4:1 And {1} as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the {a} captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
(1) There are none more commonly diligent or bold enemies of the Church than those who profess themselves to be the chief builders of it, but the more they rage, the more steadfastly the faithful servants of God continue.
(a) The Jews had certain troops for the guard and safety of the temple and holy things (see Mt 26:47). These garrisons had a captain, such as Eleazarus Ananias, the high Priest's son in the time of the war that was in Judea, being a very impudent and proud young man; Josephus, lib. 2, of the taking of Judea.
4:1 Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
SUMMARY OF ACTS 4:
The Arrest. The Trial Before the Sanhedrin. Peter's Reply. The Counsel of the Sanhedrists. Their Charge to Peter and John. The Appeal of Peter and John to the Higher Law. The Meeting of the Church for Prayer. The Divine Blessing.
As they spake. Peter and John were both speaking, to separate groups probably.
The priests. Those of the course then on duty in the temple. See PNT Lu 1:5.
The captain of the temple. The head of the temple police, who were composed of Levites, and whose duty it was to guard the sacred precincts. See Lu 22:4.
And the Sadducees. See notes on Mt 3:7 22:23 They were rationalists, and denied the resurrection of the dead. Annas and Caiaphas, the ex-high priest and the acting high priest, were of the sect, and hence, though the sect was not numerous, it was now very powerful.
4:1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests - came upon them - So wisely did God order, that they should first bear a full testimony to the truth in the temple, and then in the great council; to which they could have had no access, had they not been brought before it as criminals.
4:1-4 The apostles preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. It includes all the happiness of the future state; this they preached through Jesus Christ, to be had through him only. Miserable is their case, to whom the glory of Christ's kingdom is a grief; for since the glory of that kingdom is everlasting, their grief will be everlasting also. The harmless and useful servants of Christ, like the apostles, have often been troubled for their work of faith and labour of love, when wicked men have escaped. And to this day instances are not wanting, in which reading the Scriptures, social prayer, and religious conversation meet with frowns and checks. But if we obey the precepts of Christ, he will support us.
