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Have you ever felt as if God has directed you to do something … but the world around you is standing against you? Has that kind of opposition ever discouraged you from doing what you know God has directed you to do?
Jesus encountered opposition at almost every turn throughout the three years of His earthly ministry, as did His disciples. It should therefore come as no surprise that the same will be true for us. So, what do we do when we encounter that opposition? It would be good for us to take a reminder from Peter and John.
In the days following Pentecost, Peter and John (as well as the other apostles) boldly proclaimed the Good News of Jesus. Many who heard came to faith, but many more rejected the Good News. Most notable in their rejection was the religious establishment. They, in turn, did everything they could to dissuade the apostles. They threatened them – and when that didn’t work, they arrested, imprisoned and flogged them. But still, Peter and John would not be put off.
There are two powerful statements in the exchange that took place between the apostles and those religious leaders.(1) The first statement was made by Peter. “We must obey God” – not the false legalistic god the religious leaders had created in their own image – rather, the One and only true God. He is the God who raised Jesus from the dead after the religious leaders in their jealousy and hatred had Him crucified.
They had rejected the One through whom God chose to bring salvation and forgiveness to His people – the One who now sat on the right hand of the Father as Prince and Savior. In rejecting Jesus, they had rejected the very God they claimed to worship -- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Though the religious leaders sat in seats of religious authority, they had chosen to disregard God’s authority over their lives. As a result, Peter and John had no choice but to obey God rather than those leaders.
As we can imagine, the high council became furious and decided to kill the apostles. They had already killed one Galilean (Jesus), why not eradicate the movement by killing a few more?
That’s where the second powerful statement comes in. It was made by Gamaliel, who appears to have been a voice of reason. His voice apparently carried great weight with the high priest Caiaphas, Annas and the others on the high council. Remember – only two years earlier this same council had met to discuss and plot the killing of Jesus. It is reasonable to presume that if Gamaliel was present for this discussion about the apostles, he was probably present at the discussions about Jesus. The absence of his name in conjunction with those earlier discussions would tend to indicate that he supported the popular view of the council to crucify Jesus. So, who was Gamaliel and why did he speak up now when he apparently had not done so two years earlier?
Gamaliel is considered by many to have been one of the greatest teachers of the Mosaic Law in all the annals of Judaism. When the apostle Paul was defending his pedigree in Jewish Law, he cited Gamaliel as being his teacher because the name obviously carried great weight and respect.(2) Gamaliel was a Pharisee and, in the Talmud, he bears the titles of “Nasi” meaning “prince”, and “Rabban” meaning “our master”. Some believe that he was the president of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Regardless, he held great authority and influence within the council.
Gamaliel used two examples in his statement to dissuade the other members of the high council from choosing to execute the apostles. The first was a man named Theudas. He was a zealot who lived at the dawn of the first century A.D. He gathered a following of about four hundred men who joined him in an attempted insurrection against Rome. His attempted revolt ended in his death, which in turn resulted in his now-leaderless followers scattering and going their separate ways. As a result, the whole movement fell apart.
Gamliel’s second example was Judas of Galilee, who was also a leader of a group of zealots. It was a similar situation. In 6 A.D. he got a number of people to follow him in an attempted raid on a Roman armory. Their attempt also failed, and he, too, was killed. The result was that all of his followers also scattered.
Both of the events that Gamaliel referenced occurred twenty to thirty years earlier, which means they had occurred long before Jesus was brought before the high council. But Gamaliel apparently did not choose to make the argument at Jesus’s “trial” that he was now making at the apostles’ “trial”. That would indicate that he believed that the work of Jesus would stop with His death. Gamaliel must have believed that Jesus’s followers would scatter. Remember, the number of devoted followers of Jesus at the time of His crucifixion was only about one hundred twenty men and women. Though thousands flocked to Jesus to witness and experience His miracles, only one hundred twenty faithfully followed Him to the end. In Gamaliel’s mind at the time of Jesus’s crucifixion, Jesus had less followers than Theudas or Judas of Galilee. He hadn’t made the argument before the council back then because he believed the movement would fail with Jesus’s death.
But two things had happened after Jesus’s death! First, Jesus did not stay dead! Though Gamaliel probably never saw the resurrected Jesus personally, he was witnessing the boldness of His followers who were now unwaveringly proclaiming His resurrection. These uneducated fishermen were speaking with a boldness and an authority unlike he had ever witnessed – and his spirit was bearing witness to the fact that they were speaking truth. Jesus was the Son of the Living God! No matter what he and the other religious leaders had tried to do, Jesus had been victorious. The shedding of Jesus’s blood had not stopped the movement; it had fueled the movement!
Second, there was no denying that tens of thousands of people had since become followers of Jesus – three thousand on just one day! And some of those had been Pharisees! There was a movement taking place that could not be denied, and Gamaliel’s eyes were becoming opened to the truth. The Holy Spirit was at work in His life. And the pivotal point for him was this: “If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” Gamaliel had already concluded that he and the other members of the high council were “fighting against God!” His argument and authority swayed the decision of the other council members, and the decision was made to “accept his advice” and release the men instead of having them executed.
Biblical historians, including Josephus, tell us that Gamaliel subsequently became a follower of Jesus. Whether it occurred before his remarks to the high council or after, we can see the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in and through his life. In that light, we need to see the sovereignty of God through all of this. First, it was always the Father’s plan that His Son would be crucified on the cross. Remember Jesus was not a victim; He was – and is – the Victor. Gamaliel remained blinded to these very arguments at Jesus’s trial because it served the Father’s purpose for him to be so.
Second, it was the Father’s plan that this Jewish rabbi be a part of His plan to preserve the lives of the apostles in the early days of the formation of the church. It was God’s timing for Gamaliel’s eyes to be opened to truth and, in the Father’s sovereignty, He had ordered his steps to stand in that place with the authority and respect he commanded for just such a time. Third, God was also already at work in and through Gamaliel to help equip a young man by the name of Saul, who would by all accounts become the greatest Christian missionary who has ever lived.
So here’s the takeaway for us. “If it is of God, you will not stop it. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”(3) His plan will not be thwarted. His ultimate purpose will always prevail. Trust Him. Follow Him. No matter the circumstance. No matter who stands before you. The apostles rejoiced that God had counted them worthy.(4) Even if you are flogged, don’t lose sight that our God is sovereign. He was then … He is now … and He always will be!
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This post is adapted from Until He Returns, chapter 17, entitled “If It Is Of God, You Will Not Stop It”. This sixth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print and for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
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(1) Acts 5:29-42
(2) Acts 22:3
(3) Acts 5:39
(4) Acts 5:41
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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