Acts 4:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"As they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them."

The Apostles had not yet rested from their former temptations when at once they fell into others. See how this is arranged. First they were all mocked together, which is no small temptation.

Then the leaders themselves fall into dangers. But these two events did not occur immediately one after another, nor simply. First the Apostles were glorified in their words, then they performed a great miracle.

Only then, by God's permission, they entered the struggle with boldness. Notice, I ask you, how those who during Christ's time sought a betrayer now themselves lay hands on them.

The Apostles had not yet had time to breathe after the former temptations when they fell into others. See how the events are arranged. First all the Apostles are mocked together. Then they fall into dangers, but not immediately.

At first they defend themselves in public assemblies and afterward perform a great miracle. Then, once they have become bolder, they enter the contests by God's permission.

But turn your gaze to the Jews' progress in malice and shamelessness. Earlier, during Christ's time, they sought a man to betray Him. Now they themselves lay hands on the Apostles, having become more daring and shameless after the Cross.

Thus the community of believers, with its members also in other places of Palestine, in Samaria and Galilee (Acts 9:31), increased daily in Jerusalem. Soon the Jewish priests themselves began to pass over into it (Acts 6:7).

The Sanhedrin no longer wished to leave the matter of Christianity without attention. Peter and John healed the lame man at the temple and then preached to the people about Christ crucified and risen, by whose power they had performed the healing.

Then the priests, with the followers of the Sadducean sect, took them into custody, so that they might present them to the Sanhedrin in the morning.

The next day they were indeed presented to the Sanhedrin together with the healed man. There sat the same Annas and Caiaphas who had judged Jesus.

Three classes of persons are indicated in the arrest of the Apostles: representatives of the Jewish hierarchy, the guardian of external order at the temple, and the Sadducees.

Two reasons or motives for taking the Apostles into custody are indicated: first, the fact that the Apostles were teaching the people, and then the subject of their teaching, the resurrection from the dead.

Concerning the latter motive, it is evident that the authorities of the Sadducean party were guided by it. As is known, they rejected the existence of the spiritual world and, with it, the resurrection from the dead.

Those belonging to this heresy were at that time mostly powerful and influential people. Even the head of the Jewish hierarchy himself, the high priest, was a Sadducee (Acts 5:17).

This preaching, which gathered a multitude of hearers, drew the attention of the members of the Sanhedrin. They saw in it a continuation of the very teaching preached by the Galilean Teacher whom they had crucified. They were greatly angered at these insignificant Galilean villagers, as they considered them, who dared to preach in the temple.

"They came upon them," and so forth. They were probably observing the Apostles and the people gathered around them by order of the authorities, as appears from what follows. At last they decided to seize them, interrupting their speech to the people.

"The priests." The definite article placed before this word in the Greek text indicates that these were the priests serving their weekly course at the temple (cf. Lk 1:5).

"And the captain of the guard." This was the commander of the Levitical temple guard. Its duty was to watch over decorum, quiet, and order in and around the temple. He himself was from among the priests (cf. 2 Macc 3:4).

"And the Sadducees," who were especially interested here, as is clear from what follows.

The priests then serving, the captain of the guard, and the Sadducees approached the Apostles with plainly hostile intentions and interrupted the Apostle Peter's speech.

It could have seemed to the priests that the Apostles were usurping their rights of teaching in the temple by citing and explaining Holy Scripture.

To the captain of the guard, the Apostle's discourse, surrounded by a multitude of people, could seem to disturb the silence proper to a sacred place.

They see the miracle of the lame man's healing, yet do not see. They hear the significant words about it, yet do not hear. They look at everything formally, as men like them looked at Christ's miracles.

They forbade people to come to Him and be healed, and condemned Him for healing on the Sabbath (cf. Mk 3:2-4).