Acts 5:33-40 (NIV)
When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
The Sanhedrin was furious at the refusal of these men to bend to the commands of their superiors, at their claiming God as their authority to do so, and at their continuing to insist that the execution of Jesus, orchestrated by the Sanhedrin, was unlawful, and therefore murder. Their fury made them want to execute the apostles, an action which would exponentially increasing the sin they had already committed.
But Gamaliel, a Pharisee who was honored and respected by both sides of the Sanhedrin (and, incidentally, the apostle Paul’s mentor – Acts 22:3), was a voice of calm and reason. His point was simple, and illustrated with two recent events. If these men were just operating on their own, their movement would be short-lived, and would soon burn out without the Sanhedrin having to take any action at all, like the movements spawned by Theudas and Judas the Galilean. But if these men really were operating on God’s instruction, as seemed possible if not likely because of the undeniable miracles that seemed to surround them, then to fight against them would not just be shutting down something they found annoying and distasteful, it would be fighting against God Himself.
Gamaliel’s advice was to simply let the men go and see what happened. Time would be the ultimate test of who or what was behind their actions.
The Sanhedrin took Gamaliel’s advice…mostly. They decided against the death penalty. But rather than simply letting the men go and watching, they felt that some form of punishment and “enhanced motivation” to obey was necessary. So, they had each of them flogged with 39 lashes, and warned them of even more dire consequences if they continued in their defiance of the Sanhedrin’s edicts.
Father, it is amazing to see so clearly that the men of the Sanhedrin, Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of the whole Jewish nation, were so blinded by their own sense of authority and knowledge that they felt justified in taking what amounted to unlawful actions against people that they disagreed with. Proverbs 17: 26 (NIV) clearly states: “It is not good to punish an innocent man, or to flog officials for their integrity.” These men were deemed guilty for no other reason than that the leaders disagreed with them, something we still see operating today in political and “politically correct” circles. Lord, protect us as Your people from ever falling into this trap. Keep our eyes focused, not on us, not on those we disagree with politically or doctrinally, but on You and Your word. Amen.
If you are enjoying my blog, I invite you to check out my book, When We Listen, A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Just follow this url: http://eagerpress.webstarts.com/ Thanks, and God bless you all!