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Easter · Second Sunday of Easter · Year A

Acts 5:29-42

Obeying God Rather Than Men

April 12, 2026

Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, Pieter Fransz. de Grebber
Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, Pieter Fransz. de Grebber, c. 1630Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
A Haarlem painting of the hearing, with the two fishermen standing and the council seated in a semicircle above them.Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than any human authority. They left the council rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelJohn 20:19-31Jn 20:19-31
Epistle1 Pet. 1:3-91 Pt 1:3-9
Old TestamentActs 5:29-42
PsalterPs. 148Ps 148

Overview & Insights

“We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

This is the second hearing before the council in Acts, and Luke uses it to formulate a principle: obedience to God takes precedence over obedience to human authority (v. 29), which Peter had already said more briefly at 4:19. The short speech that follows compresses the whole proclamation into two sentences, with a pointed contrast between what they did and what God did, and it uses the unusual phrase hanging him on a tree, which draws in the curse of Deuteronomy 21:23. Gamaliel, known from rabbinic tradition and named as Paul’s teacher at 22:3, argues for restraint on pragmatic grounds. His examples raise a historical difficulty, since the Theudas described by Josephus rose in the 40s, after the events narrated here. The scene closes with the apostles rejoicing at dishonor and teaching daily in the temple.

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Commentary

New Testament: Acts 5:29-42 (Easter 2: Series A) 1517.org

Lutheran lectionary essay on Peter's 'we must obey God rather than men' and the cross as the tree of curse and redemption.

Commentary on Acts 5:27-32 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary commentary on the apostles' defiant preaching before the Sanhedrin, the opening scene of this longer reading.

Acts 5:27-32 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Preaching commentary on the apostles' arrest and testimony that opens this passage.

Acts 5 Bible Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Guzik's exposition of the chapter, including the apostles' trial before the council.

Acts 5 Commentary Precept Austin

Verse-by-verse notes on the apostles' arrest, testimony, and Gamaliel's counsel.

Acts 5:29 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentators on Peter's answer, 'we must obey God rather than men.'

Background & Word Study

Acts Overview BibleProject

Animated overview of Acts and the apostles' Spirit-empowered witness under pressure.

Acts 5:29 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek text and parsing for the apostles' answer to the council.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Acts 5 Catena

Patristic reading of the apostles' arrest, flogging, and rejoicing to suffer for the Name.

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