Peter and John Are Taken to the Sanhedrin

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

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas, the high priest, was there. So were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and other people in the high priest’s family. ⁷ They 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?”

⁸ Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ Are you asking us to explain our actions today? Do you want to know why we were kind to a man who couldn’t walk? Are you asking how he was healed? ¹⁰ Then 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. ¹¹ Scripture says that Jesus is

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

¹³ The 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. ¹⁴ The leaders could see the man who had been healed. He was standing there with them. So there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵ They ordered Peter and John to leave the Sanhedrin. Then they talked things over. ¹⁶ “What can we do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed an unusual miracle. We can’t say it didn’t happen. ¹⁷ We 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.”

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

²¹ The leaders warned them again. Then they let them go. They couldn’t decide how to punish Peter and John. They knew that all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²² The man who had been healed by the miracle was over 40 years old.