27
They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them.
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"We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man," he said; "but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!"
1
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Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not men.
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The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross.
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God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven.
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We are witnesses to these things - we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him."
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When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death.
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But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while,
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and then he said to the Council, "Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men.
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You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out.
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After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered.