Acts 5:21–33

When these things were completed by the apostles, and the multitude was increased by the preaching, and the number of the faithful was already growing great by the daily distribution; the high priest, he says, having risen, that is, being aroused and stirred by what was taking place, attacked them more violently, the Sadducees in particular viewing him as more inhuman for his rage against the resurrection they detested, while the apostles were accomplishing everything. For proclaiming Christ risen, and performing miracles in the name of the Risen One to bring people to faith, they showed that if the matter were false it would not have turned out so. Therefore, being therefore stung and preparing for the murder of the apostles, they for a time held them in the security of custody, not immediately bringing them to trial, while they themselves, through fear of detection, craftily sought repentance. Those men indeed acted so. But God, by the postponement wrought also by device, shamed those who had been wicked in vain, and rather confirmed the apostles by the removal from prison through a divine angel, and instructed them where and how they ought to continue unwaveringly. With the violent men meanwhile involved through ignorance in the perception of the angel, at the time when they postponed presenting the apostles for judgment, he did not show pity (for how could those stirred up to greater wrath have been more inclined to mercy?), but in order that first he might compel the arrogant to accomplish their own will by their custody, and, having therefore barricaded them, then, having been struck by the divine oversight of the matters contemplated, he might chastise the perplexity of the resolved by proving the power to be divine.

This symbol does not lack a voice [to explain] why the holy men left this darkness [of prison]. Endowing them richly, he said that these are the ministers of light and that they shine in the whole house just like lamps set atop a stand. No night holds back those whom the Light himself calls a candle, who have merited the God who bears gifts and is a witness [to the question] by what law that place concealed in its caverns so many suns in the [apostolic] order, [suns] by which [that place] had a chance to know the eternal light so that with the expulsion of error the world might conquer darkness.

It is well ordered that the information was not brought to them at once, but they are first utterly at a loss what to think, that when they have considered it well and seen that there is a Divine Power in the case, then they may learn the whole state of the case.

We found the prison indeed closed with all diligence, and the guards standing before the doors; but opening it, we found no one inside. Why, profane Jew, are you driven by blind madness, saying that the apostles stole the Lord from the tomb? Say, I ask, do you believe the same apostles were stolen from your closed prison by theft?

A twofold security this; as was the case at the sepulchre, where was both the seal, and the men to watch. See how they fought against God! Say, was this of man's doing, that happened to them? Who led them forth, when the doors were shut? How came they out, with the keepers standing before the door? Verily they must be mad or drunken to talk so. Here are men, whom neither prison, nor bonds, nor closed doors, had been able to keep in; and yet they expect to overpower them: such is their childish folly!

They were in doubt about what would happen to them. They were not willing to give themselves to faith even in this way. For inborn malice hardens an unfaithful heart even against manifest signs.

But when the temple magistrates and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about what was to happen concerning them. And here "magistrate" should be read in singular form, as also in the following passages where it says: Then the magistrate went into the temple with the ministers. For the Greek exemplar has "στρατηγὸς," that is, "praetor," in the singular in both places. It should be noted that this passage has more in Greek, for it is written thus: But when the priests heard these words, as well as the temple magistrate and the chief priests, they were amazed and perplexed about them, wondering what this might mean.

But why did the chief priests and the rest not learn immediately that the apostles had left the prison? This was so that, remaining for some time in perplexity, they might more easily be able to comprehend and understand that this was an act of Divine power.

O the folly of the men! "They feared," saith he, "the multitude." Why, how had the multitude helped the Apostles? When they ought to have feared that God Who was continually delivering them like winged creatures out of their power, instead of that, "they feared the multitude!"

For the deliverance by the angel of the prison proved to the apostles a comfort, and to the Jews a benefit. It deceived the Jews, so that first, as I said, they would be thrown into perplexity, and if they wished they themselves would also come to understand and be instructed that the power is divine. Yet they were so blinded that they did not even dare to use force to drag the apostles away from the temple, whom nevertheless they detested most of all. From which it is also clear that the herdlike crowd is wiser than the Jewish leaders, those ignorant ones of the law, these judges being drawn to salvation by divine signs sooner than they. Therefore the legal experts ask with much knowledge of the divine signs and assurance: "Did we not order you by command not to speak?" And yet if by command alone, what then is the custody and the great security? For attendants and guards were placed over the imprisonment, of whom there is no remembrance now as to the concealment of the angelic wonder. It remains to say: If to your command there had been added our consent in handing over to custody, the present examinations and inquiries upon the violation would be reasonable. But if not even these, the present calls for punishment as for transgression are those of fools.

After this, they should have feared God, who was guarding the apostles like nestlings from their hands. And the double securing of the prison, that is, both the seal and the men, and indeed everything was sufficient to convince them that what had happened was the action of Divine power.

