17
Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action.
18
They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
19
But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them,
20
"Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life."
21
The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching. The High Priest and his companions called together all the Jewish elders for a full meeting of the Council; then they sent orders to the prison to have the apostles brought before them.
22
But when the officials arrived, they did not find the apostles in prison, so they returned to the Council and reported,
23
"When we arrived at the jail, we found it locked up tight and all the guards on watch at the gates; but when we opened the gates, we found no one inside!"
24
When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the Temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles.
25
Then a man came in and said to them, "Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!"
26
So the officer went off with his men and brought the apostles back. They did not use force, however, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.
27
They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them.