Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 5:25
Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
25. Then came one and told them ] Better, And there came, &c. The English then is often in such a position taken for an adverb of time.
The proceedings were evidently well known, and the hall of judgment was not far from where the Apostles were teaching at the very time.
are standing in the temple, and teaching the people ] The order of the original should be preserved: are in the temple standing, &c., for the words look back to the command of the angel in Act 5:20. This standing implies the prominent and undaunted position which the Apostles had taken up. They were not like prisoners who had escaped, and so were seeking a place to hide themselves; but like men whose work had been interfered with, and who, as soon as they were able, had come back to it again.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 25. Then came one and told them] While they were in the perplexity mentioned above, a messenger surprised them with the information that the very men whom they had imprisoned the preceding night were standing in the temple and teaching the people!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So true is that in Isa 8:10, Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought. But, The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, Psa 33:11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then came one and told them, saying,…. Who this man was, is of no consequence to know; it can hardly be thought that he was one of the number of the disciples, or a member of the church, or a professor of the Christian religion; but rather an enemy, and one that sought his own interest, and to obtain the favour and affection of the chief priests and elders, and therefore very officiously came to them, and reported as follows:
behold, the men whom ye put in prison, last night,
are standing in the temple; openly and publicly, and without fear;
and teaching the people; in the name of Jesus, which the sanhedrim had forbid them to do.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “Then came one and told them, saying,” paragenomenos de tis apengeilen autois) “And having come someone reported to them,” an officer perhaps who received a message from some gathered around the apostles nearby in Solomon’s porch, where they formerly witnessed and as redirected by the angel of the nighttime, Act 5:12; Act 5:19-20.
2) “Behold, the men whom ye put in prison,” (hoti idou hoi andres ous ethesthe en te phulake) “That, lo and behold, the men (apostles) whom you all placed in prison,” Act 5:18.
3) “Are standing in the temple,” (eisen en to hiero estotes) “They are standing up in the temple area proper,” in the teaching place of Solomon’s porch, just as the delivering servant angel of nighttime had directed them, Psa 34:7; Act 5:12; Act 5:19-21. They were doing the very thing for which they had been put in prison, teaching the Word of the Lord.
4) “And teaching the people,” (kai didaskonteston laon) “And teaching the laity,” the masses, like they did before they were placed in confinement. They were following the mandate of their Lord as obedient witnesses and teachers, Mat 28:18-20; Act 1:8; Joh 20:21; Act 5:20; even as Paul did in Ephesus, Act 20:20-27.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25. Came one and told them This high court is ridiculously relieved of its perplexity as to the whereabouts of their prisoners by a chance messenger, who declares that they are standing in the temple repeating the offence for which they were imprisoned.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And there came one and told them, “Behold, the men whom you put in the prison are in the temple standing and teaching the people.” ’
To their chagrin someone arrived hotfoot to report that news had come from the Temple that the prisoners were again free and preaching in the Temple courtyards. The chief priests would be perplexed and furious at the same time. Perplexed because they did not know how they had got there but furious because they might at least have had the decency to go into hiding. This rightly saw this as a flagrant and deliberate challenge to their authority. They did not stop to pause and consider that as it was God’s Temple, and that He had the right to give them permission to preach there. (Luke has stressed that it was God Who had told the Apostles to go back there to proclaim the word of life). They simply became more and more angry.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
Ver. 25. Behold, the men whom ye put in prison ] Surely there is neither wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord,Pro 21:30Pro 21:30 . God’s mind is fulfilled by them that have least mind to it; human wisdom, while it strives for masteries, is shamefully foiled and out mastered.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Act 5:25 . : on the characteristic use of the verb after or in St. Luke’s writings as compared with other N.T. writers and the LXX, see Viteau, Le Grec du N. T. , pp. 200, 205 (1896); cf. Act 2:7 , Act 16:1 , and Luk 2:25 ; Luk 7:25 ; Luk 11:41 , etc. ., see on Act 5:22 . , cf. Act 5:20 . antitheton: posuistis (Bengel).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
one. App-123.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Act 5:25. , standing) In antithesis to, ye have put.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Behold: Act 5:18-21
Reciprocal: Psa 107:14 – brake Jer 26:2 – Stand Dan 3:13 – Then Mat 10:18 – be Joh 11:46 – General Act 3:1 – went Act 5:21 – entered
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
Act 5:25. It would be difficult to imagine the surprise these Jewish leaders must have felt upon the news of this verse. They were already perplexed over the mere absence of the apostles from the prison, with the parts of the building intact and the keepers at their post of duty. They might finally have recomposed themselves and made further investigation with a view of discovering some unfaithfulness in the keepers. But before they had time for anything of the kind, here came the officers with this strange report. That would shut out any surmise of crookedness on the part of the keepers, for had the apostles been able and disposed to bribe the keepers, it would have been from a motive of cowardice, and in that case they would have fled from the city.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Before the Council
It must have been a shock for the council to learn that the men they had charged not to preach in the name of Jesus were, even as they met, preaching in the temple. The captain and his officers brought them back without violence because they feared the common people, who sympathized with the apostles, would stone them. The high priest asked the apostles why they continued to preach in the name in which they had been strictly told not to preach. Coffman notes they would not even speak Jesus’ name because of the great hatred they had for him and all for which he stood. When our Lord was crucified, they, with the mob, had been very willing to have the blood of Jesus on their hands, but now they expressed shock that the apostles would portray them as responsible parties in his death ( Act 5:25-28 ; Mat 27:25 ).
The answer of Peter and the other apostles carries profound implications for each generation of Christians. “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Clearly, no law was considered by the apostles to be above God’s law. After all, the limit of the Sadducees authority could be seen in the fact that they had crucified Jesus and God had raised him up from the grave. Further, the apostles said God had now seated Jesus on the throne as ruler and savior. The Lord had been empowered by his Father to give repentance leading to the forgiveness of sins to all of Israel. The twelve stood as witnesses of God’s working and the Holy Spirit confirmed the truthfulness of the events they related through the miracles he enabled them to perform ( Act 5:29-32 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
See notes on verse 24
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
5:25 {7} Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
(7) The more openly that Christ’s power shows itself, the more the madness of his enemies who conspire against him increases.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Eventually word reached the Sanhedrin that the prisoners were teaching the people in the temple. Probably they expected that the apostles had fled the city.