Acts 5:22-32

But when the officers came to the prison cell, it was empty! They returned to the council and informed them, “We found the jail securely locked and the guards standing by their cell, but when we opened the door, there was no one inside!” When the captain of the temple guard and the leading priests heard this report, they were perplexed and at a loss over what to make of it. Someone came and informed them, “The men you put in prison are out there standing in the temple courts, teaching the people!” So the captain of the temple guard and his officers went to arrest them once again, but without using force, for they were afraid the people would stone them. When they brought them before the council, the high priest demanded an explanation, saying, “Didn’t we strictly warn you that you were to never again teach in this name? But instead you have now filled all of Jerusalem with this doctrine and are committed to holding us responsible for this man’s death!” Peter and the apostles replied, “We must listen to and obey God more than pleasing religious leaders. You had Jesus arrested and killed by crucifixion, but the God of our forefathers has raised him up. He’s the one God has exalted and seated at his right hand as our Savior and Champion. He is the provider of grace as the Redeemer of Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God freely gives to all who believe in him.”