And the high priest questioned them, saying: Did we not strictly command you, etc. In the Greek it is more consistent: Did we not strictly command you? For it is more fitting for one questioning to speak thus.

And the high-priest, shameless, reckless, senseless, asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. What then say the Apostles? Again with mildness they address them; and yet they might have said, "Who are ye, that ye countermand God?" But what do they say? Again in the way of exhortation and advice, and with much mildness, they make answer.

Well, if they undertook to obey you, ye do well to call them to account: but if even at the very time they told you they would not obey, what account have you to call them to, what defence is there for them to make? And behold ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Mark the inconsistency of the accusations and the exceeding folly. They want to make it appear now, that the dispositions of the Jews are sanguinary, as if they were doing these things not for the truth's sake, but in the wish to be revenged. And for this reason too the Apostles do not answer them with defiance: for they were teachers. And yet where is the man, who, with a whole city to back him, and endowed with so great grace, would not have spoken and uttered something big? But not so did these: for they were not angered; no, they pitied these men, and wept over them, and marked in what way they might free them from their error and wrath.

Oh, the folly of those men! who indeed had recognized the carefulness of the mob by a hidden fear, and likewise of God, who plainly always snatches away his own with his hands as if they were birds: yet nevertheless they never wished to be adopted.

But they say: "Did we not command you...?" So what if you did command? Now if the apostles had agreed with you then and decided to obey you, then your present demands would be justified; but since they said then that they would not obey, what is the point of your present demands?

You want to bring this man's blood upon us. The high priest forgot the obligation he had imprecated on himself and his own, saying: His blood be on us and on our children.

A very forward and dishonest and foolish man questioned them, "not to teach, etc." The command, indeed, has already been said to be full of rashness, and it is redundant to repeat the same things to them about the same matters.

He still seemed a mere man to them. And to show that the command had been necessary, and that he spared not his own salvation, and to harden the multitude against them, they said these things.

"And you want to bring upon us the blood of That Man." And even now they still think that Christ was a mere man. They say this, wishing to show by it that the prohibition was necessary for them and that they had made this decision to spare their lives, but rather they said this in order to incite the crowd against them.

We must obey God rather than men. It is read interrogatively in Greek: Should we obey God rather than men? and the Apostles fittingly refuted the foolish and rash questioning of the high priest with a firm and prudent response.

Peter, who had been corrected, later when the sad prophecy was repeated, no longer objected to death but promised he would die with him. But he could not fulfill this promise because he had not yet reached that third degree where he would love with all his strength. Taught to love with his whole soul, Peter was still weak. He was well instructed but not well prepared, aware of the mystery but afraid of bearing witness to it. Obviously that love was not as strong as death which still yielded before it. Later, robed with strength from on high according to the promise of Jesus Christ, Peter began to love with such strength that when forbidden by the Council to proclaim the holy Name, he boldly answered those who gave the order: "We must obey God rather than men." Then finally he attained the fullness of love, when for love's sake he would not spare even his own life.

Decisions by the private conscience of each Christian in the light of Mr Mascall's six rules would divide Christians from each other and result in no clear Christian witness to the pagan world around us. But a clear Christian witness might be attained in a different way. If all Christians consented to bear arms at the command of the magistrate, and if all, after that, refused to obey anti-Christian orders, should we not get a clear issue? A man is much more certain that he ought not to murder prisoners or bomb civilians than he ever can be about the justice of a war. It is perhaps here that 'conscientious objection' ought to begin. I feel certain that one Christian airman shot for refusing to bomb enemy civilians would be a more effective martyr (in the etymological sense of the word) than a hundred Christians in jail for refusing to join the army.

A hermit said, 'If anyone, in humility and the fear of God, orders a monk to do something, the very word, spoken for God's sake, makes the monk ready, and obedient to the command. But if he gives the command because he wants to give orders, if he sets himself up as an authority and seeks power over the monk, and does not give a command in the fear of God, God sees the secrets of the heart and does not let the monk obey him. Everyone knows whether his orders are from God or from self-will and desire for power. An order from God is given with humility and gentleness; an order given out of a desire for power is done with anger and anxiety, for it is of the devil.'

I came to Aemilianus not alone; for there accompanied me also my co-presbyter Maximus, and the deacons Faustus and Eusebius and Chaeremon; and one of the brethren who had come from Rome went also with us. Aemilianus, then, did not lead off by saying to me, "Hold no assemblies." That was indeed a thing superfluous for him to do, and the last thing which one would do who meant to go back to what was first and of prime importance: for his concern was not about our gathering others together in assembly, but about our not being Christians ourselves. From this, therefore, he commanded me to desist, thinking, doubtless, that if I myself should recant, the others would also follow me in that. But I answered him neither unreasonably nor in many words, "We must obey God rather than men." Moreover, I testified openly that I worshipped the only true God and none other, and that I could neither alter that position nor ever cease to be a Christian. Thereupon he ordered us to go away to a village near the desert, called Cephro.

