5:29
“We must obey God rather than men!” This is the right attitude to have. While we must normally respect and obey the Lord, there come points where the Law goes directly against God’s ways.In those cases we must choose God. Now, of course, we need to be careful, for it can easily become “I must obey me, rather than you”. There are two key tests, one is the matter directly against God’s word, and secondly, who is going to pay the price. The apostles had been told to preach the word, and they were the ones who would pay the price.
5:30
Peter again summarises the situation. God raised Jesus from the dead, and the Sanhedrin had killed Him. There can be concern over Jews being labelled “Jesus killers” or some such term, and there times when the church has been guilty of anti-semitism. But two points to make here are: (i) the Sanhedrin had a high degree of responsibility so the “charge” was just; (ii) we are all sinners, Jesus was on the cross for your sins and my sins. Note also the phrase “the God of our ancestors”. Jesus is the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament, and Peter is implicitly counting the Sanhedrin as Jews. They needed to repent and believe, just like everyone else.
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