An interesting man...

When they [the members of the Sanhedrin] heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them [the apostles] to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honoured by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 

Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men... I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Acts 5:33-40

An interesting man, Gamaliel.

A Pharisee, he was highly honoured among the Jews, both as a teacher of the law and as a man of great godliness. (According to Acts 22:3, Saul of Tarsus, known to us as the apostle Paul, was a student of his.) Here in Acts 5 we see him in action…

The Jewish council (the Sanhedrin) has met to decide how to stop the apostles from preaching about Jesus. We read that “they were furious and wanted to put them to death”. But Gamaliel stands up and advises caution: “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

Luke adds, “His speech persuaded them”. And so the apostles were allowed to go free (though only after being flogged).

It’s a fascinating little episode. It triggers various thoughts…

First, a warning: beware of prejudice!

Gamaliel’s intervention reminds us that while, in general, the Pharisees were very anti-Jesus (Jesus himself of course was pretty stern with them, calling them “hypocrites”) there was another side to the picture. Though Gamaliel was a Pharisee, he spoke up in defence of the apostles.

Luke also tells us in his Gospel that on at least three occasions Jesus was invited to meals in the homes of Pharisees (7:36, 11:37, 14:1). Pharisees could be friendly!

And let’s not forget Nicodemus. This man who “came to Jesus by night”, a “teacher of Israel” who addressed this Galilean nobody Jesus as “Rabbi”, as a “teacher who has come from God” (John 3); this man, who helped Joseph of Arimathea give dignified burial to the body of Jesus (John 19); this humble, teachable man Nicodemus was… yes, a Pharisee (John 3:1).

The Pharisees as a whole were indeed enemies of Jesus; but it seems they weren’t all bad!

It’s very natural to us, when we come across groups of people we disagree with, to dismiss them out of hand, to “tar them all with the same brush”. But that is prejudice. If only we would take the time and trouble to get to know them a little we might find ourselves pleasantly surprised. If only we could summon up a little of the humility of Nicodemus we might find we have things to learn from people we arrogantly thought ourselves superior to. Are we up for that?

Beware of prejudice!

Second, going back to Acts 5, a question: Should we praise Gamaliel for his wisdom and moderation, or should we criticise him for sitting on the fence? I think you can probably guess what answer I would give to that question!

I heard a well-known preacher once denounce Gamaliel for his failure to stand up firmly for Jesus. He took him as a type of a particular person – the person who wants to have it both ways and who is afraid to risk everything for Christ’s sake.

I was a very young Christian at the time – I think I may have been still in my teens. But even then I remember feeling vaguely uncomfortable with this understanding of the Gamaliel story. It wasn’t until much later, with a little added maturity, that I was able to put my finger on why.

What I came to see was this. These were still the very early days of the Gospel - Luke, the writer of Acts, doesn’t make clear how long it has been since the events of the first Easter; but you certainly get the impression that it was only a matter of weeks, perhaps even just days.

So can we really expect Gamaliel to have already worked out his response to the preaching of Christ crucified and risen? I personally don’t think so.

So where does this lead us?

Just here: Gamaliel reminds us that every man and woman is on a journey when it comes to their thinking about God – just as we ourselves were (and still are). And journeys, by their very nature, take time. It’s true that those who know the truth of the gospel well but refuse to say yes to it are in a bad way: for Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30).

Yes, indeed. But didn’t Jesus also say, “Whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:50)? And doesn’t that fit Gamaliel’s position exactly?

The fact is that, to our very limited eyes, not everything is cut and dried, black and white. Let’s have the humility to recognise that reality – and, perhaps, see Gamaliel as a good example of it.

Thank God that he alone knows the truth about every individual, and that he alone is equipped to judge. Who knows? - we may be rubbing shoulders with Gamaliels every day of our lives…

Father, I pray for all the Gamaliels in my life – please use me to draw them to that point of putting their trust in Jesus crucified and risen. Amen.