Acts 5:29-32 29But answering, Peter and the apostles said, “It is necessary to obey God rather than people. 30The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31God exalted this one at his right hand as Ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are witnesses to these things, and the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Peter’s powerful response to the accusations of the high priest are another summary of the gospel. The same man who denied Jesus before a servant girl was now preaching the gospel before the highest authorities among the Jewish people, the high priest, whole ruling council, and most prominent elders. They could do the same thing to Peter and the apostles as they did to Jesus. Peter’s defense was actually on the offense and offered the leaders an opportunity to accept the truth and believe in Jesus.
Peter began his response in verse 29 with a timeless principle about the need to obey God rather than people. As far as he and the rest of the apostles went, they feared God more than they feared the Sanhedrin or what any person could do to them. They had learned a hard lesson by their desertion of Jesus in the garden in Gethsemane. They would face more difficult times in the future. Even Peter would later struggle with peer pressure when eating with Gentiles, as Paul wrote in Galatians 2:11-14. But overall, the apostles had made significant advancement in their faith. When faced with persecution, pressure, or temptation to compromise, we need to remember and echo Peter’s statement. The lives and deaths of Christian martyrs throughout the centuries call us to make this level of commitment.
Next, Peter gets to the heart of the matter: the historicity and truth of Jesus’ resurrection. Everything hinges on this claim. Jesus’ resurrection was the central topic of early Christian preaching. It was also one of the most difficult things for some Jews to accept. Peter makes Jesus’ resurrection even more significant by claiming that the Jewish leaders had killed Jesus on the cross. No one walked away from a Roman crucifixion, and these leaders knew it. They knew Jesus was dead. Some of them witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross (Luke 23:35). They could not account for the news circulating of his resurrection. They were guilty but would not confess, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness. Instead, they hardened their hearts even more and became entrenched in their rejection of the Messiah.
In verse 31, Peter then repeats his allusion to Psalm 110 about how God exalted Jesus to the highest position of honor at God’s right hand. The messianic connection could not be missed by the Jewish leaders. What would have shocked them even more was to call Jesus the Ruler, referring to the very reason Jesus was crucified as King of the Jews, and Savior, who died for the sins of the world as the sacrificial Lamb of God. As Savior, Jesus provides the way for Israel to repent and be forgiven. This statement was a clear opportunity and invitation for the Jewish leaders to turn from their evil. Peter was not afraid to confront sin but also to offer the way of forgiveness.
Any good trial needs witnesses. In Jewish thinking, based on Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15, two witnesses were needed to settle a matter. Peter referred to two types of witnesses. First was himself and all the other apostles. This should have been enough to confirm the validity of Jesus’ resurrection, but he also appealed to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s witness was confirmed on the day of Pentecost, with the speaking in many languages, and through the many miracles that had taken place since then. Peter’s last statement added further urgency to the Sanhedrin to heed his message and repent because the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin and calls them to obedience to God’s commands and revelation. The leaders were in danger of doing the very thing Jesus warned about in blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Luke 12:10). When the Holy Spirit convicts us, we must repent lest we end up like these Jews.
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