Gamaliel's Advice - Acts 5:33-41 - Comments by Mike Kines

The apostles were arrested and put in jail, but an angel freed them and told them to preach in the temple. They were brought before religious leaders and testified about Jesus. The leaders were angry because the apostles claimed to be on God's side. One leader, Gamaliel, advised caution, saying if the apostles were not of God, their movement would fail. The leaders beat the apostles and let them go, but the apostles rejoiced because they loved Jesus more than their own lives. So we're in Acts chapter 5 verse 33 through 41 today, and this section of scripture is subtitled Gamaliel's Advice. And so just as a kind of a recap over what's happened here, the apostles were arrested, they were put in jail, an angel came and got them out of jail, told them to go into the temple and preach. So they went in the temple and they were preaching, and the next day when they called the court to convene, they were sent to the jail and they were already out. And so then somebody came in and said, hey, they're in the temple preaching. So they went and got them and brought them into the religious court there. So they're standing before these Pharisees and Sadducees and they give their testimony of the Lord Jesus. And they made a statement that the Holy Ghost has been given to all those who obey Him. In other words, they're putting themselves on God's side. Well, this infuriated the religious leaders, as you might imagine, because the apostles are claiming they're on God's side, and by implication, the religious leaders are not on God's side. Another reason why, when you read this, so they were so mad, they were so mad at them, they were going to kill them. But there was one of the religious leaders that stood up at this time, and they put the apostles aside, and this one religious leader, his name is Gamaliel, stood up and he said to these people, he reasoned with them, and he said, and he described how there was these other men who had rose up and made a name for themselves and had built a gathering or following, but each time they were dispersed or it came to nothing. And so his advice was, you know, if these men are just like these other men, what they're doing is going to come to nothing. But if it isn't, if it's of God, then you're going to find yourself fighting against God. You listen to what this Gamaliel is saying, and it makes you wonder, what did this man know about the Lord? It almost seems like he was a closet believer in the Lord Jesus, even though he was part of this religious group that was a leader there, and he was obviously well-respected. It makes you wonder, though, what he knew because of his advice that he was given. Now there are some other things that you can glean from what he's saying here about why were these religious leaders so mad with the apostles. Part of the reason why is because the apostles, there was a lot of people that were leaving the synagogue and following these apostles. The Christian church was growing by leaps and bounds, and this really made them upset because if you want to get a religious leader mad, start making a name for yourself and start taking their sheep away from them. This will make them very mad because that means you're taking away their provision and their protection, because these religious leaders' power comes from the people. The more numbers they have, it's just like the world system. This is the same principles by which the world system operates. But the apostles weren't doing that. The apostles were not trying to make a name for themselves. What they were doing was they were magnifying and lifting up the name of Jesus. And you know, Jesus says, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself. And so people were getting saved and coming to the Lord. They were not coming to the apostles, they were coming to the Lord. But the religious leaders thought the apostles were trying to build their own religious institution and gaining followers. And so this is why they were so angry with them, is because they felt threatened by the apostles. It really all comes down to they were afraid that these apostles were going to take away their prestige and their money, basically, they were going to take away their position. But Gamaliel reasoned with them, and they listened to Gamaliel, amazingly, they listened to Gamaliel. And so they threatened the apostles and they beat them and then let them go. And what's even more amazing is that when the apostles were let go, they went rejoicing. They had been counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus Christ. And that really should cause us to pause and think about that for a while. How is it possible that these men could rejoice because they suffered in the name of Jesus? And I'll tell you what my guess is. My guess is, is because they love Jesus. They love Jesus more than they love their own lives. They love Jesus more than they love themselves. And for them, it was an honor and it was a privilege to suffer for the name of Jesus. It was an honor and a privilege because they loved Him more than they loved their own lives. That's my opinion of why they rejoice, because they love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you. The Lord give you peace. Amen.