Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 4:3

"And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide." — Acts 4:3 (ASV)

The priests and Sadducees were “greatly disturbed” about two matters. First, the apostles were “teaching the people,” an activity that those of the Sadducean ranks saw as a threat to the status quo. Like Jesus, Peter and John were rallying popular support and acting unofficially in such a way as to disrupt established authority—an authority vested in their hands. Second, Peter and John were annoying the Sadducees because they were “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” This probably means they were attempting to prove from the fact of Jesus’ resurrection the doctrine of the resurrection (cf. 17:31–32; 23:6–8), which the Sadducees denied. So Peter and John were taken into custody by the temple guard and, since it was evening, put into prison until the Sanhedrin could be called together the next morning to judge their case.