But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while. He said to them, “You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do. For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. He was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
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But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and were determined to kill them. But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while. He said to them, “You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do. For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. He was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
Parallel Translations
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But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while.
He said to them, “You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do.
For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. He was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing.
After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad.
Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown.
But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
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Then stode ther vp one in the counsell a Pharisey named Gamaliel a doctoure of lawe had in auctorite amonge all the people and commaunded to put the Apostles a syde a lytell space
and sayde vnto them: Men of Israel take hede to youre selves what ye entende to do as touchinge these men.
Before these dayes rose vp one Theudas bostinge him selfe to whom resorted a nombre of men about a foure hondred which was slayn and they all which beleved him were scatred a broode and brought to nought.
After this man arose ther vp one Iudas of Galile in the tyme when tribute began and drewe awaye moche people after him. He also perisshed: and all even as many as harkened to him are scattered a brood.
And now I saye vnto you: refrayne youre selves from these men let them alone. For yf the consell or this worke be of men it will come to nought.
But and yf it be of God ye can not destroye it lest haply ye be founde to stryve agaynst God.
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Then stoode there vp in the Councill a certaine Pharise named Gamaliel, a doctour of the Lawe, honoured of all the people, and commanded to put the Apostles forth a litle space,
And sayd vnto them, Men of Israel, take heede to your selues, what ye intende to doe touching these men.
For before these times, rose vp Theudas boasting himselfe, to whom resorted a number of men, about a foure hundreth, who was slaine: and they all which obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
After this man, arose vp Iudas of Galile, in the dayes of the tribute, and drewe away much people after him: hee also perished, and all that obeyed him, were scattered abroad.
And nowe I say vnto you, Refraine your selues from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsell, or this worke be of men, it will come to nought:
But if it be of God, ye can not destroy it, lest ye be found euen fighters against God.
Cross-references (65)
- Proverbs 21:30 (vv38–39) There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- Isaiah 46:10 (v39) I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all…
- Matthew 16:18 (v39) I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
- Matthew 15:13 (v38) But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.
- Acts 7:51 (v39) “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.
Show all 64 cross-references
- Acts 11:17 (v39) If then God gave to them the same gift as us, when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?”
- 1 Corinthians 1:25 (v39) because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
- Luke 21:15 (v39) for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
- Acts 6:10 (v39) They weren’t able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
- Acts 9:5 (v39) He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
- Job 34:29 (v39) When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? He is over a nation or a man alike,
- Isaiah 43:13 (v39) Yes, since the day was, I am he. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?”
- Revelation 17:12-14 (v39) The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one…
- Lamentations 3:37 (v38) Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
- Daniel 4:35 (v39) All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants…
- Acts 22:3 (v34) “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict…
- Exodus 10:3-7 (v39) Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to…
- Job 15:25-27 (v39) Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty, he runs at him with a stiff neck, with…
- Isaiah 8:9-10 (v38) Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for…
- Acts 23:9 (v39) A great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ part stood up, and contended, saying, “We find no evil in this man. But if…
- Job 40:9-14 (v39) Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him? “Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with…
- Isaiah 45:9 (v39) Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you…
- Luke 2:46 (v34) After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
- Acts 8:9 (v36) But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out…
- 1 Corinthians 10:22 (v39) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- 2 Samuel 5:2 (v39) In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out and in. Yahweh said to you, ‘You will be shepherd of my people…
- 1 Kings 12:24 (v39) ‘Yahweh says, “You shall not go up or fight against your brothers, the children of Israel. Everyone return to his house; for this thing is…
- 2 Kings 19:22 (v39) Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of…
- Job 5:12-14 (v38) He frustrates the plans of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise. He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the…
- Psalms 33:10-11 (v38) Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect. The counsel of Yahweh stands…
- Isaiah 7:5-7 (v38) Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying, “Let’s go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and…
- Luke 2:1-2 (v37) Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when…
- Luke 5:17 (v34) On one of those days, he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every village of…
- 2 Peter 2:2 (v36) Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned.
- Genesis 24:50 (v39) Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing proceeds from Yahweh. We can’t speak to you bad or good.
- Nehemiah 4:15 (v38) When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to…
- Isaiah 14:25 (v38) that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and tread him under foot on my mountains. Then his yoke will leave them, and his burden leave…
- Jeremiah 26:19 (v35) Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of…
- Matthew 24:24 (v36) For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even…
- Matthew 27:19 (v35) While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered…
- John 11:48 (v38) If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
- Acts 19:36 (v35) Seeing then that these things can’t be denied, you ought to be quiet and to do nothing rash.
- Acts 21:38 (v36) Aren’t you then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the…
- Acts 22:26 (v35) When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
- 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 (v38) For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; but God chose the…
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 (v38) For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”
- Galatians 2:6 (v36) But from those who were reputed to be important—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man—they,…
- Galatians 6:3 (v36) For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 (v36) Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of…
- Jude 1:16 (v36) These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts—and their mouth speaks proud things—showing respect of persons to gain…
- Revelation 17:3 (v36) He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having…
- Revelation 17:5 (v36) And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
- Job 20:5-9 (v37) that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment? Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his…
- Psalms 7:14-15 (v37) Behold, he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought out falsehood. He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the…
- Psalms 9:15-16 (v37) The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken. Yahweh has made himself known. He…
- Psalms 76:10 (v34) Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
- Matthew 24:26 (v36) If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.
- Matthew 26:52 (v37) Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword.
- Luke 13:1-2 (v37) Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus…
- John 7:50-53 (v34) Nicodemus (he who came to him by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man, unless it first hears from him…
- Acts 23:7-9 (v34) When he had said this, an argument arose between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the crowd was divided. For the Sadducees say that there…
- 2 Peter 2:18 (v36) For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping…
- Acts 4:15 (v34) But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
- Acts 5:35 (v38) He said to them, “You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do.
64 distinct cross-references across this passage (65 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 34. Luke showeth now after what manner God brought…
34. Luke showeth now after what manner God brought to nought the fury of the wicked. They were purposed to put the apostles to death; Gamaliel standeth up amidst them, to break off that mad consultation. Furthermore, he noteth the circumstances, to the end we may know how it could be, that one man could prevail so much against so many. He saith he was a Pharisee which sect was in great estimation, as we know. He saith that he was in price, or honored amongst the people; and they feared the people. Hereby it cometh to pass that they are the more afraid to do any thing contrary to his mind. So God doth oftentimes set sudden terrors against his enemies, (when they look not for them,)to stay their violence. Furthermore, Gamaliel commandeth the apostles to go aside, lest they should be the more emboldened by his words. For we must not think that he spake thus, because he did allow the doctrine of the gospel, or that he meant to defend the same; but because he saw all the rest inflamed with fury, he being a man moderate and courteous, doth with sober speech temper that excess.
But if we consider all things well, this judgment and opinion is unmeet for a wise man. I know that many count it as an oracle, but it appeareth sufficiently hereby that they judge amiss, because by this means men should abstain from all punishments, neither were any wicked fact any longer to be corrected. Yea, all helps of life were to be refused, which we cannot prolong one moment. Both things are true, that no endeavor of men can destroy that which is of God; and that that which is of men is not so strong that it can stand. But he gathereth amiss hence, that men must sit still and say nothing in the mean season. We must rather mark what God commandeth us to do, and he will have us to restrain wickedness. To this end hath he appointed magistrates, and armed them with the sword; to this end hath he set elders over his Church, to bring the froward in order, and that they may not suffer sin licentiously to rage without punishment. Therefore it is gathered amiss that we must refrain from punishing, because God is sufficient of himself to take away evils. Although his whole counsel is such, Gamaliel willeth the scribes and elders to take heed that they make not open war against God. And he speaketh as it were touching a doubtful matter; whereby it appeareth that he hath no certainty from the foundation, when as he doubteth in the quality of the cause, neither dare set down whether it be good or evil, but doth only command to defer it for a time, until the cause appear more plainly.
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In sum, Gamaliel setteth an evil consequent from true grounds; because he applieth that amiss unto the external office and manner of doing which ought to serve for faith only. On the other side, let this be our logic, That which is of God must needs stand, though all the world say nay; therefore faith must stand without all fear, against all the assaults of Satan and men, seeing faith is under-propped and supported with the eternal truth of God; although heaven fail, our salvation is safe, which hath God to be the author and keeper thereof; because God doth defend the kingdom of Christ, it can never be overthrown with any violence; because the doctrine of the gospel is grounded in God, howsoever men resist or shake the same, yet shall it nevertheless continue firm. Again, although the wicked attempt whatsoever they can, and seek all means to destroy the Church, although they furiously strive against Christ and his Church so much as they are able, yet they shall not prevail, because it is the property of God to bring the counsels of men to nought; and by this means doth he punish their rashness. We see that both members are well applied to faith. But, in the mean season, there is no cause why the servants of Christ should be less diligent in maintaining the truth; why they should suffer the Church to decay through their fault; why they should carelessly wink at their wickedness who endeavor to turn all things topsy-turvy.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv34, 36, 38 Christ findeth defenders of his cause even in the…
Christ findeth defenders of his cause even in the very routs of his enemies, so oft as he thinketh it needful.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv34–39 34 Then stood there up one in the council,…
34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
Ver. 34. Named Gamaliel] Who was, say the Jews, the son of Simeon, Luk 2:25, the son of Hillel. See Act 22:3.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv34–39 A Pharisee; this sect was accounted more mild than…
A Pharisee; this sect was accounted more mild than the Sadducees.
Named Gamaliel; it is thought that this man was the same at whose feet Paul sat, Act 22:3; that he was the instructor to Barnabas and St. Stephen, with many other stories concerning him, are doubtful; howsoever, God made use of him, though as yet an enemy to his church and people, to plead for and protect them to his power. God can effect any thing without or against means, and suddenly to make such as were against him to be for him and his truth.