Certainly, this very pastor of the Church, at whose most sacred body we are seated, let the servant girl who was the doorkeeper, when questioned, tell how great was his weakness and how great his fear before the coming of the Spirit. For struck by the voice of one woman, while he feared to die, he denied the Life. And then Peter denied on earth, while the thief confessed on the cross. But let us hear what kind of man this person of such great fear became after the coming of the Spirit. A meeting of magistrates and elders takes place, and after being beaten the apostles are ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus: Peter responded with great authority: "We must obey God rather than men." And again: "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." And they went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer insults for the name of Jesus. Behold, Peter rejoices in beatings, who before was afraid at mere words. And he who previously feared when questioned by the voice of a servant girl, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, though beaten, tramples down the powers of rulers.

High magnanimity! He shows them too that they are fighting against God. For, he says, Whom ye killed, Him hath God raised up.

And they no longer say to them, "Judge ye:" for they are not contentious for glory; but they repeat again the same story,-the Cross, the Resurrection. And they tell not, wherefore He was crucified-that it was for our sakes: but they hint at this indeed, but not openly as yet, wishing to terrify them awhile.

See how great was the modesty of those who were questioned: for they did not answer with fierceness; since they were instructors, they were not outraged, but had pity on them, and they attempted to free them from error. For they did not quarrel against them, nor did they reply crudely to them because of the gift of signs given by God through them, teaching them rather to kick against the whip; but first indeed they say that obedience ought to be rendered more readily to God rather than to men, secretly accusing them as despising those things which had been done on their account.

All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said `We ought to obey God rather than man.'

The apostles answer without harshness, both because they were teachers and because they were not angry at the Jews, but pitied them and wished to free them from delusion and pride.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus. In Greek, it has His Child Jesus, according to the psalmist: Give power to your child; save the son of your handmaid (Psalm 85).

These [are the] voices of the Church from which every Church had its origin; these are the voices of the metropolis of the citizens of the new covenant; these are the voices of the apostles; these are voices of the disciples of the Lord, the truly perfect, who, after the assumption of the Lord, were perfected by the Spirit, and called upon the God who made heaven, and earth, and the sea,-who was announced by the prophets,-and Jesus Christ His Son, whom God anointed, and who knew no other [God]. For at that time and place there was neither Valentinus, nor Marcion, nor the rest of these subverters [of the truth], and their adherents. Wherefore God, the Maker of all things, heard them. For it is said, "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" to every one that was willing to believe. "And with great power," it is added, "gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus," saying to them, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye seized and slew, hanging [Him] upon a beam of wood: Him hath God raised up by His right hand to be a Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are in this witnesses of these words; as also is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that believe in Him."

And again they refer the whole to the Father, that He should not seem to be alien to the Father. "And hath exalted," saith He, "with his right hand." He affirms not merely the Resurrection, but the Exaltation also. "For to give repentance to Israel." Observe here as before the gain to them: observe the perfection of doctrine conveyed in the form of apology.

But mark what Peter says: "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Here he forbears to mention the Gentiles, not to give them a handle against him.

Then also that he whom they themselves call a mere man was both Savior and God, and God had such concern for him that he raised him from the dead. For to say that he had risen by his own power was not yet safe, in case it be thought that he was contrary to God. But in order to rouse them from profound sleep, he insists them to understand to what condemnation they were subject for having killed by exaltation from God this man by a death on a cross.

There was no longer any discussion about the resurrection. But that the Lord grants remission, "both we and the Holy Spirit" are witnesses to this — the Spirit Who would in no way have descended if sins had not first been remitted. And observe how, alongside the mention of the crime, the apostles add a word about the remission of sins, showing that their deeds deserved death, but what they received, they received as from a benefactor. As for the expression "Him God exalted… as a Leader and Savior," they used it by ascribing everything to the Father, so that no one would think the Son is alien to the Father.

