At first glance, what Peter says to the Sanhedrin is nothing but rebuke. He tells them plainly that they have made the greatest mistake of their lives: they crucified the One for whom, in theory, they had been waiting with all their soul, the Messiah...
At first glance, what Peter says to the Sanhedrin is nothing but rebuke. He tells them plainly that they have made the greatest mistake of their lives: they crucified the One for whom, in theory, they had been waiting with all their soul, the Messiah. "Their deeds were evil," and therefore they "are already condemned" (see John 3:18-19)... And on a human level it is very easy to understand such accusations from the apostles against the chief priests who killed their Teacher. We ourselves would surely have said even more.
Yet there is something more here. The apostles say this not from themselves. Verse 8 contains very important words: "filled with the Holy Spirit." Peter's answer to the Sanhedrin is not so much an accusation as a witness and a sermon. True good news. A sermon that is not embarrassed to point to the need for repentance. A witness that gives people a chance to choose the light (see John 3:19).
By the way, it is the witness of Peter, the one who himself was given a second chance. In addressing the chief priests, the apostles still, to put it in our terms, do not "write them off." Otherwise, why preach? They do not repeat the mistake of the prophet Jonah (see Jonah 4); they already know that God does not want "to judge the world, but that the world might be saved" (John 3:17).