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Commanded to put the apostles forth; that they might consult amongst themselves what to do with them: thus Act 4:15.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v34 Observe here, 1. A general council erring, and that…
Observe here, 1. A general council erring, and that fundamentally in matters of faith. They determined peremptorily, That the doctrine and practice of the apostles was not from God; and accordingly resolved to suppress them, and that by death.
Thence learn, That no determination of a council against a doctrine or practice, is any demonstrative or sufficient proof, that such a doctrine or practice, is any demonstrative or sufficient proof, that such a doctrine or practice is not from God.
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Observe, 2. How God raised up a particular person in the council Gamaliel, to interpose on the apostles’ behalf as Nicodemus before had done on Christ’s behalf; and uses them as an instrument to preserve them from the rage and fury of their persecutors. Without question, Gamaliel’s spirit was actuated and influenced by the Spirit of God, to give such counsel as is here given.
Observe, 3. The counsel and advice given in the several parts of it.
1. He advises them to take heed what they did to these men, Act 5:35. implying, that men had need take heed how they engage themselves in suppressing or destroying any sort of men whatsoever, until they have clear and expressive warrant from heaven for the execution.
2. He assures them, that if this work be of men, it will certainly come to naught; which he proves by a double instance, namely, Theudas, and Judas of Galilee, who both pretended to be sent of God as Saviours of their country, and gathered many followers, but miscarried in their enterprise; intimating that every invention, contrivance, or device of man, especially in things pertaining to God and religion will in time be blasted and blown upon by God, and come to nothing.
3. He adds, That if this work be of God, it can never be overthrown, but the attempt will be deemed a fighting against God: Signifying to us, that for any person to attempt the suppression of any doctrine or practice that is from God, is to fight against God himself.
4. He intimates to them the great peril and danger of fighting against God, in the word even, lest ye be found even fighting against God.
Thence learn, That fighting against God is a most dangerous enterprise for any person at any time to be found engaged or concerned in.
Observe, 4. The success or issue of Gamaliel’s counsel; his advice being so wise and rational, it prevailed with the rulers to desist from their former intention of putting the apostles to death; but they come not off without blows, though without bloodshed; they are scourged, as their Master was before them, which was both a painful and reproachful punishment. Yet were they so far from being discouraged, that they were the more resolved. They rejoiced that they were so graced as to be disgraced for Christ, and accounted it their highest honour to be dishonoured for him; esteeming it a very great favour and happiness to bear reproach for Christ, according to that of the apostle St. Peter,
1. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you 1Pe 4:14. This sent them from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Observe, lastly, How wisely and well the holy apostles improve their restored liberty; they redouble their pains and diligence in preaching the gospel, and are unwearied in the way of their duty, and in the work of their God, Daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ Act 5:42; that is, they laid hold on every opportunity, in season and out of season, publicly and privately, to publish the gospel to those that had not received it, and farther to instruct those that had already received the faith of Christ. Thus the more outrageous were their adversaries, the more courageous were the holy apostles. They religiously profess the name of Christ, and resolutely abide by their profession, though they were derided, imprisoned, persecuted, and beaten for the same.
Lord! help thy ministers at this day to suffer reproach for thy gospel; but never let any of them either reproach it, or be a reproach unto it. Amen.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv34–39 And said unto them, ye men of Israel,.... This…
And said unto them, ye men of Israel,.... This he said after the apostles were put out, when the council was by themselves; and he addressed them as "men of Israel"; not as distinct from the priests and Levites in the council, but because they were all of the stock of Israel; for this council did not consist of Israelites only, as distinct from priests and Levites, as appears from Act 5:21. A sanhedrim commonly consisted of each of these; though if only of Israelites it was a lawful one. Maimonides says (c),
"they did not use to appoint any in the sanhedrim, but priests, Levites, and Israelites, that were genealogized and fit to be married into the priesthood---and that it was a command, that in the great sanhedrim there should be priests and Levites; as it is said, "thou shalt go to the priests and Levites"; but if they are not found, if they are all Israelites, lo, this is lawful,''
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or a proper sanhedrim. His speech to them follows,
take heed to yourselves; consider well, do not act a rash and precipitant part; do not give way to passion and wrath, and hastily lay hands on these men, and destroy them; lest ye bring yourselves into disgrace and danger, and bring upon yourselves the ill-will and resentment of men, and the wrath of God: take time to consider of the matter, and deliberately consult
what ye intend to do as touching these men; what punishment to inflict upon them, whether imprisonment, scourging, or death; do nothing rashly.
(c) Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 1. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv34, 36, 38 But a certain Pharisee - And as such believing…
But a certain Pharisee - And as such believing the resurrection of the dead; a doctor, or teacher of the law - That is, a scribe, and indeed one of the highest rank; had in honour by all the people - Except the Sadducees; rising up in the council - So God can raise defenders of his servants, whensoever and wheresoever he pleases.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv34–39 Verse 34. A Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of…
Verse 34. A Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law] "This," says Dr. Lightfoot, "was Rabban Gamaliel the first; commonly, by way of distinction, called Rabban Gamaliel the elder. He was president of the council after the death of his own father, Rabban Simeon, who was the son of Hillel. He was St. Paul's master, and the 35th receiver of the traditions, and on this account might not be improperly termed νομοδιδασκαλος, a doctor of the law, because he was one that kept and handed down the Cabala received from Mount Sinai. He died eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem, his son Simeon succeeding him in the chair, who perished in the ruins of the city." Though probably no favourer of Christianity, yet, for a Pharisee, he seems to have possessed a more liberal mind than most of his brethren; the following advice was at once humane, sensible, candid, and enlightened.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv34, 38 Act 5:34-37. Then stood up one in the council,…
Act 5:34-37. Then stood up one in the council, a Pharisee — And as such believing the immortality of the soul and the resurrection; named Gamaliel — He is said to have been the son of good old Simeon, mentioned Luk 2:25; and the person at whose feet St. Paul was brought up. He was a man in so great esteem among the Jews, that Onkelos, the author of the Targum, is said to have burned seventy pounds weight of perfumes at his funeral; and the Jews have this saying concerning him: “From the time that Rabban Gamaliel, the old, died, the honour of the law failed, and purity and Pharisaism died.” A doctor — Or teacher; of the law — Who trained up a great number of pupils in the knowledge of it; had in reputation among all the people — Except the Sadducees. Thus can God raise up defenders of his servants whensoever and wheresoever he pleases. This man, rising up, commanded to put the apostles forth a little space — That he might speak the more freely, and be the more freely answered. And said, Ye men of Israel — To whom Divine Providence has committed the guardianship of this people, and the important care of their public affairs; take heed to yourselves — Now you are angry at these men; what ye intend to do — Lest you meddle to your own hurt. He puts them in mind of the importance of the matter in hand, which, in their heat, they were not capable of considering as they ought. For before these days rose up Theudas — He prudently mentions the facts first, and then draws the inference. A person of the name of Theudas is mentioned by Josephus, (Antiq., Act 20:5,) under the character of a false prophet, who drew a great number of people after him, with a promise of dividing Jordan before them, but was defeated and beheaded, most of his followers being also slain or imprisoned. See notes on Mat 24:5. But as this person appeared when Fadus was procurator of Judea, that is, according to Capellus, seven, or, according to Whitby, at least ten years after this was spoken, there can be no reference to him here. But Theudas being a very common name among the Jews, the person here mentioned, most probably, was one among the many leaders, who, as Josephus informs us, took up arms in defence of the public liberties, when the grand enrolment was made by Cyrenius, in the days of Archelaus. See note on Luk 2:17. This Theudas seems to have been supported by smaller numbers than the second of the name; and (as the second afterward did) perished in the attempt; but as his followers were dispersed, and not slaughtered like those of the second Theudas, survivers might talk much of him, and Gamaliel might have been particularly informed of his history, though Josephus only mentions it in general. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee — Of whom see note on Luk 13:1-2; in the days of the taxing — Or, as εν ταις ημεραις της απογραφης signifies, in the days of the taxation, or enrolment; meaning those same days, or at the same period of time, when the impostor Theudas appeared; and drew away much people after him — Endeavouring, on the principles of sacred liberty, to dissuade the Jews from owning the authority of the Romans in that instance; he also perished — Was quickly destroyed; and as many as obeyed him — As hearkened to, and followed him; were dispersed — And their cause came to nothing.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv34, 36, 37, 38, 39 Then stood there up one - He rose, as…
Then stood there up one - He rose, as is usual in deliberative assemblies, to speak.
In the council - In the Sanhedrin, Act 4:15.
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A Pharisee - The high priest and those who had been most active in opposing the apostles were Sadducees. The Pharisees were opposed to them, particularly on the doctrine in regard to which the apostles were so strenuous, the resurrection of the dead. See the notes on Mat 3:7. Compare Act 23:6.
Gamaliel - This name was very common among the Jews. Dr. Lightfoot says that this man was the teacher of Paul Act 22:3, the son of the “Simon” who took the Saviour in his arms Luke 2, and the grandson of the famous “Hillel,” and was known among the Jews by the title of “Rabban Gamaliel the elder.” There were other people of this name, who were also eminent among the Jews. This man is said to have died 18 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and he died as he had lived, a Pharisee. There is not the least evidence that he was a friend of the Christian religion; but he was evidently a man of far more liberal views than the other members of the Sanhedrin.
A doctor of the law - That is, “a teacher” of the Jewish Law; one whose province it was to “interpret” the laws of Moses, and probably to preserve and transmit the “traditional” laws of the Jews. See the notes on Mat 15:3. So celebrated was he, that Saul of Tarsus went to Jerusalem to receive the benefit of his instructions, Act 22:3.
