What is the meaning of Acts 5:28? We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name • The high priest echoes his earlier prohibition (Acts 4:17-18; 5:17-21). • Civil and religious authority feels threatened when the gospel challenges its power (John 11:48). • The apostles’ response later in the passage—“We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)—highlights the believer’s priority when man’s commands collide with God’s. • Similar tension appears in Daniel 3:16-18 and 6:10, where God’s servants respectfully but firmly disobey ungodly edicts. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching • Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8 is already unfolding: the message spreads from the upper room to the streets, the temple, and every household (Acts 2:46-47; 4:31). • Thousands have believed (Acts 2:41; 4:4), and even priests will soon become obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7). • Opposition only accelerates proclamation; persecution scatters seed rather than silences speech (Acts 8:4; 12:24). • The phrase underscores gospel urgency: when truth grips hearts, it overflows city limits and cultural barriers (Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:14-15). And are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood • The council had publicly accepted that responsibility during the trial of Jesus: “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). • Apostolic preaching repeatedly identifies the leaders’ role in the crucifixion (Acts 2:23; 3:13-15; 4:10-11), not to shame but to call them to repentance (Acts 3:19). • Conviction is painful; instead of repenting, the council resists (Acts 5:33). Yet God still extends mercy: He exalted Jesus “to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). • The expression “this man’s blood” unwittingly points to the only blood that can cleanse them (Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7). summary The Sanhedrin’s protest exposes a clash of authorities: human command versus divine mandate. The apostles, empowered by the Spirit, obey God’s call, saturate Jerusalem with the gospel, and lovingly confront the very leaders who condemned Jesus. Despite opposition, the message presses forward, offering even its fiercest opponents forgiveness through the blood they fear to acknowledge. |
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