Matthew Henry Commentary Acts 4:1-4

"And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide. But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand." — Acts 4:1-4 (ASV)

The apostles preached the resurrection from the dead through Jesus. This resurrection includes all the happiness of the future state, and they preached that this happiness is to be obtained only through Jesus Christ.

Miserable is the condition of those for whom the glory of Christ's kingdom is a cause of grief; for since the glory of that kingdom is everlasting, their grief will also be everlasting.

The harmless and useful servants of Christ, like the apostles, have often been troubled for their work of faith and labor of love, while wicked men have escaped. And to this day, instances are not lacking where reading the Scriptures, social prayer, and religious conversation are met with disapproval and opposition. But if we obey the precepts of Christ, he will support us.