Acts 4:2-3 … Peter and John were teaching the people and declaring the resurrection of the dead through Jesus. So (the temple guards) seized them and put them in jail.
When the police arrive at a house with lights flashing it suggests that a crime has transpired or bad people are being arrested. In Jerusalem, the temple police arrived to arrest Peter and John: they were obviously dangerous. They were proclaiming a new, subversive teaching. Not the overthrow of the Roman government or the attack of religious leaders: Peter and John were declaring that people should look beyond the disappointments of this world to a future hope – resurrection and eternal life through Jesus.
This was a dangerous teaching because it brought freedom. Those who believed could stop waiting for this life to bring ultimate fulfillment. They could begin to look past personal injustices and forgive. Disappointments would no longer be devastating. Such people could weigh any suffering in this life against eternity and say, “in Jesus, I can endure and overcome my pain.” This transition of expectations could transform such people into givers rather than takers. If people truly believed in this way, they would seriously and positively impact this world.
When Peter and John were teaching this message in the temple, many people listened and 5000 of them believed! Anyone whose existence on earth is nearly perfect may find it hard to fathom how this could happen; but for those who are downtrodden, exhausted, or disappointed in the broken promises of this world – our hearts receive this message of Christianity with gladness. From the beginning, the resurrection of the dead has been a cornerstone teaching of this faith. Jesus said that in this life we will have difficulties, but in Him we have comfort and strength now. Then later … all things made new and life beyond imagination – under the just and merciful rulership of our Lord! If we have little now, we can rejoice that there is little to distract us from His truth. If we have much, we should be diligent that our hearts are not deceived, because our true treasure isn’t here, it is secure in Him.