"The High Priest and all his supporters, that is, the party of the Sadducees, became very jealous of the apostles; so they arrested them and had them thrown into the public jail. But an angel of the LORD opened the door of the prison during the night, brought them out, and said to them, 'Go and stand in the temple court and tell the people the whole of this living message.' Accordingly, they entered the temple at dawn and resumed their teaching.
When the High Priest and his supporters arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, that is the full Council of the elders of Israel. They sent word to the jail to have the prisoners brought in. But when the temple guards arrived at the jail, they did not find them inside; so they returned with the news, 'We found the prison securely locked, and the prison guards at their post outside the gate; but when we opened the gate, we found no one inside.'
Upon hearing these words, the captain of the temple guard and the high priests were baffled, wondering where all of this would end. Just then, someone arrived with the report, 'Look, those men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple, teaching the people.' Then the captain went off with the guards and brought them back, but without any show of force, for fear of being stoned by the people." - Acts 5:17-26
(Could this confrontation of the apostles with the rulers of the people be similar to what happens today in many countries when the Church denounces violations of human rights?
There are many Christians who say: it is not the same, since the apostles in their time were persecuted for proclaiming JESUS; whereas now, only Christians involved in politics are punished.
This, however, is not true. In JESUS' day, the Jewish people were both dominated and divided. JESUS spoke as a totally free man, teaching a way towards freedom, which today we would call non-violent action. The authorities did away with HIM to defend the security of their nation [John 11:48] and their own political system. For the disciples of JESUS, to be converted meant to acknowledge complicity with those who put JESUS to death and to take the path indicated by HIM. Since they were living among oppressors and resentful people, this was a very dangerous road [Luke 21:12-16].
In fact, when the priests judged Peter and John, they only demanded that they break away from this man [JESUS] whom they had legally condemned.
Proclaiming JESUS means preaching universal reconciliation [Ephesians 2:14], which is achieved at all levels of human life, including the economic and political. The Church would not be following CHRIST, nor would it be proclaiming JESUS as the only Savior [verse 31], if it refused to be concerned that entire nations are condemned to die slowly through lack of food, education, and health. This critical concern, however, would not be Christian preaching if it did not convince us to believe in the saving plan of GOD.)
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