A healed beggar and one short sermon are enough to land Peter and John in prison overnight, standing the next morning in front of the very council that condemned Jesus to death only weeks earlier — some of the same faces, the same room, quite possibly the same charge waiting to be repeated. What these two fishermen say back to that council, and what the whole young church does the moment they walk free, sets the pattern for how this church will face every threat still to come.
A study in Acts 4 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 22 min read
By What Power, Or By What Name
“And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.”
Acts 4:1-3
It is specifically the resurrection, not the healing itself, that provokes the arrest. The Sadducees denied any resurrection of the dead as a matter of doctrine, and here were two Galileans proving it happened, in public, with a walking witness standing right beside them.
“Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.”
Acts 4:4
The arrest does nothing to slow the church down. If this figure counts men only, as the Greek suggests, the actual number of believers by sundown that day, including women and children, may already be well past the three thousand baptized at Pentecost.
“And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?”
Acts 4:5-7
“Hitherto the priests had avoided mentioning the crucifixion or the resurrection of Jesus. But now, in fulfillment of their purpose, they were forced to inquire of the accused how the cure of the impotent man had been accomplished. ‘By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?’ they asked.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 63
Annas and Caiaphas — the very names from the arrest and trial of Jesus back in the Gospel accounts — are presiding again. The question they ask is meant as a trap: any answer forces Peter to either deny the miracle’s true source or name the very Man they crucified as its power.
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.”
Acts 4:8-10
“With holy boldness and in the power of the Spirit Peter fearlessly declared: ‘Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole.’”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 63
Peter walks straight into the trap without a moment’s hesitation, and turns it back on the men who set it. He calls it “a good deed” done to a helpless man, then names the very charge against himself as the answer: Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye crucified.
“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Acts 4:11-12
“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.” … Peter here used a figure of speech familiar to the priests. The prophets had spoken of the rejected stone; and Christ Himself, speaking on one occasion to the priests and elders, said: ‘Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 63
The “builders” Peter is speaking to are the very men sitting in judgment over him — the architects and caretakers of Israel’s religious life, who looked at the cornerstone of God’s whole building project and threw it away as worthless. “None other name” is not a narrow, defensive claim; standing in front of the nation’s highest religious court, it is Peter’s boldest possible assertion that this rejected stone is, in fact, the only foundation there is.
We Cannot But Speak
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”
Acts 4:13-14
“This courageous defense appalled the Jewish leaders. They had supposed that the disciples would be overcome with fear and confusion when brought before the Sanhedrin. But, instead, these witnesses spoke as Christ had spoken, with a convincing power that silenced their adversaries.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 63
“Unlearned and ignorant men” was not intended as a compliment; it meant they held no formal rabbinic training, no credentials the council would normally respect. And yet the council cannot explain the confidence in front of them except by the one detail that actually accounts for it: these men had been with Jesus.
“But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.”
Acts 4:15-16
“In order to conceal their perplexity, the priests and rulers ordered the apostles to be taken away, that they might counsel among themselves. They all agreed that it would be useless to deny that the man had been healed. Gladly would they have covered up the miracle by falsehoods; but this was impossible, for it had been wrought in the full light of day, before a multitude of people, and had already come to the knowledge of thousands.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 66
The council’s own closed-door debate is, in effect, an admission of defeat before they ever pronounce a verdict. They are no longer asking whether a miracle happened, only what to do about the political inconvenience of a miracle they cannot make go away.
“But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”
Acts 4:17-18
“But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:19-20
“But Peter and John answered: ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 66
It is a courteous refusal rather than a defiant one — Peter and John do not shout down the council or storm out. They simply hand the council its own question back: which authority outranks the other, and let the judges answer that for themselves. “We cannot but speak” is not a boast of bravery; it is closer to a plain statement of fact, the same way a person who witnessed a fire cannot help but say so when asked.
“So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.”
Acts 4:21-22
“Gladly would the priests have punished these men for their unswerving fidelity to their sacred calling, but they feared the people; ‘for all men glorified God for that which was done.’ So, with repeated threats and injunctions, the apostles were set at liberty.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 67
The same public opinion that once turned against Jesus and shouted for His crucifixion is now, only weeks later, the very thing shielding His apostles from that same court’s punishment — the crowd Luke has already told us was filled with wonder at the Beautiful Gate, now serving as the disciples’ unlikely protection.
Lord, Thou Art God
“And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.”
Acts 4:23-24
“While Peter and John were prisoners, the other disciples, knowing the malignity of the Jews, had prayed unceasingly for their brethren, fearing that the cruelty shown to Christ might be repeated. As soon as the apostles were released, they sought the rest of the disciples and reported to them the result of the examination. Great was the joy of the believers.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 67
Notice what the whole company does NOT ask for first. Not safety. Not the threat’s removal. The prayer opens by simply naming who God is — Creator of heaven, earth, and sea — before it ever mentions the danger they are actually facing.
“Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.”
Acts 4:25-28
“‘They lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?’”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 67
The believers quote Psalm 2 back to God as if reading Him His own itinerary — Herod, Pilate, Gentile and Jew alike, all gathered against His Christ exactly as He had already determined it would happen. The crucifixion is not framed as a tragedy God narrowly survived, but as a plan He wrote out in advance and then watched His enemies unknowingly carry out.
“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.”
Acts 4:29-30
Only now, after remembering exactly who they are praying to, does the request finally arrive — and it is not for the threats to stop. Nobody asks for the council to be silenced or for Peter and John never to be arrested again. They ask only for boldness to keep speaking anyway.
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
Acts 4:31
“The disciples prayed that greater strength might be imparted to them in the work of the ministry; for they saw that they would meet the same determined opposition that Christ had encountered when upon the earth. While their united prayers were ascending in faith to heaven, the answer came. The place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were endowed anew with the Holy Spirit.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 67
This is the exact request God answers — not “remove the danger,” but “make us bolder in the middle of it.” The room shakes not as punishment or warning, but as visible confirmation that the prayer these believers actually prayed has already been granted.
Neither Was There Any Among Them That Lacked
“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
Acts 4:32-33
“This liberality on the part of the believers was the result of the outpouring of the Spirit. The converts to the gospel were ‘of one heart and of one soul.’ One common interest controlled them—the success of the mission entrusted to them; and covetousness had no place in their lives.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 70
What might look, from a distance, like a system or a policy is described here as something much simpler: a shared heart producing shared property, not the other way around. Nobody legislated this community of goods into existence; it was the natural overflow of people who genuinely had nothing left to compete over.
“Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”
Acts 4:34-35
“Many of these early believers were immediately cut off from family and friends by the zealous bigotry of the Jews, and it was necessary to provide them with food and shelter. … Those among the believers who had money and possessions cheerfully sacrificed them to meet the emergency.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 70
The need behind this generosity was not abstract. New converts, especially converts from devout Jewish families, were being disowned and cast out for confessing Christ — and the church’s answer was to make sure that losing a family did not also mean losing a home or a meal.
“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
Acts 4:36-37
Luke singles out one giver by name, out of what must have been many, and the name matters. This is the first appearance in this whole book of the man who will later travel with Paul, vouch for him to a suspicious Jerusalem church, and give his own cousin John Mark a second chance after Paul had given up on him. Before any of that, before he is known for anything else, Barnabas is introduced here exactly as his new name describes him: a man who quietly gives away land to comfort people he has likely never met.
