Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy, 18 laid hands upon the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said, 20 “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” 21 When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in. 22 But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison, so they came back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to. 25 Then someone came in and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
The high priest and the hostile Sadducees were jealous of the apostles and angry that they continued to preach and heal in the name of Jesus Christ, although they were warned not to, so the high priest had the apostles put in jail. God’s divine will was made known through an angel sent to release the apostles from prison during the night. The angel told them to “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life (v. 20).” The apostles did so early the next morning and found favor with the crowd they were addressing.
The high priest convened the Sanhedrin, but the temple guards did not find the apostles in jail. The Sanhedrin had to be told that they were teaching in the temple area. When the captain of the guard and the court officers brought them back before Sanhedrin, no one questioned them about their miraculous escape from the jail that had been securely locked. The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and without fear while the temple guards were afraid of the people. The Sanhedrin were still rejecting the Word even though they continued to witness the power of God working through the apostles.
Almighty God, help us to acknowledge the power of the risen Lord, and to bow in supplication at the mention of his name. Help us to understand your divine will from among the noise and selfishness we experience every day. This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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