Had in reputation among all the people - “Honored” by all the people. His advice was likely, therefore, to be respected.
To put the apostles forth - This was done, doubtless, because, if the apostles had been suffered to remain, it was apprehended that they would take fresh courage, and be confirmed in their purposes. It was customary, besides, when they deliberated, to command those accused to retire, Act 4:15.
A little space - A little “time,” Luk 22:58.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv34, 39 Gamaliel. He that had been St. Paul’s master, according…
Gamaliel. He that had been St. Paul’s master, according to St. John Chrysostom, advised them to forbear, and do nothing rashly. [Ver. 38.] Meddle not with these men; literally, go from them.[6] For, saith he, if this be the work of men only, it will soon fall to nothing; but if it be from God, you cannot hinder it, and you will only make yourselves guilty, by resisting the designs of God. They consented to him, so far as not to put them to death; but they made them be scourged, which they rejoiced at; and they dismissed them with reiterated threats. (Witham) --- Gamaliel was the master of St. Paul, Barnabas, Stephen, and others, and favoured the Christians. St. Clement and Ven. Bede think he was then a Christian, but concealed his conversion at the instigation of the apostles, that he might have an opportunity of defending Christ in the council. He afterwards professed his faith publicly, and was canonized with is son Abibas. See Baronius, 3d of Aug. (Tirinus)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
[Ver. 38.] Discedite ab istis. Greek: apostete.
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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv34, 35, 37, 38 Then stood up . . . Gamaliel--in all probability…
Then stood up . . . Gamaliel--in all probability one of that name celebrated in the Jewish writings for his wisdom, the son of Simeon (possibly the same who took the infant Saviour in his arms, Luk 2:25-35), and grandson of HILLEL, another celebrated rabbi. He died eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem [LIGHTFOOT].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv34, 36, 37, 38, 39 2. Speech of Gamaliel—Peaceful results, Act_5:34-42.
2. Speech of Gamaliel—Peaceful results, Act_5:34-42.
34. Gamaliel—”Gamaliel Hazzaken,” says Dr. Etherbridge in his “Hebrew Literature,” is “deservedly regarded by the Jews as one of the most illustrious of their princely teachers. He is held to have been the thirty-fifth receiver of the traditions from Mount Sinai, and he added to all the amplitude of Hebrew lore a large acquaintance with Gentile literature, the study of Greek being connived at, in his case, by his rabbinical brethren on the plea of his having need of that language in diplomatic transactions with the secular government. A master also in the astronomy of that day, he could test, it is said, the witnesses for the new moon by a chart of the lunar motions he had constructed for the purpose. His astronomical skill was employed also in the rectification of the Jewish calendar. It is recorded that he delighted much in the study of nature, and in the beautiful in all its manifestations. In short, Gamaliel appears to have been a man of an enlarged and refined mind, and no very stringent Pharisee though connected with the sect. Casual notices of him in the Talmud make this evident. Thus, he had a figure engraved upon his seal, a thing of which no strict Pharisee could approve. Nor could such an one have permitted himself to enter a public bath in which was a statue of Aphrodite. But this Gamaliel is reported to have done at Ptolemais, justifying himself by the argument that the bath had been built before the statue was there; that the building had been erected not as a temple, but as a bath, and as such he used it; and, moreover, that if it were not lawful for him to be except where idolatry had not held its rites, he should not be able to find a place to remain in upon the face of the earth. The attitude assumed by Gamaliel toward the Christians has induced others to surmise that this distinguished rabbin was at heart a believer in the Messiahship of Jesus. That he was a more enlightened and liberal man than his colleagues we see no reason to doubt; but the degree in which he approached the truth as it is in Jesus we have no sufficient data to ascertain. Neander has observed that ‘the great respect in which Gamaliel has been held by the Jews is a sufficient proof that they never doubted the soundness of his creed, or thought he could be accused of any suspicions connection with the Nazarenes.’ Some time after his elevation to the presidency, Gamaliel, pressed by the distresses of the times, transferred the locality of the sanhedrial schools from Jerusalem to Jamnia or Jophna, a town on the coast, not far from Joppa. He there completed the labours of his life, and died some fifteen years before the final ruin of his country. At his decrease men said that the kabod hat-torah, ‘the glory of the law,’ had departed, and on the solemnization of his funeral obsequies his favourite disciple Onkelos expended eighty talents of money in perfumes.”
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A Pharisee—As a leading Pharisee, and a believer with the apostles and against the Sadducees in the resurrection of the dead, Gamaliel was inspired with a moment of sympathy with the apostles.
Had in reputation—A diffuse phrase for honoured. Gamaliel’s popularity among all the people, who generally favoured the Pharisees, furnished to the Sanhedrin some assurance that a ground might be taken by which the present hostile feeling of the people against them might be neutralized. Sensible that they had gone too far, they were inclined to accept a compromise which he should propose.
To put the apostles forth—In order that the consultation might be in their absence. They are recalled at Act_5:40. They did not, therefore, hear the discussion, nor the speech of Gamaliel, which was its principal feature.
A little space—Of time.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv34–39 34. Then stood there up one in the council]…
34. Then stood there up one in the council] Better, But there stood up, &c. See note on Act_5:25.
a Pharisee, named Gamaliel] It may very well be believed that some small sympathy towards the Christian teachers would be roused in the breast of a Pharisee, because they maintained, as he did, the doctrine of a resurrection, but there is nothing in the speech of this Pharisee beyond a policy of inactivity.
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This Gamaliel, called here a doctor of the law, is no doubt the same person who is mentioned (Act_22:3) as the teacher of St Paul. He is known in Jewish writings as Gamaliel ha-Zaken (i.e. the older), and was the grandson of Hillel. He was alive during the time when Herod was beautifying the Temple. For in Tosephta Shabbath xiv. (ed. Lemberg) we read, “Rabbi Jose said, It happened that Rabbi Khalaphta went to Rabban Gamaliel (the younger, and grandson of the Gamaliel in our text) to Tiberias, and found him sitting at the table of Rabbi Jochanan ben-Nozâph, and in his (Gamaliel’s) hand was the book of Job in Targum (i.e. in the Chaldee paraphrase), and he (Gamaliel) was reading in it. Rabbi Khalaphta said to him, I remember concerning Rabban Gamaliel the elder, the father of thy father, that he was sitting on a step in the Temple mount, and they brought before him the book of Job, in Targum, and he said to the builder, “Sink it (bury it) under this course of the wall.” This could only have been when the walls were in building.
Gamaliel is said to have died 18 years before the Temple was destroyed.
In T. B. Abodah Zarah 11 a, in allusion to the custom of burning beds, clothes, and other things, at the funerals of great men (see Jer_34:5), it is said, “When Rabban Gamaliel the elder died, Onkelos the proselyte burned in his honour the worth of 70 minæ of Tyrian money.”
So great was Gamaliel’s fame that we read (Mishna Sotah ix. 15) when he died “the glory of the Torah ceased, and purity and sanctity died out also.” We can therefore understand that he was “had in reputation among all the people.”
and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space] Instead of the apostles, the best authorities have the men. He wished them to be removed for a short time from the council room, that the conversation of himself and his colleagues might be the more unrestrained.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv34–39 (34) A Pharisee, named Gamaliel.—We are brought into contact…
(34) A Pharisee, named Gamaliel.—We are brought into contact here with one of the heroes of Rabbinic history. The part he now played in the opening of the great drama, and not less his position as the instructor of St. Paul, demand attention. We have to think of him as the grandson of the great Hillel the representative of the best school of Pharisaism, the tolerant and large-hearted rival of the narrow and fanatic Shammai, whose precepts—such, e.g., as, Do nothing to another which thou wouldest not that he should do to thee—remind us of the Sermon on the Mount. The fame of Hillel won for him the highest honour of Judaism: the title of Rabban (the Rabboni of Mar_10:51; Joh_20:16), and the office of President of the Council. For the first time, there seemed likely to be a dynasty of scribes, and the office of chief of the Jewish schools, what we might almost call their Professorship of Theology, was transmitted through four generations. Hillel was succeeded by his son Simeon, whom some have identified with the Simeon of Luk_2:25 (see Note there), and he by Gamaliel. He, too, was known as the Rabban, and he rose now, with all the weight of years and authority, to counsel moderation. Various motives may have influenced him. He was old enough to remember the wisdom and grace of the child Jesus when, twenty-eight years before, He had sat in the midst of the doctors (Luk_2:46). He may have welcomed, during our Lord’s ministry, the teaching with so much of which Hillel would have sympathised, and been as the scribe who was not far from the kingdom of God (Mar_12:32-34), rejoicing in the new proof that had been brought forward of the doctrine of the Resurrection. As being himself of the house and lineage of David, he may have sympathised with the claims of One who was welcomed as the Son of David. One who was so prominent as a teacher could not fail to be acquainted with a brother-teacher like Nicodemus, and may well have been influenced by the example of his gradual conversion and the counsels of caution which he had given (Joh_7:50-51). The tone in which he speaks now might almost lead us to class him with the “many” of the chief rulers who secretly believed in Christ, but shrank from confessing Him (Joh_12:42-43). It seems probable that he, like Joseph of Arimathæa, had “not consented to the counsel and deed” of the Sanhedrin which Caiaphas had hastily convened for our Lord’s trial, and had contented himself with a policy of absence and expectation. If, as seems probable, Saul of Tarsus was at this time one of his disciples (Act_22:3), the words of warning, though addressed generally to the Council, may well have been intended specially to restrain his fiery and impetuous zeal.
