37Barnabas Introduced
36And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Barnabas is a Levite, a member of the priestly tribe. He owns land - significant wealth. And he sells it. He is not compelled to do so by any rule. He is compelled by the same spirit that compelled the others: having encountered the risen Christ, property no longer feels like security. What feels like security now is belonging to the people of God and participating in their care for one another.
Barnabas is not just an example. He is a person. His name will appear again and again in Acts. He will be Paul's first mentor, the one who stands up for Paul when he is newly converted and nobody trusts him. He will travel with Paul on the first missionary journey. He will eventually part ways with Paul over a dispute about John Mark, and yet he will believe in John Mark when Paul doubts him. All of this flows from his nature: a son of encouragement, a nurturer of new believers, a builder of bridges. The chapter ends by introducing him not with a theological statement but with a particular action. This is how you know what someone believes: watch what they do with their money.
Further study
- CaiaphasBible Odyssey (SBL)Open-access SBL entry covering the high priest and the limestone ossuary bearing his name, discovered in 1990.
- SanhedrinBible Odyssey (SBL)SBL overview of the council of seventy elders that condemned Jesus and interrogated Peter and John.
- Psalm 2:1-2 ↔ Acts 4:25-26Intertextual BibleSide-by-side comparison of the psalmist's vision of opposition to God's anointed with the early church's prayer.
- Sanhedrin and Jerusalem Judicial AuthorityIsrael Antiquities AuthorityArchaeological and administrative evidence for the Sanhedrin's authority and physical locations in Second Temple Jerusalem.
- Hebrew text and rabbinic commentary on the cornerstone psalm Peter applies messianically to Jesus.