Men's Ministry

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Please read Acts 5:21b-26

21. We know that the release of the apostles from prison was a miracle. However, the miracle was bigger than reported in verse 19.  What additional astounding detail is given in verse 23?
22. In Acts 4, we saw that the Sanhedrin was concerned about power, but Peter and John refuted them with power, and that ultimately, they had no power because their popularity with the people prevented them from punishing them. Has anything changed in this case? How do you know?
23. Why do you think the apostles went quietly with the officers to face the Sanhedrin?

Please read Acts 5:27-32

24. The Sanhedrin just doesn’t get it. They told Peter and John to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, but they responded that they couldn’t help but preach in His name. In other words, they told the Sanhedrin that they weren’t going to stop. Here, in verse 28, the high priest (Annas) refers to the previous order and implies that he expected them to obey. Wasn’t he listening the first time? What else does he complain about?

Please read Acts 5:33-42

25. Why were the religious leaders enraged to the point that they wanted to kill the apostles?  Check verses 17 through 32.
26. Gamaliel appears only twice in the New Testament. (There is a different Gamaliel in the Old Testament.) Acts 5:34 is the fist time he’s mentioned. The second is in Acts 22:3, where Paul is basically giving his resumé and naming Gamaliel as one of his teachers.  He was a pharisee and was highly respected. In the Talmud, Gamaliel is described as the "president of the Great Sanhedrin."  (The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, and second in authority only to the Hebrew Bible, what we call the Old Testament.) Why do you think Gamaliel counseled the Sanhedrin to let the apostles go? Was he a Christian? Was this a political move? Was it a wise move?
27. In the end, Gamaliel advised the Sanhedrin to let them go. Did the Sanhedrin follow his advice?
28. The apostles, after leaving the council, rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” How were they dishonored? What does “suffer dishonor for the name” mean? Do you think Gamaliel’s “wait and see” policy was a good one?
29. Were the apostles happy that they got a beating?  If not, what does Scripture mean when it says they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name?” How does this help you understand the Book of James where he says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds?"
30. The last verse of the chapter tells us that they continued teaching and preaching about Jesus the Christ. Did the beating make a difference in what they did? What about us? What threats do we perceive or receive? Do we continue telling others about Jesus after being rejected socially?