Acts 4:2

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 4:1-4

We have here the interests of the kingdom of heaven successfully carried on, and the powers of darkness appearing against them to put a stop to them. let Christ's servants be ever so resolute, Satan's agents will be spiteful; and therefore, let Satan's agents be ever so spiteful, Christ's servants ought to be resolute. I. The apostles, Peter and John, went on in their work, and did not labour in vain. The Spirit enabled the ministers to do their part, and the people theirs. 1. The preachers... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 4:1-4

4:1-4 While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the superintendent of the Temple and the Sadducees came upon them. They were annoyed because they were teaching the people, and proclaiming, through Jesus, the resurrection from the dead. So they laid hands upon them and put them under arrest until the next day, for by this time it was evening. But many who heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. The healing of the lame man had taken place within... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 4:2

Being grieved that they taught the people ,.... Any doctrine, and especially that which follows, and which particularly gave uneasiness to the Sadducees, they were exceedingly distressed by it; it pained them to the very heart, and they were filled with wrath and indignation: and preached through, or in Jesus, the resurrection of the dead ; they not only preached the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead in general, but gave an instance and proof of it in the resurrection of Christ,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 4:2

Being grieved - Διαπονουμενοι , They were thoroughly fatigued with the continuance of this preaching; their minds suffered more labor, through vexation at the success of the apostles, than the bodies of the apostles did in their fatiguing exercise of preaching during the whole day. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 4:1-4

The first persecution. I. THE GROUND OF IT . 1. Religious intolerance— "the priests." 2. Political animosity —" the captain of the temple." A representative of Rome, alarmed by the crowd and fearing popular tumult. 3. Rationalistic unbelief— "the Sadducees." The troubles of the Church are thus foreshadowed, proceeding from the three different sources which will always unite against the truth. Against two facts they rose up: the people were taught; the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 4:1-21

Truth from the tribunal. The principles which are illustrated or suggested here are— I. THAT MEN IN THE HIGHEST RELIGIOUS POSITION MAY BE ALL WRONG IN THEIR THEOLOGY . The priests were grieved that the apostles taught the people that which we know to have been God's own truth ( Acts 4:2 ). In every age since then, the teaching of pure doctrine has been a veritable grief to those who have been regarded by many as the religious authorities of the land. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 4:1-22

Christ's servants before the tribunal. I. THEIR APPREHENSION . Its causes. 1. The jealousy of those in ecclesiastical power. Caste, privilege, and established professions are ever jealous of popular influence. It is ill for learning and for religion when they come to be identified with the interests of a class. But neither can be shut up to the few. Light and truth are the common property of all, as there is no function higher than that of the genuine teacher of religion, so... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 4:1-31

The first persecution. On observing the phenomena attending the introduction and spread of Christianity in the world, one which arrests our attention is the persecution which at different times its disciples have met with from the world. The Lord Jesus himself, "the Author and Perfecter of our faith," was rejected of men and crucified. And when, after his glorious resurrection, the apostles preached the faith, and verified the truth of what they preached by such signal miracles as that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 4:2

Sore troubled for grieved, A.V.; because for that, A.V.; proclaimed in Jesus for preached through Jesus, A.V. The preaching the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as the "First fruits of them that slept," would be especially obnoxious to the Sadducees, "which deny that there is any resurrection" ( Luke 20:27 ). The Sadducees were at this time in power (see Acts 5:17 ; and comp. Acts 23:1-35 . 6-8); and we learn from Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,'20. 9. 1) that the son of this Annas (or... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Acts 4:2

Being grieved - The word thus translated occurs in only one other place in the New Testament Acts 16:18. It implies more than simple sorrow; it was a mingled emotion of indignation and anger. They did not grieve because they thought it a public calamity, but because it interfered with their authority and opposed their doctrine. It means that it was painful to them, or they could not bear it. It is often the case that bigots, and people in authority, have this kind of grief, at the zeal of... read more

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