In this chapter, the Sadducees, the wealthy religious elite that don’t believe in resurrection, react to the healing of the man by the temple in the name of Jesus. They were “greatly annoyed” because they killed Jesus and now his obnoxious followers are going around doing and saying all the same things. They have Peter and John arrested, but people who have heard of the healing are joining up with this new religious movement, and now number is about 5,000. 

The next day the religious leaders and elders including Caiaphas, Annas and others of the priestly family, get together to question Peter and John. They recognize them as the uneducated fishermen that used to hang out with Jesus. They ask by what power or name they are operating under. Peter responds by saying “Jesus of Nazareth that you killed, has become the cornerstone, there is no other name by which we are saved.” The religious leaders are astonished because the healed man was there and there wasn’t anything they could do about it other than let them go. They warned Peter and John not to speak, but they responded, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Peter and John return to the disciples and praise God and pray for more boldness to speak up to the religious and secular leaders as well as perform more signs. The place they are in is shaken and more people are filled with the Holy Spirit. They all lived together and shared everything so no one had any need. The apostle Joseph, also called Barnabas, went and sold a field and laid the money at the disciples feet to share.