Commanded to put the apostles forth a little space.—The practice of thus deliberating in the absence of the accused seems to have been common. (Comp. Act_4:15.) The report of the speech that follows may have come to St. Luke from some member of the Council, or, probably enough, from St. Paul himself. The occasional coincidences of language with the writings of that Apostle tend to confirm the antecedent likelihood of the conjecture.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv34–39 But there for there, A.V. ; in honor of…
But there for there, A.V. ; in honor of for in reputation among, A.V. ; the men for the apostles, A.V. and T.R.; while for space, A.V. A Pharisee named Gamaliel. St. Luke had mentioned (Act_4:1 and Act_5:17) that there was an influential party of Sadducees in the Sanhedrim.
He, therefore, now specially notes that Gamaliel was a Pharisee. There can be no doubt that this alone would rather dispose him to resist the violent counsels of the Sadducean members, and the more so as the doctrine of the Resurrection was in question. (see Act_23:6-8) Moreover, Gamaliel was noted for his moderation. That Gamaliel here named is the same as that of, Act_22:3, at whose feet St. Paul was brought up at Jerusalem, and who is known in the Talmud as Rabban Gamaliel the elder (to distinguish him from his grandson of the same name, the younger) the grandson of Hillel, the head of the school of Hillel, and at some time president of the Sanhedrim, one of the most famous of the Jewish doctors (as the title Rabban, borne by only six others, shows), seems certain, though it cannot absolutely be proved. The description of him as a doctor of the law, had in honor of all the people; the allusion to him as a great teacher, learned in the perfect manner of the Law of the fathers, and one whose greatness would be as a shield to his pupils, in Act_22:3; the exact chronological agreement; the weight he possessed in the Sanhedrim, in spite of the Sadducean tendencies of the high priest and his followers; and the agreement between his character as written in the Talmud and as shown in his speech and in the counsel given in it, seem to place his identity beyond all reasonable doubt. There does not seem to be any foundation for the legend in the Clementine Recognitions, that he was in secret a Christian. If the prayer used in the synagogues, "Let there be no hope to them that apostatize from the true religion; and let heretics, how many soever they he, all perish as in a moment," be really his composition, as the Jews say, he certainly had no inclination to Christianity ("Prid. Conn.," 1:361).
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Vers. 34-42. Power and weakness.
I INNOCENCE AN OBJECT OF HATE TO THE UNJUST. No wound is more deadly than that inflicted by words of truth upon false hearts. If the heart will not receive the truth, the truth will pierce through it. And murderous counsels show that truth has been denied in the heart. Instead of answering the witnesses with reason for reason, the Sanhedrim seek to stop their mouth with earth and put them to death. A cause is lost when it can be no longer argued in the court of reason, when its only argument is the sword, or the stake, or the rod, or the prison-cell.
II SUGGESTIONS OF NEUTRALITY. Gamaliel is the type of common sense undisturbed by zeal of clear judgment unbiased by prejudice. It is pretty evident that he did not sympathize with the apostles; still less, probably, did he sympathize with the fears or the fanaticism of his colleagues. He is perhaps "old and cold." Seldom do men of strong reflective habit feel much interest in novelties in religion. Seldom do the observers of life, the students of human history, expect much from sudden popular movements or popular teaching. Such was Gamaliel"s character. But where so little is said there is much room for difference of opinion as to what that character really was, how far really inclined to Christ"s doctrine, possibly believing in his mission, or a disciple in secret. In the absence of further knowledge of the man, we may consider his counsel, and draw the following lesson:
1. Prudence and caution are ever seasonable and especially so where there is a temptation to violence and repression of others" freedom. We should never act without a clear call to do so. The alternation of inaction is best in doubtful cases.
2. Experience shows that movements which have no vitality in them come to an end if left alone. They die for want of fuel, while persecution supplies that fuel on which they live. Such had been the case with the insurrection of Judas and that of Theudas.
3. Time is required that the true nature of a movement be clearly seen. Many a seed springs up that cannot live; many a threatened man lives long. A new force cannot be judged by the first appearances and manifestations.
4. There is always a danger in repression. The force you seem to have quelled for the moment only bursts forth in a new direction. You may, while you think to be putting down your enemy, be rousing up a more formidable one, or exposing yourself to attack in some unguarded quarter. Above all, you may be contending against Divine power and will, and inviting its vengeance.
5. Faith in truth, utter contempt for falsehood and imposture, is our safest temper. This gives calmness under every emergency. The truth can never harm us if we are on its side, nor can it be defeated by any power on the other side. After all, this true attitude was Gamaliel"s. He was a man who understood and believed in the moral laws. Well would it have been had the Sanhedrim shared his intelligence and honesty. And had his advice been followed at similar crises of religious history, much bloodshed and retardation of the good cause would have been avoided. In private life, how many an occasion when there is a restless desire to act, to fetter the free action of others, to stop the course of moral laws, when the simple question is pertinent! you not let it alone?
III WEAK VIOLENCE. Threats prison rods; to this the Sanhedrim in its might resorts against helpless and unarmed men. Rods are for the backs of those who are not amenable to reason. The chastisement which is appropriate to the fool is absurdly applied to the man who acts from deliberate counsel and proved determination. Blows are no match for prayers. The martyr is never in the tyrant"s power. He clings to God"s skirts, and malice cannot touch his soul.
IV THE MARTYR"S JOY. Joy of the purest quality and most triumphal power starts from the very seed-bed of pain. Pain may be to the soul the expression of God"s displeasure or of his love. If it is incurred in obedience to him, the soul wears it as a testimonial of his goodness. The honor of suffering for God"s sake is one of peculiar worth. There is a natural feeling that any great suffering entitles the patient to some respect. The consciousness of being selected for suffering in the noblest cause ennobles the soul. It feels crowned and throned. Our capacity is enlarged both for thought and feeling and for joy by such an experience. It is strengthened, and every fresh trial, faithfully endured, prepares for new effort, goads to perseverance, and so defeats the persecutor by the very means of his own weapons. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv36, 38 Before these days rose up Theudas.
Act_5:36-37
Before these days rose up Theudas.
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Theudas: an ancient personage with modern lessons
Who Theudas was I do not know, and have carefully refrained from inquiring. Biographical details are of small importance when we are in search of substantial principles. The point of this passage lies in the fact that Theudas was a wholly insignificant person, just like a thousand other men who have made a noise in their day, drawn the gaze of the world for a few hours and then passed into silence and oblivion. The apostles are summoned before the council which has already resolved on their death. Then stands up Gamaliel--the teacher of Paul, a man had in reputation among all the people--and reads the excited Sanhedrin a lesson out of their own national history. He says in substance: This alarm, this hurrying to and fro, this calling for the scourge and the dungeon, this breathless haste, is all the result of narrow vision and small outlook. Our own time is not the first to witness startling movements. Before these days rose up Theudas, and drew four hundred men after him. Yet that uprising which seemed so terrible has been almost forgotten. Wider horizon would make us calm. Learn the lesson of your past. Gods great plan moves through the ages to its sure accomplishment. If this new teaching be not of Him, it will be like all the rest--a mere noise followed by a great silence. But if God is behind this teaching--beware lest haply ye be found to fight against God. These words may imply that Gamaliel was almost ready to embrace Christianity, or they may indicate only that he was a broad and tolerant Jew. In either case the application to our restless, eager, disputatious age is very clear. Old formulae are recast, until many souls more timid than wise, loving quiet more than truth, cry, Alas I what shall we do? The true answer cannot be given either by intense partisanship or by cynical indifference. The true answer is to be found in the unfaltering faith which sees God behind the shifting panorama of human thought and action, and knows that whatever lights may cross our firmament--whether glowing planet, shooting meteor, or steady star--He calleth them all by name in the greatness of His power.
I. Gods kingdom on earth is not a novelty. The first thing for us to remember is that the kingdom of God on earth is not a novelty, Christianity is not an experiment, and that before these days ten thousand similar dangers have been triumphantly surmounted. The man who is not in league with the past cannot face the future. We need to see things in large perspective, to stand off from our little immediate task, as the painter stands away from his canvas, that he may return to it with surer touch. Even in the common responsibilities of daily life some knowledge of history is quite as important as acquaintance with the multiplication table. Let the man who despairs of our political leaders to-day read the story of the attacks made on Washington in the darkest days of the Revolution. Let the man who is bewildered by the sudden influx of new knowledge, and cannot adjust himself at once to the fresh truth poured into his mind, remember the great shock given to humanity--a shock which seemed to dislocate all systems of science and all hymns of the faith--when Copernicus proclaimed that this earth, instead of being the centre of the universe, for the sake of which sun and stars were created, around which the ordered sky revolved, was but a mote floating in the boundless void, an insignificant star sending its tiny ray into the infinite darkness. The present generation is specially deficient in historical perspective. Our life has been so swift, so wholly modern, that we are intensely individual, delighting often in segregation from the past. Thus, having small background for present endeavour, we grow restless and are easily tossed by conflicting winds. History says, too, as Nature to Emerson: Why so hot, my little man? The history of the Christian Church is a splendid armoury for faith. The future of Christianity does not depend on what is won or lost this morning. The success of Gods kingdom in the earth is not staked on the success of my little scheme any more than the coming of spring depends on the success of the pansy bed in my garden. That kingdom was before we came into being, it will endure when we are gone--it is the work of Him who was, and is, and is to be, the Almighty. Behind all the men that come and go, the theories that rise and fall, stands God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.
