What does Acts 4:14 mean?

While walking into the temple for afternoon prayers, Peter and John came upon a man lame from birth begging for alms. The two had no money, but they did have the power of the Holy Spirit and the commission of Jesus, so they healed him. A crowd of people gathered, wanting to know how this miracle took place. Peter and John explained they were able to heal the man by the power of Jesus (Acts 3:1–10).

Alarmed by two fishermen teaching a crowd on the courtyard of the Temple Mount, the chief priests arrest Peter and John. They have the same question as the crowd—how did they heal this man? When Peter explains they acted under the authority of Jesus of Nazareth, whom the men before them had murdered, the Sanhedrin realizes they had a real problem on their hands (Acts 4:1–12).

The Sanhedrin is flummoxed. Two uneducated fishermen have healed a lame man using the power of a man the Sanhedrin had killed. Then, these "common" men quoted the Sanhedrin's own Scriptures at them (Acts 4:11). This can't continue. But what can they say? Healing in the name of Jesus obviously worked—here is the man standing before them, he's well-known (Acts 3:9–10) and he's over forty, long past the age of spontaneous wellness (Acts 4:22). As much as they'd like to squash this new nuisance before it becomes a threat to their authority, Peter and John haven't broken any laws. There's nothing the Sanhedrin can do, legally. They have to lean on their own power and influence in order to control the men.