Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
Acts 4:1-31, Before the temple rulers
The temple authorities arrest Peter and John for proclaiming the resurrection in Jesus. Before the council the unschooled fishermen speak boldly, are warned and released, and pray with the believers in the words of Psalm 2.
Acts 4:1-31, in every translation this tool compares.
The temple leadership, Sadducees prominent among them, arrest Peter and John because they are announcing resurrection through Jesus. Questioned by the high priestly families the next day, Peter credits the healing to Jesus, the rejected stone now made the cornerstone, and says rescue comes through him alone. The council, unsettled by the boldness of men with no formal training and by the healed man standing in front of them, can only threaten and release them. The believers respond by praying with a royal psalm, and God answers with a fresh filling of the Spirit and the room shaken.
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- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/resurrection-of-the-dead\/","n":"The resurrection of the dead","s":"Most Jews, with the Pharisees, expected God to raise the dead to bodily life at the end of the age. The Sadducees denied it. Nobody expected one man to rise ahead of everyone else.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/following-a-teacher\/","n":"Following a teacher","s":"A disciple walked behind his teacher, lived with him, learned his ways and carried his reputation. Jesus chose his own, which only radical teachers did.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/honor-and-shame\/","n":"Honor before a crowd","s":"Public standing was the currency of the ancient Mediterranean. People competed for honor and dreaded being shamed in front of others.","r":""}
The captain of the temple, the sagan, led the Levite temple police and ranked next to the high priest (Keener and his notes; the ESV Study Bible). Night trials were illegal, so the hearing waited for morning (Keener; the CSB Study Bible). Most Judeans and Galileans believed in the resurrection, and the Sadducees rejected it but tolerated the Pharisees (the cultural backgrounds notes); the apostles said the first case had already happened, which threatened the Sadducees (Keener and his notes). Wright writes that "resurrection always was a radical, dangerous doctrine," because it promises God will put the world right. Unschooled means without the rhetorical training of the elite, and disciples were expected to reflect their teachers (Keener and his notes). The elite's public honor was at stake, and they did not tolerate challenges from people of lower status (the cultural backgrounds notes). The apostles' answer about obeying God recalls Socrates and the prophets (Keener). Psalm 2 was read messianically (Keener and his notes), and the shaking of the place recalls Isaiah 6:4 (the cultural backgrounds notes).
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, notes on Acts 4:1, 4:2, 4:13, 4:17, 4:21, 4:25-26 and 4:31
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Acts 4:1, 4:2, 4:3, 4:13, 4:19-22 and 4:25-28
- ESV Study Bible, study note on Acts 4:1
- CSB Study Bible, note on Acts 4:1-3
- N. T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part One, comment on Acts 4:1-12
