When
they had brought them, they set them before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood on us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree.
Acts 5:27-30
Acts 5 [24.] Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these words, they were very perplexed about them and what might become of this. One came and told them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people.” Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.
Acts 5 [27.] When they had brought them, they set them before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood on us.”
Acts 5 [29.] But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree. God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. We are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Acts 5 [33.] But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and determined to kill them. But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while. He said to them, “You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do. For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
Meaning:
After their release from prison by an angel, the apostles were found teaching in the temple, and the captain brought them “without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them” (Acts 5:25-26). These verses record the high priest’s charge and the beginning of the apostles’ reply.
- “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name?”
The council had ordered Peter and John “not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). The high priest avoids saying the name of Jesus, speaking only of “this name” and “this man”. He does not ask how the apostles escaped from a locked prison; he simply accuses them of disobedience.
- “you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching”
Without meaning to, the high priest pays the apostles a compliment. In a short time, through preaching and healing, the message about Jesus had spread through the whole city, just as Jesus had said it would begin “in Jerusalem” (Acts 1:8).
- “and intend to bring this man’s blood on us”
The leaders felt accused of responsibility for the death of Jesus. At his trial the crowd had cried, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25). The apostles did name the leaders’ part in his death, but their purpose was not revenge. Peter goes on to say that God exalted Jesus “to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins” (Acts 5:31). Jesus himself had prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). The apostles’ message was an invitation to forgiveness, not a condemnation of a people.
- “We must obey God rather than men”
Peter and the apostles restate what Peter and John had said before: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves” (Acts 4:19). They are not rejecting all human authority, but refusing an order that would stop them doing what God had commanded. Christians have applied this principle in different ways, some narrowly to commands to deny the faith, others more broadly to unjust laws, while also honouring the call to “be in subjection to the higher authorities” (Romans 13:1).
- “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree”
The apostles speak as faithful Israelites: the God who raised Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Acts 3:13). The phrase “hanging him on a tree” recalls the law: “for he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23). To the council, crucifixion proved that Jesus was rejected by God. The apostles answer that God reversed that verdict by raising him. Paul later explained, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13), and Peter used the same phrase before Cornelius (Acts 10:39).
The Significance of Acts 5:27-30
- Faithful obedience
When human commands clash with God’s clear will, believers must choose God, while acting respectfully and accepting the cost.
- The cross reversed
What looked like a curse and defeat became the means of blessing. The resurrection shows that God’s verdict on Jesus is the one that stands.
Cross-References:
Matthew 27:25: "May his blood be on us, and on our children!" The words the leaders feared.
Deuteronomy 21:23: "for he who is hanged is accursed of God;" The background to "hanging him on a tree."
Galatians 3:13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us." The meaning of the curse.
Luke 23:34: "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing." Forgiveness offered, not revenge.
Conclusion: Brought before the council, the apostles were accused of disobeying the order not to teach in Jesus’ name and of blaming the leaders for his death. Peter and the apostles replied that they must obey God rather than men, and declared that the God of their fathers had raised Jesus, whom the leaders had killed by hanging him on a tree. Their aim was not revenge but to call Israel to repentance and forgiveness.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible