Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, which is the sect of Sadducees and were filled with indignation, 18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
After the day of Pentecost, when The Holy Spirit was poured out upon the people, efforts were made by those in authority, to stop the preaching of truth. It backfired signally, for God took it personally, and He sent angels from heaven to make direct intervention into the human experience. The apostles were then incarcerated for preaching Christ, but God sent an angel to open up the prison doors, and let the captives free, so that they could continue their God-given work.
Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, 20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. 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.
The nature of the intervention must now be closely studied, for the human agent recoils from admitting the raw facts in the matter. Let’s then pay very close attention to what transpires in the following verses, for history will certainly be repeated in the not-too- distant future. The angel who came to set them free did so in ways that the enemies of the gospel would hardly admit to.
Acts 5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, 23 Saying, the prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!