The Jews Try to Stop the Apostles

¹⁷The high priest* and all his friends (a group called the Sadducees*) became very jealous. ¹⁸They grabbed the apostles* and put them in jail. ¹⁹But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. The angel led the apostles outside and said, ²⁰"Go and stand in the temple* yard. Tell the people everything about this new life [in Jesus]." ²¹When the apostles heard this, they obeyed and went to the temple area. It was early in the morning. The apostles began to teach the people. The high priest* and his friends came [to the temple*]. They called a meeting of the Jewish leaders and all the important older men of the Jews. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles* to them. ²²When the men went to the jail, they could not find the apostles there. So they went back and told the Jewish leaders about this. ²³The men said, "The jail was closed and locked. The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, the jail was empty!" ²⁴The captain of the temple guards and the leading priests heard this. They were confused. They wondered, "What will happen because of this?" ²⁵Then another man came and told them, "Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple yard. They are teaching the people!" ²⁶Then the captain and his men went out and brought the apostles back. But the soldiers did not use force, because they were afraid of the people. The soldiers were afraid that the people would [become angry and] kill them (the soldiers) with rocks. ²⁷The soldiers brought the apostles* to the meeting and made them stand before the Jewish leaders. The high priest* questioned the apostles. ²⁸He said, "We told you never to teach about this man (Jesus)! But look what you have done! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You are trying to make us responsible (guilty) for the death of this man (Jesus)." ²⁹Peter and the other apostles* answered, "We must obey God, not you! ³⁰You killed Jesus. You hung him on a cross. But God, the same God our fathers* had, raised Jesus up from death! ³¹Jesus is the One that God raised to his right side. God made Jesus our Leader and Savior. God did this so that all Jews can change their hearts and lives. Then God can forgive their sins. ³²We saw all these things happen, and we can say these things are true. The Holy Spirit* also shows that these things are true. God has given the Spirit to all people that obey him." ³³The Jewish leaders heard these words. They became very angry. They began to plan a way to kill the apostles.* ³⁴One of the Pharisees* in the meeting stood up. His name was Gamaliel. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He told the men to make the apostles leave the meeting for a few minutes. ³⁵Then he said to them, "Men of Israel, be careful of what you are planning to do to these men! ³⁶Remember when Theudas appeared? He said that he was an important man. About 400 men joined him. But he was killed. And all who followed him were scattered and ran away. They were able to do nothing. ³⁷Later, a man named Judas came from Galilee. It was at the time of the registration.* He led a group of followers, too. He was also killed. And all his followers were scattered and ran away. ³⁸And so now I tell you: Stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If their plan comes from men, it will fail. ³⁹But if this is from God, then you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!" The Jewish leaders agreed with the thing that Gamaliel said. ⁴⁰They called the apostles* in again. They beat the apostles and told them not to talk to people about Jesus again. Then they let the apostles go free. ⁴¹The apostles left the meeting. The apostles were happy because they were given the honor of suffering dishonor (shame) for the name [of Jesus]. ⁴²The apostles did not stop teaching people. The apostles continued to tell the people the Good News--that Jesus is the Christ.* They did this every day in the temple* yard and in people's homes.

high priest The most important Jewish priest and leader. Sadducees A leading Jewish religious group. They accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament. They believed that people don't live again after death. apostles The men Jesus chose to be his special helpers. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. father(s) Important ancestors of the Jews; the leaders of the twelve Jewish family groups. Spirit, Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. Joined with God and Christ, he does God's work among people in the world. Pharisees The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs. registration A census or counting of all the people and the things they own. Christ The "anointed one" (Messiah) or chosen one of God.