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Acts 5:27-42
27The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
We followers of Jesus don’t think very well of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish high council that condemned Jesus and turned him over to the Romans demanding that he be crucified. But today’s reading tells a story that’s interesting and surprising on a number of levels, one of which is that a member of that council that says something so wise that we should probably all think about it sometimes.
We should start this Reflection by reviewing what happened in the previous passages in the Acts of the Apostles. Under Peter’s leadership, the apostles had been going around the city of Jerusalem, telling the story of Jesus – including his death and resurrection – and performing miracles in his name. Some of those miracles had been performed at the temple itself. Not surprisingly, the religious authorities found this threatening and had them arrested and imprisoned. Then they called a meeting of the Jewish high council, the Sanhedrin.
At that meeting, the Sanhedrin orders the apostles to quit their public ministry in the city. But speaking as the leader of the apostles, Peter boldly refuses – then denounces the council of responsibility for the murder of Jesus. Not surprisingly, many members of the Sanhedrin are furious, and want to have the apostles executed. But then, in the middle of the uproar, a dissenting voice is heard.
The voice is that of a man named Gamaliel, who is said to be “honored by all the people.” Gamaliel was probably the most revered teacher in the land. The apostle Paul proudly identified himself as one of his disciples. Being taught by Gamaliel was probably the equivalent of an Ivy League education in that time and place. And when you read the words Gamaliel speaks on this occasion, you can see why he was so well respected.
Gamaliel points out that a number of Jewish leaders had appeared and led revolts against the Romans. (Some of them had even claimed to be the messiah.) But in each case, the Romans had killed the so-called messiahs, and their movements had disappeared without a trace. So Gamaliel offers some incredibly wise advice: “Leave these men alone! . . . For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
These are obviously wise thoughts in retrospect, and well worth keeping in mind. Something new arises in the life of God’s people, and our first reaction might be overwhelmingly negative. We might think we’re absolutely certain we know the mind of God. But in this story, that’s what the members of the Sanhedrin thought.
And throughout the history of the church, lots of Christians have been equally certain they knew the mind of God. Certain that God wanted a single church ruled by a pope in Rome. Certain that God wanted Jews hunted down and burned at the stake by the Spanish Inquisition. Certain that God had ordained the institution of slavery, and wanted it maintained in the American South. Certain that God wanted Native American children taken away from their families and “Christianized.”
Today, some Christians are equally certain today that God doesn’t want women serving as clergy or as church leaders. And that God still considers gay and trans people an abomination.
It seems that in lots of cases, the movement of the Holy Spirit can be seen clearly only in retrospect. God works in ways that may take years, or even generations, to see.
So the bottom line of Gamaliel’s wise advice here, it seems to me, is a call for humility among God’s people – a call to take a breath and restrain our first reactions to the new and the novel. Because those reactions usually have more to do with our own personal tastes and preferences than they do with the mind of God. Gamaliel was advising us to give God some room to work, and to keep our eyes and ears and hearts open to perceive what new thing he may be doing.
This should resonate especially with Reformed followers of Jesus like Presbyterians. Our part of the church has for centuries had a motto that says we are “the reformed church, always being reformed.” That motto recognizes that we never have everything right, so the Holy Spirit is always at work among us and within us. If anything new is of human origin, it will surely fail. But if it is of God, resistance is futile.
Let’s pray. Lord, protect us from thinking that we can always recognize what you are doing in the world. Give us the humility to remember that our wisdom is limited, and the discernment to hold up all things to the example of Jesus. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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