Peter and John Go Before the Sanhedrin; Acts 4:1 – 22 – Part 5

Church History: Notice the prudence and integrity of the apostles in referring it back to the judgment of their very adversaries, whether it was reasonable to obey their command, when they charged them to preach no more in the name of the Lord Jesus.
As if the apostles had said, "We have received a command from God to preach, “Go teach all nations”, (Matthew 28:19) and we have received a command from you not to preach: now we leave it with you whether it be fittest and most reasonable to obey God or you?" It is a strong way of conviction to refer a matter to their judgment and conscience, against whom we make opposition. When the commands of man run counter to the commands of God himself, God is to be obeyed, and not man. The people saw the miracle, confessed the finger of God, believed on the Lord Jesus, and thus became converts to the Christian faith; and the converts were now so numerous that the Sanhedrin was afraid to proceed to any extremities, lest an insurrection should be the consequence.