Having therefore raised the discourse concerning the cross, and as if a pardon beyond forgiveness for those likewise deposed in a frenzy against Christ, as if engineering to unburden them of so great a weight, he says: But this one, having been dishonored by you and exalted by God, gave the spirit of repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins, not at all the skeptical criticism against him because of the cross, capable of leading to apostasy, since the one exalted by God is forgetful of injury toward those who, through persuasion, have acknowledged him. See how the Jews, being instructed both by deeds and by words, did not obey, and therefore their condemnation is just. By deeds indeed, consenting that the apostles be led into prisons, and marvelously released. By words also, so that the Jews through the apostles' speech might all be admonished. But the apostles themselves were also anointed to speak boldly. Some others were calmed and became sharers in the apostles' persuasive words. But the high priest and the rulers were enraged against the apostles, plotting against them, even seeking to slay them, since from this time their fury against Christ went forth more plainly, not from justice but from envy and leading them on to similar murder. Therefore they say, "And do you intend to bring upon us the blood of this man?" (Acts 5:28) calling it blood, that is, murder, just as God said to Cain, "The voice of your brother's blood," (Gen. 4:10) instead of "the murder." The Jews therefore spoke, seemingly sparing their own salvation, while hardening the multitude against the apostles.

But we, with but as poor a measure of understanding as of faith, are able to determine that that baptism was divine indeed, (yet in respect of the command, not in respect of efficacy too, in that we read that John was sent by the lord to perform this duty, ) but human in its nature: for it conveyed nothing celestial, but it fore-ministered to things celestial; being, to wit, appointed over repentance, which is in man's power. In fact, the doctors of the law and the Pharisees, who were unwilling to "believe," did not "repent" either.

And we are witnesses of these words, and the Holy Spirit whom God gave to all who obey Him. We are witnesses because we have seen the glory of His resurrection, because we have followed with our eyes as He ascended into the heavens. The Holy Spirit is also a witness, because as we proclaim to you the great works of God with unyielding proclamation, He has strengthened us with His presence, He has formed these words in us as He speaks within us. And this is what the Lord promised them, saying: But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of me, and you will bear witness (John 15), that is, He by inspiring you to speak, and you by providing outward testimony, will bear witness of me.

Great boldness of speech! And the ground of their credibility: "And so is also the Holy Ghost, Whom God hath given to them that obey Him." Do you observe that they allege not only the Spirit's testimony? And they said not, "Whom He hath given" to us, but, "to them that obey Him:" therein alike showing their own unassuming temper, and intimating the greatness of the gift, and showing the hearers that it was possible for them also to receive the Spirit. See, how these people were instructed both by deeds and by words, and yet they paid no heed, that their condemnation might be just. For to this end did God suffer the Apostles to be brought to trial, that both their adversaries might be instructed, and all might learn, and that the Apostles might be invigorated to boldness of speech.

Of what things are we witnesses? Of His having promised forgiveness and repentance: for the Resurrection indeed was acknowledged, now. But that He giveth forgiveness, both we are witnesses, and so is the Holy Ghost, Who would not have come down, unless sins had been first remitted: so that this is an indisputable proof.

That there was mercy, because he promised repentance. For the resurrection was therefore already confessed.

They did not say, "the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us," but "whom God has given to those who obey Him," at once both showing humility and revealing great truths, and besides that, also declaring that the Jews themselves could have received the Spirit, because it was precisely for this reason that God allowed the apostles to be led into the court — so that the Jews too might be instructed, and the apostles themselves might gain greater boldness, and all in general might receive edification.

The others on a former occasion "when they heard these things were pricked;" here they were cut as with a saw and desired to slay them. Hearest thou of the forgiveness of sins, O wretched man, and that God doth not demand punishment, and dost thou wish to slay them? What wickedness was this! And yet, either they ought to have convicted them of lying, or if they could not do that, to have believed: but if they did not choose to believe, yet they ought not to slay them. For what was there deserving of death? Such was their intoxication, they did not even see what had taken place. Observe, how everywhere the Apostles, when they have made mention of the crime, add the mention of forgiveness; showing, that while what had been done was worthy of death, that which was given was proffered to them as to benefactors! In what other way could any one have persuaded them?

See again these in perplexity, these in pain: but those in quiet and cheerfulness and delight. It is not merely, They were grieved, but "They were cut" to the heart. Truly this makes good that proverb, "Evil do, evil fare:" as we may see in this case. Here were these men in bonds, set at the bar of judgment, and the men that sit in judgment upon them were in distress and helpless perplexity. For as he who strikes a blow upon the adamant, gets the shock of the blow himself, so it was with these men. But they saw that not only was their boldness of speech not stopped, but rather their preaching increased the more, and that they discoursed without a thought of fear, and afforded them no handles against them.

That he grants forgiveness, and we bear witness, and the Holy Spirit, which would not have come, if first the sins had not been loosened. Humility, moreover, is the nature of such a discourse. For it has not been said to us as a privilege entirely for those who love him, but to the One who imparts it, it has been given in common to all who submit to Him. Therefore, even if they themselves were persuaded, they would not be without a share of his gift, through the lawlessness caused by the cross.

Others, listening to the apostles, were troubled, while the high priest and those with him "were cut to the heart and plotted to kill them."