II. A background of triumphant history. We are writing now, but never before, 1892 on all our letters, notes, deeds. These figures are vastly more than a conventional argument. They are eloquent with strong assurance. They are like a flag brought home from battle, smoke-begrimed, blood-stained, bullet-torn, but bright with its original splendid colour, and vocal with great inspiring speech. We have no right to live as did the Church of the first century, when much was tentative and experimental. We have a background of triumphant history. Steadily is the kingdom of Christ spreading from the river unto the ends of the earth. Witty and keen have been the attacks on the faith--sometimes they have purged it from excrescences, oftener they have glanced off and rebounded. The opponents of Christianity are remembered because of the grandeur of what they attacked. In this Christian land we do not accept Christian faith to see whether it is true; we accept it as we accept the earth beneath our hurrying feet and the untroubled sky that overarches all. Hence we see the place and purpose of the Old Testament, whose peculiar function is to show us that God is behind and within human history, and that all history culminates in the revelation of Jesus Christ. Gods primary revelation is not through the speech, but through events. The Old Testament precedes the New to show us God behind and within the nations life, and when we once see and believe that, a historical Saviour becomes not only credible but inevitable.
III. Use of the historical in scripture. A noble Christian man recently told me that in his private reading of the Psalms he always used an expurgated edition, from which all imprecatory and otherwise objectionable passages had been expunged. Surely this is the acme of religious prudery, and the fastidiousness of one who is totally devoid of the historical sense. If we expurgate the Songs of David, why not expurgate his life also? Surely his deeds of vengeance are worse than his revengeful prayers. Then having struck out from his life all that offends our purism, and having made him the man he ought to have been but was not, we shall be ready to remodel the entire history of Israel--very much as Cibber proposed to remodel Shakespeare, making King Lear to be at last rewarded for his suffering, and making the tragedy of Hamlet to end with the death of the king and queen and the happiness of Ophelia. When we have been through the Bible and struck out the great black record of human sin, we shall have banished the shining story of redemption also. The imprecatory Psalms are as truly the expression of a certain stage in Israels life, and so part of the story of redemption, as the paintings of the early Byzantine school are part of the history of Christian art. What if the faces limned by those first Christian painters are hard and wooden? They are to us the priceless expression of a great endeavour which has made Iraphael and Da Vinci possible. To lift the Psalter to the level of the Sermon on the Mount is to spoil them both. But the most practical thing is still unsaid. When a man has attained the historical point of view, when his Bible is no longer a fiat surface like a Chinese picture, but a tong vista of historical persons and events, and the great story of Gods love for man is seen slowly unfolding through the millenniums, when a man keeps himself familiar with Gods working before these days, he will possess a spiritual poise and central peace which nothing can disturb. It is a great thing to believe in a God who watches over my life and cares for me. It is a grander thing to rest in a God whose purposes are larger and longer than any concerns of mine possibly can be. I could not admire the Hudson River if I thought its only purpose was to fill my drinking cup. I could not wonder greatly at the sun if I thought its only purpose was to shine in at my window. I need a God greater than my need. I want a Saviour far beyond my private personal lack. If I do not believe in a God who has some grander work to do than to make me happy, I shall soon cease to believe at all. I shall soon find that God does not always make me happy, and then I shall lose faith. Through all ages runs His purpose. From everlasting to everlasting His great thoughts realise themselves in the ceaseless unfolding of creation, and our highest glory is not to bend His purpose but to bend our lives into harmony with it. Has any man come here in a state of tumult and alarm, perplexed by the problems of the time, and confronted by movements he cannot fathom? I bid you think of the God who before these days has guided His Church and ever will guide. Is any man here saying: God has forgotten me; my plan does not prosper? Is your plan, then, the first thing in your desire, or Gods plan? Is it the building of your nest or the achievement of the worlds redemption? He is the Alpha and Omega--we are to fit in somewhere in His Divine alphabet and spell out His eternal thought. (W. H. P. Faunce, D. D.)
The false prophet and the true
I. The false.
1. Rises up of his own accord as Theudas and Judas.
2. Boasts himself to be somebody.
3. Draws away the people after him.
4. Falls from heaven as a wandering star. Theudas and Judas perished, and their followers were dispersed.
II. The true.
1. Is raised up by God.
2. Does not boast of himself, but gives glory to God.
3. Leads souls to the Lord.
4. Will shine as stars for ever and ever. (K. Gerok.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v38 Chapter 12
Chapter 12
GAMALIEL AND HIS PRUDENT ADVICE.
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Act_5:38-40
WE have set forth in these verses an incident in the second appearance before the council of the Apostle Peter and the other Apostles, conspicuous among whom must have been James the brother of John. It is almost certain that James the son of Zebedee was at this time very prominent in the public work of the Church, for we are told in the opening of the twelfth chapter that when Herod would vex and harass and specially weaken the Church, it was neither Peter nor John he first arrested, but he laid hands on James, and placed on him the honour of being the earliest martyr from amongst the sacred band of the Apostles. Peter we may, however, be sure was the centre of Sadducean hate at this period, and one of the most conspicuous members of the Church. We should at the same time beware of exaggeration, and strive to estimate the events of these earliest days of the Church, not as we behold them now, but as they must have then appeared unto the members of the Sanhedrin. The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira seem now to us extraordinary and awe-inspiring, and sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of all unbelievers; but probably the story of them had never reached the ears of the authorities. Human life was but little accounted of among the Romans who ruled Palestine. A Roman master might slay or torture his slaves just as he pleased; and the Romans, scorning the Jews as a conquered race, would trouble themselves but little concerning quarrels or deaths among them, so long as public order and the stated business of society were not interfered with. The public miracles which St. Peter wrought, these were the things which brought matters to a crisis, and called afresh the attention of the Sanhedrin, charged as they were with all religious authority, as the miracle of healing wrought upon the impotent man had led to the arrest of the Apostles on a previous occasion. It is a mistake often made, in studying the history of the past, to imagine that events which we now see to have been important and epoch-making must have been so regarded by persons living at the time when they happened. Men are never worse judges of the true value of current history than when they are placed in the midst of it. It is always the on-lookers who see most of the play. Our minds are so limited, our thoughts are so completely filled up with the present, that it is not till we have got away from the events, and can view them in their due proportion and symmetry, surrounded with all their circumstances, that we can hope to form a just appreciation of their relative importance. I have often seen a hill of a few hundred feet in height occupying a far more commanding position in mens eyes than a really lofty mountain, simply because the one was near, the other far off. The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira are recorded therefore at full length, because they bring eternal lessons of justice, judgment, and truth along with them. The numerous public miracles wrought by Peter when "multitudes came together from the cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick folk and them that were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed every one," seemed to the Sanhedrin and the religious public of Jerusalem the all-important topics, though they are passed wholly over in the Scriptures as matters of no spiritual interest. If it requires a vast exercise of patience and wisdom to estimate events aright in their mere worldly aspect, it requires the operation and guidance of the Holy Ghost to form a sound judgment upon the relative spiritual value of events falling within the sphere of Church history; and there indeed it is most true that matters which seem all-important and striking to man are judged by God as insignificant and unworthy of notice. So contradictory are ofttimes the ways of God and the opinions of man.
The public miracles wrought by St. Peter had this effect, - the only one noted at length by the sacred writer: they led to the fresh arrest of Peter and the other Apostles by the High Priest and the sect of the Sadducees, and to their incarceration in the public prison attached to the temple. Thence they were delivered by an angel and sent to speak publicly in the temple, where their adversaries officially assembled; just as on a later occasion Peter, when imprisoned by himself, was released by angelic interference. Men looking back upon the history of the primitive Church, and judging of it as if it were the history of an ordinary time and age, have objected to the angelic interventions narrated here and in a few other places in the New Testament. They object because they do not realise the circumstances of the time. Dr. Jortin was a shrewd writer of the last century, now too much neglected. He remarked in one place that, suppose we admit that a special revelation of the good powers of the heavenly world was made in Christ, it was natural and fair that a special manifestation of the powers of evil should have been permitted at the time of Christs Incarnation, in order that the triumph of good might be the greater; and thus we would account for the diabolical possessions which play such an important part in the New Testament. The principle thus laid down extends much farther indeed. The great miracle of the Incarnation, the great manifestation of God in Christ, naturally brought with it lesser heavenly manifestations in its train. The Incarnation raises for a believer the whole level of the age when it occurred, and makes it an exceptional time. The eternal gates were for a moment lifted up, and angels went in and out for a little; and therefore we accept without endeavouring to explain the words of the narrative which tells us that an angel opened the prison doors for the Apostles, bidding them go and speak in the temple all the words of this life. And then from the temple, where they were teaching early in the morning, about daybreak of the day following their arrest, they are led by the officers before the Sanhedrin which was sitting in the city. Here let us pause to note the marvellous accuracy of detail in St. Lukes narrative. The Sanhedrin used to sit in the temple, but, a few years before the period at which we have arrived, four or five at most, they removed from the temple into the city, a fact which is just hinted at in the fifth verse of the fourth chapter, where we are told that the rulers, and elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, that is, in the city, not in the temple; while again in this passage we read that when the High Priest came and convened the council and all the senate of the children of Israel, they sent their officers to bring the prisoners before them. These officers after a while returned with the information that the Apostles were preaching in the temple. If the Sanhedrin were meeting in the temple, they would doubtless have learned this fact as soon as they assembled, especially as they did not sit till after the morning sacrifice, several hours after the Apostles appeared in the temple. When brought before the council the Apostles boldly proclaimed their intention to disregard all human threats, and persevere in preaching the death and resurrection of Christ. The majority would then have proceeded to extreme measures against the Apostles, and in doing so would only have acted after their usual manner.
The greater part of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees, and they, as Josephus tells us, were men of a bloodthirsty character, ever ready to proceed to punish in the most cruel manner. The simple fact is this, the Sadducees were materialists. They looked upon man as a mere animated machine, and therefore, like the pagans of the same period, they were utterly regardless of human sufferings, or of the value of human life. We little recognise, reared up as we have been in an atmosphere saturated with Christian principles, how much of our merciful spirit, of our tender care for human suffering, of our reverent respect for human life, is owing to the spiritual ideas of the New Testament, teaching as it does the awful importance of time, the sanctity of the body, and the tremendous issues which depend upon life. Sadducees and pagans knew nothing of these things, because they knew nothing of the inestimable treasure lodged in every human form. Life and time would have been very different for mankind had not the spiritual principles inculcated by Pharisee and by Christian alike triumphed over the cold stern creed which strove on this occasion to stifle the religion of the Cross in its very infancy. When the Sadducees would have adopted extreme measures, the words of one man restrained them and saved the Apostles, and that one man was Gamaliel, whose name and career will again come before us. Now let us apply ourselves to the consideration of his address to the Sanhedrim. Gamaliel saw that the large public gathering to whom he was speaking were thoroughly excited and full of cruel purposes. He therefore, like a true orator, adopts the historical method as the fittest one for dealing with them. He points out how other pretenders had arisen, trading on the Messianic expectations which then existed all over Palestine, and specially in Galilee, and how they had been all destroyed without any action on the part of the Sanhedrim. He instances two cases: Judas, who lived in the days of Cyrenius and the taxing under Augustus Caesar; and Theudas, who some time previous to that event had arisen, working upon the religious and national hopes of the Jews, as the persons now accused before them seemed also to be doing. He points to the fate of the pretenders he had mentioned, and advises the Sanhedrin to leave the Apostles to the same test of Divine Providence, confident that if mere impostors, like the others, they will meet with the same death at the hands of the Romans, without any interference on their part.
It is evident that Gamaliel must have had some special reason for selecting the risings of Theudas and Judas, beyond the fact that they were rebels against established authority. The closing years of the kingdom of Herod the Great were times when numberless rebellions took place. Josephus gives us the names of several leaders who took part in them, but, as he tells us ("Antiqq." 17, 10:4), there were then "ten thousand other disorders," into the details of which he did not enter. All these risings had, however, these distinguishing features, they were all unsuccessful, and they were all quenched in blood. Gamaliel must have seen some feature common to the Christian movement and to those headed by Theudas and Judas some thirty years earlier, leading him to adduce these examples. That common feature was their Messianic character. They all alike proclaimed new hopes for Israel, and appealed to the religious expectations which then excited the people, and still are embodied in works like the book of Enoch, produced about that period; while all the other attempts were animated by a mere spirit of plunder or of personal ambition. But here we are met with a difficulty. The rationalistic commentators of Germany have urged that St. Luke composed a fancy speech and put it into the mouth of Gamaliel, and in doing so made a great historic mistake. They appeal to Josephus as their authority. He states that a Theudas arose about A.D. 44, some ten years later than this meeting of the Sanhedrin, and drew a large number of adherents after him, but was defeated by the Roman governor. On the other hand, the words of Gamaliel refer to the case of a Theudas who lived half a century earlier, and preceded Judas the Galilean. To put the matter plainly, St. Luke is accused of having composed a speech for Gamaliel, and, when doing so, of having committed a great blunder, representing Gamaliel as appealing to an incident which did not happen till ten years later.
This circumstance has long attracted the notice of commentators, and has been explained in different ways. Some maintain that there was an older Theudas, who headed an abortive Messianic rebellion previous to the time of Cyrenius and the days of the taxing. This is a very possible explanation, and the identity of names constitutes no valid objection. The same names often occur in connection with the same movements, political or religious. In the third century, for instance, the Novatian heresy arose at Carthage, and thence was transferred to Rome. It was headed by two men, Novatus and Novatian, the former a Carthaginian, the latter a Roman presbyter. What a fine subject for a mythical theory, were not the facts too indisputably historical! How a German critic would revel in depicting the impossibility of two men with names so like holding precisely the same office and supporting exactly the same views in two cities so widely separated as Rome and Carthage! Or let us take two modern instances. The Tractarian movement is not yet quite sixty years old. It has not therefore yet passed out of the sphere of personal experience. It started in Oxford during the thirties, and there in Oxford we find at that very period two divines named William Palmer, both favouring the Tractarian views, both eminent writers and scholars, but yet tending finally in different directions, for one William Palmer became a Roman Catholic, while the other remained a devoted son of the Reformation. Or to come to still more modern times. There was an Irish movement in 1848 which numbered amongst its most prominent leaders a William Smith OBrien, and there is now an Irish movement of the same character, and it also numbers a William OBrien amongst its most prominent leaders. A Parnell leads a movement for the repeal of the Union in 1890. Ninety years earlier, a Parnell resigned high office sooner than consent to the consummation of the same legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland. We might indeed produce parallel cases without number from the range of history, specially of English history, showing how political and religious tendencies run in families, and reproduce exactly the same names, and that at no distant intervals. But the very passage before us, the speech of Gamaliel and its historic argument, affords a sufficient instance. Gamaliel adduced the case of Judas the Galilean as an illustration of an unsuccessful religious movement. Every one admits that here at least Josephus and the Acts of the Apostles are at one. Judas the Gaulonite, as Josephus styles him in one place, or the Galilean as he calls him in another place, was the founder of the sect of Zealots, who "have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only ruler and Lord" (Josephus, "Antiqq.," 18, 1:6). Judas was defeated at the time of the taxing under Cyrenius, and yet more than forty-five years later we find his sons Simon and James suffering crucifixion under the Romans because they were following their fathers example.
Another explanation has also been offered. It has been suggested that Theudas was simply another name for one of the many rebels whom Josephus mentions, -for Simon, for instance, who had been a slave of Herod the Great, and had upon his death headed a revolt against authority. Either explanation is quite tenable, as opposed to the view which represents St. Luke as committing a gross historical error. And we are the more justified in offering these suggestions when we reflect upon the numberless instances where modern research has confirmed, and is every year confirming the minute accuracy of this writer, who doubtless derived his information concerning what passed in the Sanhedrin, on this occasion, from St. Paul, who either as a member of the council or a favourite pupil of Gamaliel may have been present listening to the debates, or even sharing in the final decisions.
Let us now turn from the purely historical side of Gamaliels speech, and view it from a spiritual standpoint.
The address of Gamaliel was so favourable to the Apostles that it has helped to surround his name and memory with much legendary lore. It was the tradition of the ancient Greek Church from the fifth century that he was converted to Christianity and baptised, along with his son Abibus and Nicodemus, by St. Peter and St. John. The story of Gamaliels secret adherence to Christianity goes even much farther back. There is a curious Christian novel or romance, which dates back to close upon the year 200, called the "Clementine Recognitions." We find the same tradition in the sixty-fifth chapter of the first book of these "Recognitions." But the sacred narrative itself gives us no hint of all this, contenting itself with setting forth the prudent advice which Gamaliel gave to the assembled council. It was wise advice, and well would it have been for the world if influential religious and political teachers in all ages had given similar counsel. Gamaliel was a man of large scholarship, combined with a wide mind, but he had learned that time is a great solvent, and the greatest of tests. Beneath its influence the most pretentious schemes, the most promising of structures, fade away if built upon the sand of human wisdom, while opposition only tends to consolidate and develop those that are built upon the foundation of Divine strength and power. The policy of patience recommended by Gamaliel is a wise one, either for the Church or for the state, in things spiritual and things secular alike. And yet it is one from which the natural man recoils with an instinctive repugnance. It speaks well for the Jewish Sanhedrin that on this occasion they yielded accord to the advice of their president. We are glad to recognise this spirit in these men, where we so often have to find matter for blame. Well would it have been for the Church and for the credit of Christianity had the spirit which moved even the Sadducean majority in the Jewish council been allowed to prevail; and yet how little have the men of tolerant mind been regarded in moments of temporary triumph such as the Sanhedrin just then enjoyed. Gamaliels advice, "Refrain from these men and let them alone. If the work be of man it will be overthrown; if of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them," strikes a blow at the policy of persecution, which is essentially a policy of impatience. The intolerant man is an impatient man, not willing to imitate the Divine gentleness and long-suffering, which waits, endures, and bears with the sins and ignorance of the children of men. And the Church of Christ, when she became intolerant, as she did as soon as ever Constantine placed within her reach the sword of human power, forgot the lesson of the Divine patience, and reaped within herself, in a shallow religion, in a poorer life, in a restrained intellectual and spiritual grasp, the due reward of those who had fallen away from an imitation of the Divine example to a mere human level. It is sad to see, for instance, in the case of a man so thoroughly spiritual as St. Augustine was, how easily he fell into this human infirmity, how quickly he became intolerant when the secular arm was ranged on the side of his own opinions. The Church in his own boyhood, during the days of Julian, had to strive against the intolerance of the pagans; the orthodox, who upheld the Catholic view of the nature of the Godhead and the scriptural doctrine of the Holy Trinity, had to struggle against the intolerance of the Arians. Yet as soon as power was placed in St. Augustines own hand he thought it right to exercise compulsion against those who differed from him.
