Acts 5:21
And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
In obedience to the angel who had freed them from prison and commanded them to speak all the words of life, the apostles entered the temple early in the morning and taught the people. At the same time the high priest and those with him assembled the council and all the senate and elders of Israel, and sent officers to the prison to have the apostles brought before them, unaware they had already been released. What they taught was bold public testimony about the risen Savior, His work and mission, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Their action shows obedience to God rather than men, for the angel's command was directly contrary to the rulers' prohibition, yet they did not wait to consult the magistrates for permission but obeyed when God said go. Threats, imprisonment, and opposition did not make them afraid or stop them from resuming their interrupted work, because God has a government above human law and took their imprisonment into His own hands, sending His angel by night to open the prison doors.
Early Teaching and Council
In obedience to the angel who had freed them from prison and commanded them to speak in the temple all the words of life, the apostles entered the temple early in the morning and taught the people. They did not wait for permission but resumed their interrupted public teaching at dawn, continuing the bold witness given through the Holy Spirit. At the same time the high priest came with those who were with him and called together the council and all the senate and elders of Israel to try the apostles' case and decide what to do with them.
The council sent officers to the prison to have the apostles brought before them, unaware that the prisoners had already been released. The prison was found securely locked and guarded, with doors bolted and guards posted, but the men were gone. Then word came that they were standing in the temple teaching the people.
The rulers had planned to accuse the apostles of insurrection, of responsibility for the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, and of attacking priestly authority and conspiring to take it away and put the priests to death. They hoped to turn the people against them so the mob would seize them as it had seized Jesus. They acted because they feared many would accept Jesus as the Messiah and hold them to answer for His death, yet they knew the apostles' preaching had so moved the people that the crowd could not be excited against them. So the officers found the apostles preaching and brought them before the council without violence because they feared the crowd would stone them, where they were challenged for teaching in the name of Jesus.
Obedience to God First
What they taught in the temple early in the morning was bold public testimony about the risen Savior, given through the Holy Spirit. That testimony set forth Christ's work and mission, including His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. It continued in the face of the rulers' effort to suppress them.
Their going was obedience to God rather than to men, for the angel's command to speak all the words of life was directly contrary to the order of the Jewish rulers. They did not say they could not act until they had consulted the magistrates and received permission, but when God said Go, they obeyed. Threats and imprisonment did not make them afraid, and did not stop them from proclaiming God's message. They were not intimidated by imprisonment or by the authorities' opposition, but resumed their interrupted work.
This shows God has a government above human law. Because men were warring against His work, God, the mighty Ruler of the universe, took the imprisonment of His servants into His own hands, and by night sent His angel to open the prison doors. Their deliverance straight through the band of soldiers guarding the prison, when recounted among the believers, filled them with amazement and joy. That miraculous deliverance was God's token of care and assurance of His presence, not freedom from examination and punishment, for they must still suffer for Jesus' sake as those delivered up to councils.
This stood soon after the death of Ananias and Sapphira, amid continuing signs and additions of believers. It shows God has a work to accomplish on earth in order that the truth shall triumph. He will just as surely punish deceptive dealings in His work, oppressive and unjust use of advantage, fraud and connivance, exorbitant prices exacted, every hindrance to the truth, and diverting His means into a wrong channel, as He punished Ananias and Sapphira. The verse means God lives and delivers His servants to keep preaching Christ in the face of priestly prohibition, persecution, oppression and bondage. That includes oppression joined to a spurious Sunday sabbath and its demand to keep Sunday on pain of not buying or selling, for it is right to hearken to God more than to men.