Ananias and Sapphira's incident was an attack from within the community. With wisdom and discernment from God, Peter dealt with it and contained the situation. As a result there were miracles and growth in the church.
In Acts 5:17-18, we see the first wave of attacks from outside the community. The high priest and the Sadducees were enraged and filled with jealousy against the apostles. The conflict was between the servants of God on one side and the high priest and his associates, the Sadducees on the other.
The apostles were filled with the Spirit while the opposing camp were filled with jealousy. The high priest at this point was Caiaphas. He must have felt the threat to his authority. So together with his associates, he was bent on stopping it.
Earlier on Peter and John were the target. Now Luke tells us that all the apostles were arrested and placed in public jail. This was an indication to show the public that the temple authority felt that the teaching of the apostles was dangerous.
The apostles were supposed to be brought for a questioning the next day. But we know that God's work could never be stopped. He intervened and sent an angel in the night to set them free.
What's ironical about this rescue is that God had sent an angel, when in their doctrines, the Sadducees did not believe in angels. We can take comfort to know that the Lord is always at hand to deliver his people engaged in His work.
The apostles were not only rescued supernaturally, they were now commanded to go to the temple court to proclaim the Life - the new life in Christ. And so they did. The Gospel's advancement could never be stopped for Jesus Himself had said that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
It's amazing that while all these took place, the Sanhedrin Council were totally oblivious of what was going on. So the next day the whole council assembled and the apostles were summoned. The officer who went to fetch the prisoners was in for a rude shock when he opened the door of the prison.
The prison was securely locked and the guards were standing outside guarding. But when he unlocked the door he couldn't find the prisoners. So he reported the matter to the council. On hearing the report, the chief priests and the captain of the guards were perplexed.
And while they were still puzzling, someone came to say that the apostles were at the temple precinct proclaiming the Life. Not wanting to arouse the public sentiment against them, the captain of the guards and the officers took them back to the council without any violence.
Just imagine, while the Sanhedrin was about to get out of bed, the apostles were already hard at work. Why? It's all because they have the important message of the new life. Hostility could not stop them, neither could the prison. What about us? We have no such barriers, so what's stopping us from proclaiming this life? Let's do it!
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