It was exactly the same in later days. Men may take up commentators of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Protestant and Roman Catholic alike. There they will find many remarks, acute, devout, heart-searching, but very few of them will be found to have arrived at the mental fairness and balance involved in those words, "Refrain from these men, and let them alone." Cornelius a Lapide was a Jesuit commentator of those times. He wrote many valuable expositions of Holy Scripture, including one dealing with this book of the Acts, filled with thoughts suggesting and stimulating. It is, however, almost ludicrous to notice how he strives to evade the force of Gamaliels words, and to escape the application of them to his own Protestant opponents. The Sanhedrin were quite right, he thinks, in adopting Gamaliels advice, and in showing themselves tolerant of the apostolic preaching because the Apostles worked miracles; and so, though they were unconvinced, still they had just reason to suspend their judgment. But as for the Protestants of his time, they were heretics; they were the opponents of the Church, the bride of Christ, and therefore Gamaliels words had no application to them; as if the very question that was raised by the Protestants was not this-whether Cornelius a Lapide himself and his Jesuit brethren did not represent Antichrist, and whether the Protestants were not the true Church of God, who therefore on his own principles were quite justified in persecuting their Romish opponents. It is very difficult to get men to acknowledge their own fallibility. Every party, when triumphant, believes that it has a monopoly of truth, and has a Divine right of persecution; and every party when downcast and m adversity sees and admires the beauties of toleration. Verily, societies, churches, families, as well as individuals, have good right diligently to pray, "In all time of our wealth, good Lord, deliver us," for never are men in greater spiritual danger than when prosperity leads them to vote themselves infallible, and to practise intolerance towards their fellow-men on account of their intellectual or religious opinions.
The sentiment of Gamaliel on this occasion may, however, be pushed to a mischievous extreme. He advised the Sanhedrin to exercise patience and self-control, but he did not apparently go any farther. He did not recommend them to adopt the noblest course, which would have been unprejudiced examination into the claims put forward by the Christian teachers. Gamaliels advice was good, it was perhaps the best he could have given, or at least which could have been expected under the circumstances, but it was not the highest or noblest conceivable. It was the kind of advice always given by men who do not wish to commit themselves untimely, but who are waiters upon Providence, postponing their decision as to which side they shall join until they first see which side will win. Opportunists, the French call them; men who are sitting upon the fence, we in homelier phrase designate them. It is well to be prudent in our actions, because true prudence is only Christian wisdom, and such wisdom will always lead us to take the most effectual ways of doing good. But then prudence may be pushed to the extreme of moral cowardice, or at least the name of prudence may be used as a cloak for a contemptible desire to stand well with all parties, and thereby advance our own selfish interests. Prudence should be united with moral courage; it should be ready to take the unpopular side, and to champion truth and righteousness even when in a depressed and lowly condition. It was easy enough to side with Christ when the multitude cried, "Hosanna in the Highest." But the test of deepest love and unfailing devotion was-when the women stood by the cross, and when the Magdalen sought out the grave in the garden that she might anoint the dead body of her loved Lord.
Finally, let us just notice the conduct of the Apostles under those circumstances. The Apostles were freed from the pressing danger of death, but they did not entirely escape. The Sanhedrin were logically inconsistent. They refrained from putting the Apostles to death, as Gamaliel advised, but they flogged them as Roman laws permitted; and a Jewish disciplinary flogging, when forty stripes save one were inflicted, was. so severe that death sometimes resulted from it. Man is a curiously inconsistent being, and the Sanhedrin showed on this occasion that they had their own share of this weakness. Gamaliel advised not to kill the Apostles, but let time work out the Divine purposes either of success or failure. They adopt the first part of his advice, but are not willing to allow Providence to develop His designs without their interference, and so by their stripes endeavour to secure that failure shall attend the apostolic efforts. But it was all in vain. The Apostles were living under a realised sense of heavenly things. The love of Christ, and communion with Christ and the Spirit of Christ, so raised them above all earthly surroundings that what things seemed toss and shame and grief to others were by them counted highest joy, because they looked at them from the side of God and eternity. Human threats availed nothing with men animated by such a spirit, -nay, rather as proofs of the opposition of the evil one, they only quickened their zeal, so that "every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ." How wondrously, life would be transformed for us all did we view its changes and chances, its sorrows and its pains, as the Apostles regarded them. Poverty and disgrace, undeserved loss and suffering, all alike would be transfigured into surpassing glory when endured for Christs sake, while our powers of labour and work, and our active zeal in the holiest of causes, would be quickened, because, like them, we should walk and live and toil in the loved presence of One who is invisible.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv34–35 34. A Pharisee, named Gamaliel. Observe that it is…
34. A Pharisee, named Gamaliel. Observe that it is a Pharisee that opposes violence. Gamaliel was the most distinguished Jewish rabbi of this time. His fame is preserved in the Talmud. He was a grandson of Hillel, a still more famous teacher. Paul was his pupil (Acts 22:3).
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v38 Act 5:38 - Act 5:39.
Acts
GAMALIEL’S COUNSEL
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Act 5:38 - Act 5:39.
The little that is known of Gamaliel seems to indicate just such a man as would be likely to have given the advice in the text. His was a character which, on its good side and by its admirers, would be described as prudent, wise, cautious and calm, tolerant, opposed to fanaticism and violence. His position as president of the Sanhedrin, his long experience, his Rabbinical training, his old age, and his knowledge that the national liberty depended on keeping things quiet, would be very likely to exaggerate such tendencies into what his enemies would describe as worldly shrewdness without a trace of enthusiasm, indifference to truth, and the like.
It is, of course, possible that he bases his counsel of letting the followers of Jesus alone, on the grounds which he adduces, because he knew that reasons more favourable to Christians would have had no weight with the Sanhedrin. Old Church traditions make him out to have been a Christian, and the earliest Christian romance, a very singular book, of which the main object was to blacken the Apostle Paul, roundly asserts that at the date of this advice he was ‘secretly our brother,’ and that he remained in the Sanhedrin to further Christian views. But there seems not the slightest reason to suppose that. He lived and died a Jew, spared the sight of the destruction of Jerusalem which, according to his own canon in the text, would have proved that the system to which he had given his life was not of God; and the only relic of his wisdom is a prayer against Christian heretics.
It is remarkable that he should have given this advice; but two things occur to account for it. Thus far Christianity had been very emphatically the preaching of the Resurrection, a truth which the Pharisees believed and held as especially theirs in opposition to the Sadducees, and Gamaliel was old and worldly-wise enough to count all as his friends who were the enemies of his enemies. He was not very particular where he looked for allies, and rather shrank from helping Sadducees to punish men whose crime was that they ‘preached through Jesus a resurrection from the dead.’
Then the Jewish rulers had a very ticklish part to play. They were afraid of any popular shout which might bring down the avalanche of Roman power on them, and they were nervously anxious to keep things quiet. So Gamaliel did not wish to have any fuss made about ‘these men,’ lest it should be supposed that another popular revolt was on foot; and he thought that to let them alone was the best way to reduce their importance. Perhaps, too, there was a secret hope in the old man’s mind, which he scarcely ventured to look at and dared not speak, that here might be the beginning of a rising which had more promise in it than that abortive one under Theudas. He could not venture to say this, but perhaps it made him chary of voting for repression. He had no objection to let these poor Galileans fling away their lives in storming against the barrier of Rome. If they fail, it is but one more failure. If they succeed, he and his like will say that they have done well. But while the enterprise is too perilous for him to approve or be mixed up in it, he would let it have its chance.
Note that Gamaliel regards the whole movement as the probable germ of an uprising against Rome, as is seen from the parallels that he quotes. It is not as a religious teaching which is true or false, but as a political agitation, that he looks at Christianity.
It is to his credit that he stood calm and curbed the howling of the fanatics round him, and that he was the first and only Jewish authority who counselled abstinence from persecution.
It is interesting to compare him with Gallio, who had a glimpse of the true relation of the civil magistrate to religious opinion. Gamaliel has a glimpse of the truth of the impotence of material force against truth, how it is of a quick and spiritual essence, which cannot be cleaved in pieces with a sword, but lives on in spite of all. But while all this may be true, the advice on the whole is a low and bad one. It rests on false principles; it takes a false view of a man’s duty; it is not wholly sincere; and it is one impossible to be carried out. It is singularly in accordance with many of the tendencies of this age, and with modes of thought and counsels of action which are in active operation amongst us to-day, and we may therefore criticise it now.
I. Here is disbelief professing to be ‘honest doubt.’
Gamaliel professes not to have materials for judging. ‘If-if’; was it a time for ‘ifs’? What was that Sanhedrin there for, but to try precisely such cases as these?
They had had the works of Christ; miracles which they had investigated and could not disprove; a life which was its own witness; prophecies fulfilled; His own presence before their bar; the Resurrection and the Pentecost.
I am not saying whether these facts were enough to have convinced them, nor even whether the alleged miracles were true. All that I am concerned with is that, so far as we know, neither Gamaliel nor any of his tribe had ever made the slightest attempt to inquire into them, but had, without examination, complacently treated them as lies. All that body of evidence had been absolutely ignored. And now he is, with his ‘ifs,’ posing as very calm and dispassionate.
So to-day it is fashionable to doubt, to hang up most of the Christian truths in the category of uncertainties.
{a} When that is the fashion, we need to be on our guard.
{b} If you doubt, have you ever taken the pains to examine?
{c} If you doubt, you are bound to go further, and either reach belief or rejection. Doubt is not the permanent condition for a man. The central truth of Christianity is either to be received or rejected.
II. Here is disbelief masquerading as suspension of judgment.
Gamaliel talked as if he did not know, or had not decided in his own mind, whether the disciples’ claims for their Master were just or not. But the attitude of impartiality and hesitation was the cover of rooted unbelief. He speaks as if the alternative was that either this ‘counsel and work’ was ‘of man’ or ‘of God.’ But he would have been nearer the truth if he had stated the antithesis-God or devil; a glorious truth or a hell-born lie. If Christ’s work was not a revelation from above, it was certainly an emanation from beneath.
We sometimes hear disbelief, in our own days, talking in much the same fashion. Have we never listened to teachers who first of all prove to their own satisfaction that Jesus is a myth, that all the gospel story is unreliable, and all the gospel message a dream, and then turn round and overflow in praise of Him and in admiration of it? Browning’s professor in Christmas Day first of all reduces ‘the pearl of price’ to dust and ashes, and then ‘Bids us, when we least expect it, Take back our faith-if it be not just whole, Yet a pearl indeed, as his tests affect it.’
