The faith of the apostles: We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. Acts 5:32

The Book of Acts relates that after the miracle of Pentecost, the persecution against the early Church began. The Kingdom of God announced by Jesus, just as it had friends, also had enemies, and in front of this situation, the disciples had to bear witness to their faith. The first persecution against the Church began with the arrest of Peter and John by the Sadducee faction because they did not tolerate the disciples speaking about the resurrection of the dead. But this was not enough to instill fear because the Book of Acts recounts that the disciples continued to perform miracles, and this increased conversions to the new faith, as the Book of Acts relates: "The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people" Acts 5:12.
The early church at that time was called the sect of the Nazarene, and the Book of Acts relates that the disciples gathered together under one spirit near Solomon's Portico. There came a point when the disciples' actions triggered the High Priest's aggression, who was filled with envy, and so the disciples were arrested and taken to a public prison. But this serious situation did not diminish the spiritual determination of the disciples of Jesus.
The Book of Acts relates that the disciples were freed from prison by an angel who, after helping them, instructed them to go to the Temple to preach about the new life. The next day, the chief guard, after seeing that the disciples were not in prison, found them in the temple and took them to the Sanhedrin, where the disciples testified their faith before the High Priest and his supporters. When questioned, the apostle Peter, as the leader of the Church, spoke up and told them about Jesus: "God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins" Acts 5:31. And then Peter concluded: "We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him" Acts 5:32.
The disciples were then released and felt blessed to have suffered for bearing witness to Jesus. The times of the early Church were not easy times, but through the determination and faith of the first believers, the seed planted by Jesus grew into the greatest religion in history.

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