Acts 5:22

But the officers that came found them not in the prison; and they returned and told, saying, The prison-house we found shut in all safety, and the keepers standing at the door; but when we opened, we found no man within. Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were much perplexed whereunto this would grow.

"Sign after sign was given the hard-hearted leaders of Israel, but they remained adamant."[31] Under the circumstances, they could not have failed to know that God was with the apostles of Christ, but they were determined to carry forward their opposition.

Perplexed ... The reason for this perplexity does not seem to be any doubt of how the apostles escaped, but rather a perplexity regarding the rapid spreading of the kingdom, which had already grown far beyond anything they could have thought possible. It seems to have been utterly beyond their comprehension that God would remove their whole nation rather than allow them permanently to block the world-wide proclamation of the faith in Christ.

Captain of the temple ... See note on this official under Acts 4:1.