Acts 4:1-4 New International Version (NIV)
Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
The Temple guard were like the police. Their captain’s job was to stop people, if those people were making trouble in the Temple. The Temple guard came because a large crowd had gathered, to listen to Peter and John. And they wanted to stop Peter and John.
Two important reasons for stopping Peter and John.
1. The Sadducees did not believe that dead people could become alive again. This was what Peter and John were talking about.
2. The Sadducees were chief priests. These people were rich and important. That was because they helped the Roman rulers. The Sadducees wanted to keep their power. So, they needed to stay friendly with the Romans. They did not want any trouble in a public place. They wanted to keep their jobs more than they wanted to hear the truth.
Peter and John were speaking, but those other men stopped them. And they put Peter and John in prison. But they could not stop the good news about Jesus. Luke says that ‘the men grew in number to about 5000’. This number does not include the women and children!