When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
When the rulers heard the apostles, they were pierced by the Spirit's conviction of guilt and at once resolved to kill them. What they had heard was the Spirit-inspired charge that they had killed and hanged Jesus, whom God had raised and exalted as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness, and that the apostles must obey God rather than men. Being cut to the heart did not bring them to repentance, but enraged them to fury, and though for a moment they recognized Jesus as the Son of God, they stifled conscience and hardened themselves in prejudice and hatred. They purposed to take the law into their own hands and put the apostles to death without further trial, but God restrained their violence by moving upon Gamaliel, a man of learning and high standing in their own council, to counsel them to refrain.
Witness They Heard
The verse belongs to the account in Acts 3–5 of the apostles testifying boldly about Jesus under the power of the Holy Spirit. Their bold preaching centered on a risen Saviour, and their ministry drew believers through signs and miracles. That faithful witness provoked fierce opposition from the rulers, who were deeply angered and planned to kill the apostles.
What they heard was the declaration by Peter and the apostles that God had raised and exalted Jesus, whom the rulers had killed. They heard that the one they slew and hanged on a tree God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. They heard that the apostles were witnesses of these things, together with the Holy Spirit given to those who obey Him. They heard the apostles’ resolve that they ought to obey God rather than men, in contrast to yielding to human authorities.
Spoken by inspiration, that testimony reversed their standing before the council, so that the accused became the accusers. The reversal came by charging the priests and rulers with the murder of Christ. That charge so enraged the Jews that they resolved to put the prisoners to death at once.
The latter part of Acts 5 to which the verse belongs shows that God will just as surely punish deceptive and unjust dealing in His work as in the case presented in the fifth chapter of Acts. Doing things in a deceptive way brings His punishment and judgment against the wrongdoer. The same is true when dealings in the Lord’s work are not straightforward but oppressive, when lawyers are used to take advantage of circumstances, and when things are done that savor of injustice. Hindering the work, exacting every exorbitant price, conniving at fraud, and diverting His means into a wrong channel likewise bring the Lord’s punishment and judgment. The reason is that God has a work to accomplish in the earth in order that the truth shall triumph.
Conviction They Rejected
To be cut to the heart is to be deeply pierced by the Holy Spirit's conviction of guilt for having killed Jesus whom God raised and exalted as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness. That inward conviction was experienced not as sorrow but as intense anger and fury that was deeply felt. The anger broke out against the plain testimony that charged them with slaying and hanging Him on a tree while the apostles and the Holy Spirit given to those who obey stood as witnesses.
The conviction did not lead to repentance but to a resolve to kill the messengers. For a moment those convicted recognized that Jesus was the Son of God, yet they stifled conscience and refused to yield to the evidence. Instead of yielding they hardened themselves in prejudice and hatred.
Resistance to further light intensified their rebellion and made further resistance more determined. Their ruin came not only from past sin in crucifying Jesus but from choosing to persist in it when they could have yielded. By that choice they showed themselves still set against God's work and walking in the same path of opposition that had led them to crucify Him, opposing the very servants through whom God was calling them to repentance. This stands in direct contrast to the courage of the apostles in obeying God rather than human authorities and in proclaiming the message entrusted to them.
Murderous Counsel Restrained
The council took counsel together and resolved to kill the apostles at once. Their murderous resolve was provoked by the apostles' bold preaching of a risen Saviour, whose ministry drew believers through signs and miracles and whose testimony declared Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. What cut them so deeply was the declaration that God had exalted Jesus as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness, together with the charge that they themselves were responsible for His death.
They intended to put the prisoners to death at once without any further trial and without authority from the Roman officers, taking the law into their own hands. The accused had become the accusers by charging the priests and rulers with the murder of Christ, declaring that they must obey God rather than men and that the God of their fathers had raised up Jesus whom they slew and hanged on a tree and exalted Him with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins, with the apostles and the Holy Spirit given to those who obey Him as witnesses of these things. Already guilty of the blood of Christ, they were eager to stain their hands with the blood of His apostles and to imbrue their hands in blood again by slaying them, planning how to do it under the moving of evil angels.
God stayed that violence by raising up from their own council a man of learning and high position whose clear intellect saw the terrible consequences of that violent step. He sent His angel to move upon Gamaliel's heart to counsel the chief priests and rulers to refrain. That counsel stopped them from acting at once.
