A Study of Acts: A Voice of Caution
A Study of Acts: A Voice of Caution
Acts 5:33-42
“But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”
They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
Acts 5:33-42 NASB1995
The high council was outraged at the apostles after their bold speech and wanted to put them to death. However, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of law who was respected by all the people rose up to address the group. He tells them that if the new faith is of men, then it will be overthrown, but if it is of God, then they will not be able to overthrow them or they will be fighting against God.
So who was Gamaliel? First, let’s look at Gotquestions.org for their perspective:
Gamaliel was a Pharisee and a grandson of the famous Rabbi Hillel. Like his grandfather, Gamaliel was known for taking a rather lenient view of the Old Testament law in contrast to his contemporary, Rabbi Shammai, who held to a more stringent understanding of Jewish traditions.
…
Later rabbis lauded Gamaliel for his knowledge, but he may be better known for his most famous pupil—another Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus (Acts 22:3), who later became the apostle Paul. It was under the tutelage of Rabbi Gamaliel that Paul developed an expert knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul’s educational and professional credentials allowed him to preach in the synagogues wherever he traveled (see Acts 17:2), and his grasp of Old Testament history and law aided his presentation of Jesus Christ as the One who had fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17).
Gamaliel is also mentioned by the historian Josephus, who wrote of the nobility of Gamaliel’s son, Simon (Vita, 38). Josephus’ description of Gamaliel’s family is consistent with the picture we see of him in the book of Acts. The Talmud also mentions Gamaliel, but there is still much that we do not know about him. As with many figures from ancient history, our knowledge of Gamaliel is limited. From the sources that we do possess, it is clear that Gamaliel and his family were revered as men of wisdom and prudential judgment. In God’s sovereign plan, this Jewish rabbi preserved the lives of the apostles in the early church and helped equip the greatest Christian missionary.
So it appears that he was a wise voice trying to keep the high council from further actions that could lead them into difficulty with the people who were embracing the popularity of belief in Jesus. But was he really a truly wise voice? I found this competing commentary on Enduring Word, which is quite compelling:
If this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it–lest you even be found to fight against God: Gamaliel spoke for himself and not for God. There are many movements that may be considered successful in the sight of man, but are against God’s truth. Success is not the ultimate measure of truth.
Gamaliel was really a fence sitter. He spoke as if they should wait and see if Jesus and the apostles were really from God. But what greater testimony did he need, beyond Jesus’ resurrection and the apostles’ miracles? He took a “wait-and-see” attitude when there was plenty of evidence.
Gamaliel proposed the test of time, and that is an important test, but more important than the test of time is the test of eternity.
“We should not be too ready to credit Gamaliel with having uttered an invariable principle… the Gamaliel principle is not a reliable index to what is from God and what is not.” (John Stott)
So the initial impression is that Gamaliel is the soothing voice from the liberal side of the faith that acknowledges the possibility of the truth in what the apostles are preaching. But he is not willing to go the extra step. He could not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, in spite of evidence, so he took a wait-and-see perspective and advised the rest of the group to do the same. In some ways, this is mildly supportive of the new church; in other ways, this is a cop-out that allows the situation to simmer and then explode again (as we will soon see with Stephen, one of the first martyrs).
So many people today have the same attitude - let’s “wait and see” what happens when we die. But it is too late when you pass from this life. The decision must be made in this short mortal life to accept the truth of Jesus and the salvation that He brings or head in the wrong direction for eternity. C.S. Lewis said it quite well (found in many quotation sources for this great writer):
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
It is the ultimate truth!
The council heeds the words of Gamaliel, so they call the apostles in and caution them again to stop preaching about Jesus. Oh, and they also flog them just to drive the point home. When I studied the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, I discovered that flogging (as done by the Romans) was a horrible act that left the victim nearly dead. This flogging may have been less severe, but the apostles were rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer for His name. They are released and go right back to teaching and preaching about Jesus!
My next devotional examines Acts 6:1-6 - The choosing of the seven.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I pray that I never am in a posture of “wait and see” about Your word and Your plan for believers. I also pray that I would have the courage of the apostles to rejoice in suffering when learning and writing about Your word. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 9/2/2024 to answer the question, “Who was Gamaliel?”.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.