Are you suffering dishonor for the Name?

“If it is of God...”

(Acts 5:34-42, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 26, 2011)

34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.

The leaders in Jerusalem were infuriated with the apostles. They had prohibited them from teaching in the name of Jesus, and had even imprisoned them when Peter and the rest insisted that they had to obey God rather than these leaders of the Jews. Then the Lord had acted. He sent an angel who brought them all out of prison without the guards even being aware of what had happened. That messenger of the Lord had instructed them explicitly, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” This “Life” that they were to proclaim had everything to do with Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah. When the apostles were again questioned by the Sanhedrin, they reiterated what they had previously firmly stated: “We must obey God rather than men.”

The thing that particularly enraged the Jewish leaders was Peter's final statement that the Holy Spirit had been given by God to those who obey him. This council of elders in Jerusalem had not obeyed God. They had not received the Son of God as the Jewish Messiah. They had not welcomed the changing of covenants that was unstoppable in the death and resurrection of Jesus. They were agents of the death of Jesus and persecutors of His church, and they were unwilling to receive the repentance and forgiveness that the Lord had for His people. They were not humble before the Lord's miracle-working representatives on earth. They wanted to kill them.

But one of them, Gamaliel, thought this to be a very unwise approach. This Gamaliel was a teacher of the Law. He was a very respected man “held in honor by all the people.” We learn later in Acts that Saul of Tarsus, who would eventually be the Apostle Paul, had studied under him. Gamaliel had enough standing in the Sanhedrin to order that the disciples of Jesus be brought outside while he addressed the Sanhedrin.

35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”

Gamaliel's reasoning was straightforward. He led them away from their own passions, and urged them to take a moment to consider what they would do. He brought up two cases of other men that had led groups with their claims to be somebody. A man by the name of Theudas and someone else known as Judas the Galilean had risen up and attracted a following sometime before. Both men had died, and shortly after that, their followers had dispersed and come to nothing. Movements like these end by themselves, and persecuting them too much can be counter-productive to those who want to be done with them.

Gamaliel applied this reasoning to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth? If the council of Jewish rulers knew Jesus and his followers to be just another movement among men, couldn't they be confident that the disciples would be scattered without a lot of heavy persecution? If so, the best thing that the Sanhedrin could do would be to keep away from these simple men. They could let them alone with confidence. The movement would fail on its own.

From the vantage point of our day, we can see that the Jesus movement did not fail. But even the Sanhedrin really knew better back then. Theudas and Judas the Galilean did not rise from the dead. There were no guards that reported back any strange events. Men did not have to make up a story about how disciples had come and stolen away the bodies of those men. There were no reports of resurrection appearances. There was no account of changed lives among their followers or heavenly signs and miracles being performed in the name of Theudas. No one had to prohibit people from teaching in the name of Judas the Galilean. Thousands were not gathering and being baptized in either of those names. The reason was that both of those movements were of men, but the Jesus movement was of God, and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it. Gamaliel had hinted about this: “If it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” The Sanhedrin had to know the force of Gamaliel's reasoning, but these rulers were not willing to receive the truth. Jesus had been killed. The Sanhedrin had been instrumental in the attack against Jesus and in his death. But the death of Jesus did not end Christianity. It ignited it.

So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

This speech was Gamaliel's advice to the rest of the Sanhedrin. Maybe the rest thought it was all they could do, given the situation. So they took his advice. But look at the way that they still found room to express their murderous passions. They called in the apostles and they beat them. Then they tried one more time to force them into submission by commanding them not to speak in the name of Jesus. But they did not kill them. They let them go.

41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

How would Peter, James, John, and the other apostles react to this miscarriage of justice? What would be their most powerful motivator? Personal rejection? Disappointment with the events in their lives? Hatred of those who should have treated them better?

Thankfully the true story is much better than any of these alternatives. They believed in the cross as their salvation. They also believed in it as their privilege as Christian believers. It had been granted to them not only to believe in Jesus, but also to suffer for His name's sake. They knew that the blood of Christ came out of His wounds. Why should any of us be surprised when Jesus does more good from our wounds than from what others might see as our strengths? If we believe in the power of the cross, then we can be patient in trial and even rejoice in tribulation, though the dishonor we suffer is unjust.

Very few Americans are given the privilege today of dying for the name of Jesus Christ. Can we receive it as joy to suffer dishonor for His matchless name? This will help us and will be a good encouragement to the church and a powerful testimony of grace for the world. We cannot expect that kind of miracle from followers of Theudas or the people who thought that Judas of Galilee was something; but it makes perfect sense for those who are filled the Spirit of Christ.

They did not park on their sufferings forever. There was power there, but they got up again and did what the Lord of glory wanted them to do. They obeyed God more than men. Every day they went to temple and did what the Sanhedrin had forbidden. They preached and taught that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah. Not only did they do that in the temple, but they went to the various houses where thousands of Christians were worshiping in Jerusalem every day. They preached and taught in those homes the same message of Jesus. This is what the church has been doing for centuries. God has commanded it. The entire enterprise is of God and is unstoppable.

1. Who was Gamaliel?

2. What was Gamaliel's advice and reasoning to the council?

3. What did the council do?

4. How did the apostles respond to all this?

OT Passage: Habakkuk 3:17-19