And that is very much the tone of not a few very superior persons to-day. But let us have one thing or the other-a Christ who was what He claimed to be, the Incarnate Word of God, who died for our sins and rose again for our justification; or a Galilean peasant who was either a visionary or an impostor, like Judas of Galilee and Theudas.
III. Here is success turned into a criterion of truth.
It is such, no doubt, in the long run, but not till then, and so till the end it is utterly false to argue that a thing is true because multitudes think it to be so. The very opposite is more nearly true. It in usually minorities who have been right.
Gamaliel laid down an immoral principle, which is only too popular to-day, in relation to religion and to much else.
IV. Here is a selfish neutrality pretending to be judicial calmness.
Even if it were true that success is a criterion, we have to help God to ensure the success of His truth. No doubt, taking sides is very inconvenient to a cool, tolerant man of the world. And it is difficult to be in a party without becoming a partisan. We know all the beauty of mild, tolerant wisdom, and that truth is usually shared between combatants, but the dangers of extremes and exaggeration must be faced, and perhaps these are better than the cool indifference of the eclectic, sitting apart, holding no form of creed, but contemplating all. It is not good for a man to stand aloof when his brethren are fighting.
In every age some great causes which are God’s are pressing for decision. In many of them we may be disqualified for taking sides. But feel that you are bound to cast your influence on the side which conscience approves, and bound to settle which side that is, Deborah’s fierce curse against Meroz because its people came not up to the help of the Lord against the mighty was deserved.
But the region in which such judicial calmness, which shrinks from taking its side, is most fatal and sadly common, is in regard to our own individual relation to Jesus, and in regard to the establishment of His kingdom among men.
‘He that is not with Me is against Me.’ Neutrality is opposition. Not to gather with Him is to scatter. Not to choose Him is to reject Him.
Gamaliel had a strange notion of what constituted ‘refraining from these men and letting them alone,’ and he betrayed his real position and opposition by his final counsel to scourge them, before letting them go. That is what the world’s neutrality comes to.
How poor a figure this politic ecclesiastic, mostly anxious not to commit himself, ready to let whoever would risk a struggle with Rome, so that he kept out of the fray and survived to profit by it, cuts beside the disciples, who had chosen their side, had done with ‘ifs,’ and went away from the Council rejoicing ‘that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name’! Who would not rather be Peter or John with their bleeding backs than Gamaliel, sitting soft in his presidential chair, and too cautious to commit himself to an opinion whether the name of Jesus was that of a prophet or a pretender?
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv34–39 34-39. At this crisis the madness of the Sadducees…
34-39. At this crisis the madness of the Sadducees was suddenly checked by the prudent counsel of one of the opposite party. The Pharisees were less exasperated, because their leading dogma was sustained by the apostles, and they saw that any imprudent proceedings were likely to involve the whole Sanhedrim in trouble, without regard to party; therefore, Gamaliel interposes his advice. (34) " But a certain Pharisee in the Sanhedrim, named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, arose and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while. " This removal of the prisoners, like that of Peter and John before, was designed to prevent them from taking encouragement from any admissions which might be made during the pending discussion. They were, accordingly, withdrawn. (35) " And he said to them, Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you are about to do respecting these men; (36) For before these days, Theudas arose, declaring himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, attached themselves; who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to nothing. (37) After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up, in the days of the enrollment, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. (38) And now I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this purpose or this work is from men, it will be destroyed; (39) but if it is from God, you are not able to destroy it; lest you even be found to fight against God. "
A question has been raised as to whether Luke is not guilty of an anachronism in this report of Gamaliel's speech, by making him refer to a Theudas, who is mentioned by Josephus, and who flourished many years later, under the reign of Claudius Cæsar. Such a reference could not possibly be made by Gamaliel; and if it was made by Luke, he is not only guilty of the anachronism, but, what is far worse, of giving a false report of Gamaliel's speech. Rather than admit a hypothesis involving such consequences in reference to a historian of unimpeached veracity, we must suppose that some impostor by the name of Theudas did flourish at the time here alluded to by Gamaliel. Judas the Galilean is also mentioned by Josephus, whose account of him agrees with this given by Gamaliel. The enrollment is most likely the same referred to in Luke 2:1 .
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Upon the fate of these two impostors, Gamaliel bases his advice to the Sanhedrim, in reference to the apostles. The moral merits of this advice may be differently estimated, according to the point of view from which he contemplate it. If we regard it as a general rule of procedure in reference to religious movements, it must be regarded as a mere time-serving policy. Instead of waiting to see whether such a movement is going to prove successful or not, before we take ground in reference to it, the lover of truth will promptly investigate and decide its merits without regard to public opinion. But if we regard Gamaliel as only giving a reason why men should not persecute a cause which they are not prepared to accept, it was certainly most judicious advice. When we have decided against a cause, we should render a reason for our decision, and then leave it to the developments of Providence, well assured that whatever is not from God will come to nothing without any violent agency on our part. We should also be afraid to resist with violence or passion any thing bearing a semblance to truth, lest we fight against God, and be ourselves overthrown.
The last clause in Gamaliel's speech, "Lest you be found even to fight against God," indicates a suspicion, on his part, that such a result was by no means impossible. In view of the many miracles which had been wrought by the apostles, and their miraculous deliverance from prison the very night before, it is strange that something more than a suspicion to this effect did not possess the mind of Gamaliel, and of all the Sanhedrim. It was, doubtless, owing to serious misgivings on this point, that the embittered Sadducees yielded so readily to advice from the opposite party.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v38 Gamaliel’s suggestion and the result:
Gamaliel’s suggestion and the result:
v. 38. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught;
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v. 39. but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
v. 40. And to him they agreed; and when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
v. 41. And they departed from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
v. 42. And daily in the Temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Whether Gamaliel secretly favored the cause of Christ, but for various reasons did not join the congregation, or whether he spoke his opinion out of a natural sense of expediency and justice, cannot be decided from the Biblical account. But his purpose in adducing the examples to which he refers, the point that he wishes to make, is this, that the movement which the Sanhedrin was combating must not be suppressed with violence; in fact, there was some doubt as to the wisdom of opposing it at all. His proposition, as he stated it very clearly and emphatically, was that they should stand back from these men, the apostles, and leave them alone. And here Gamaliel adds a proverbial saying or axiom which has not lost its force to this day: If of men this counsel or this work is, it will be utterly destroyed; but if it be of God, ye can destroy neither. "If man’s it be, ’tis bound to die; if God’s it be, it cannot die. " Rightly understood, this rule finds its application at all times. It is true indeed that many a Christian congregation and national Church, which had been planted by God, as the Church of Asia Minor, has been destroyed, and that, on the other hand, many a citadel of Satan, as the kingdom of Antichrist, has continued to this day. But such conditions and circumstances are due to man’s hardness of heart, and the fact that God permits their existing is His punishment upon a stiff-necked people that will not accept the truth. Gamaliel’s advice was accepted as sound and good by all the judges, and they passed a resolution to that effect. The apostles were thereupon brought back into the council chamber, to receive, first of all, a scourging for having transgressed the former command of the Council. See Deu 25:1-3; 2Co 11:24; 2Co 12:10. Before they were released, they were then once more sternly bidden not to speak in the name of Jesus. Note: Those that refuse to accept the Gospel for the salvation of their souls are only embittered and hardened ever more and more with each proclamation of God’s mercy; for the Word of the Gospel becomes for them a savor of death unto death. Instead, however, of intimidating the apostles with this harsh treatment, the judges caused them to give a grand exhibition of faith and trust. Having received their scourging. the disciples left the council-chamber full of joy that they had been found worthy of bearing the reproach of Christ’s name, of having some of the same shame and disgrace heaped upon them that had been laid upon their Lord. And just as openly they carried cut their intention not to obey the Sanhedrin in the matter of denying their Master. They ceased not, every day, in the Temple, as well as in the houses, both publicly and privately, to teach and to preach the name of Christ Jesus, the Savior. The public proclamation of the Word was supplemented by individual instruction, just as it should be in our days. Note: The Word of God cannot be hindered without God’s permission. He holds His sheltering hands over the Christians that proclaim to the world the Word of Life.
Summary.The hypocrites Ananias and Sapphira are struck by the judgment of God, after which the apostles are imprisoned by the Sadducees, delivered by the angel of the Lord, &fend themselves before the Sanhedrin, and are released after a scourging.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv35, 38 pay close attention to
pay close attention to
"think carefully about" or "be cautious about." Gamaliel was warning them not to do something that they would later regret.
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Theudas rose up
Possible meanings are 1) "Theudas rebelled" or 2) "Theudas appeared."
claiming to be somebody
"claiming to be somebody important"
He was killed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "People killed him" (See: Active or Passive)
all who had been obeying him were scattered
This can be stated in active form. AT: "all the people scattered who had been obeying him" or "all who had been obeying him went in different directions" (See: Active or Passive)
came to nothing
This means that they did not do what they had planned to do.
After this man
"After Theudas"
in the days of the census
"during the time of the census"
drew away some people after him
This means that he persuaded some people to rebel with him against the Roman government. AT: "caused many people to follow him" or "caused many people to join him in rebellion" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
Israel
raise
Galilee
census
perish
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv34, 36 5:34 Gamaliel was an eminent Pharisee, a leader in…
5:34 Gamaliel was an eminent Pharisee, a leader in the Jewish high council, and a famous teacher of the law. He was Paul’s teacher during his rabbinical education (see 22:3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.