When the rulers heard the apostles, they were pierced by the Spirit's conviction of guilt and at once resolved to kill them. What they had heard was the Spirit-inspired charge that they had killed and hanged Jesus, whom God had raised and exalted as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness, and that the apostles must obey God rather than men. Being cut to the heart did not bring them to repentance, but enraged them to fury, and though for a moment they recognized Jesus as the Son of God, they stifled conscience and hardened themselves in prejudice and hatred. They purposed to take the law into their own hands and put the apostles to death without further trial, but God restrained their violence by moving upon Gamaliel, a man of learning and high standing in their own council, to counsel them to refrain.
Witness They Heard
The verse belongs to the account in Acts 3–5 of the apostles testifying boldly about Jesus under the power of the Holy Spirit. Their bold preaching centered on a risen Saviour, and their ministry drew believers through signs and miracles. That faithful witness provoked fierce opposition from the rulers, who were deeply angered and planned to kill the apostles.
What they heard was the declaration by Peter and the apostles that God had raised and exalted Jesus, whom the rulers had killed. They heard that the one they slew and hanged on a tree God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. They heard that the apostles were witnesses of these things, together with the Holy Spirit given to those who obey Him. They heard the apostles’ resolve that they ought to obey God rather than men, in contrast to yielding to human authorities.
Spoken by inspiration, that testimony reversed their standing before the council, so that the accused became the accusers. The reversal came by charging the priests and rulers with the murder of Christ. That charge so enraged the Jews that they resolved to put the prisoners to death at once.
The latter part of Acts 5 to which the verse belongs shows that God will just as surely punish deceptive and unjust dealing in His work as in the case presented in the fifth chapter of Acts. Doing things in a deceptive way brings His punishment and judgment against the wrongdoer. The same is true when dealings in the Lord’s work are not straightforward but oppressive, when lawyers are used to take advantage of circumstances, and when things are done that savor of injustice. Hindering the work, exacting every exorbitant price, conniving at fraud, and diverting His means into a wrong channel likewise bring the Lord’s punishment and judgment. The reason is that God has a work to accomplish in the earth in order that the truth shall triumph.
Conviction They Rejected
To be cut to the heart is to be deeply pierced by the Holy Spirit's conviction of guilt for having killed Jesus whom God raised and exalted as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness. That inward conviction was experienced not as sorrow but as intense anger and fury that was deeply felt. The anger broke out against the plain testimony that charged them with slaying and hanging Him on a tree while the apostles and the Holy Spirit given to those who obey stood as witnesses.
The conviction did not lead to repentance but to a resolve to kill the messengers. For a moment those convicted recognized that Jesus was the Son of God, yet they stifled conscience and refused to yield to the evidence. Instead of yielding they hardened themselves in prejudice and hatred.
Resistance to further light intensified their rebellion and made further resistance more determined. Their ruin came not only from past sin in crucifying Jesus but from choosing to persist in it when they could have yielded. By that choice they showed themselves still set against God's work and walking in the same path of opposition that had led them to crucify Him, opposing the very servants through whom God was calling them to repentance. This stands in direct contrast to the courage of the apostles in obeying God rather than human authorities and in proclaiming the message entrusted to them.
Murderous Counsel Restrained
The council took counsel together and resolved to kill the apostles at once. Their murderous resolve was provoked by the apostles' bold preaching of a risen Saviour, whose ministry drew believers through signs and miracles and whose testimony declared Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. What cut them so deeply was the declaration that God had exalted Jesus as Prince and Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness, together with the charge that they themselves were responsible for His death.
They intended to put the prisoners to death at once without any further trial and without authority from the Roman officers, taking the law into their own hands. The accused had become the accusers by charging the priests and rulers with the murder of Christ, declaring that they must obey God rather than men and that the God of their fathers had raised up Jesus whom they slew and hanged on a tree and exalted Him with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins, with the apostles and the Holy Spirit given to those who obey Him as witnesses of these things. Already guilty of the blood of Christ, they were eager to stain their hands with the blood of His apostles and to imbrue their hands in blood again by slaying them, planning how to do it under the moving of evil angels.
God stayed that violence by raising up from their own council a man of learning and high position whose clear intellect saw the terrible consequences of that violent step. He sent His angel to move upon Gamaliel's heart to counsel the chief priests and rulers to refrain. That counsel stopped them from acting at once.