4:3,4
Peter and John were put in prison overnight. Unlike with Jesus, when the “trials” were held at all sorts of odd hours, they seemed content to conduct things according to a more normal schedule. “But many ...” With Jesus we saw the greatest example of man having his plans, but God having His own plans, and, as always, it is God’s plans that win through. Man still got to carry out his evil plans, but God’s greater and good purposes were also carried out, and He acted in a way that conquered everything man did. Here we see the same pattern, though in a less dramatic way. Men arrested Peter and John, but God added to the church, many believed the message, believed in Jesus Christ. We need to appreciate this pattern. So often we think that God needs to stop men carrying out their wicked plan, and while there is a time for this, it is not always the way that God works. He allows men to do what they want to do, but in the midst of it God is doing something greater. And in the end it is God’s plans that are fulfilled. We should focus most on what God is doing.
There are some who question the validity of Luke’s estimate of five thousand men being added to the church. However, the figure is plausible. The population of Jerusalem is estimated to have been somewhere between 25,000 and 250,000, with the actual figure probably being towards the lower end. At Pentecost the numbers were swelled by incomers because of the religious significance of Jerusalem. Moreover, we need to appreciate that religion was extremely important in society, unlike today in the West.
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