Read
33When the council members heard this, they became so angry they wanted to kill the apostles. 34But one of the members was the Pharisee Gamaliel, a highly respected teacher. He ordered the apostles to be taken out of the room for a little while. 35Then he said to the council:
Men of Israel, be careful what you do with these men. 36Not long ago Theudas claimed to be someone important, and about 400 men joined him. But he was killed, and all his followers were scattered. That was the end of that.
37Later, when the people of our nation were being counted, Judas from Galilee showed up. A lot of people followed him, but he was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38So I advise you to stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If what they are planning is something of their own doing, it will fail. 39 But if God is behind it, you cannot stop it anyway, unless you want to fight against God.
The council members agreed with what he said, 40and they called the apostles back in. They had them beaten with a whip and warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Then they let them go.
41The apostles left the council and were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus. 42Every day they spent time in the temple and in one home after another. They never stopped teaching and telling the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Reflect
When the apostles burst upon the Jerusalem scene after Jesus ascended and the Holy Spirit came, they continually urged people to recognize in the gospel the truth of God. “Jesus is the Messiah” and “God commands all people to repent and believe this good news!” The Jewish authorities struggled with these truth claims. Was this the “will of God” for Israel, to follow Jesus? But these same leaders had conspired to have Jesus executed. For them to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that his message expresses God’s will required huge, fundamental changes. Could they risk such repentance and submission? But if they persisted along their current course, they risked continued conflict with God and his condemnation. They could not decide which course to choose.
This is the dilemma that every human being faces when we hear the good news about Jesus. If we believe it, we see all of our life to this point as one mass of thoughts and actions set in opposition to the loving will of God. When we accept this verdict, we have to tell God how sorry we are. But if we reject the good news, we continue to serve in the ranks of those who oppose God at every turn. Gamaliel’s words echo in our ears – “unless you want to fight against God.” This is what Paul discovered when he met Jesus on the Damascus Road – he was fighting against Jesus, the Messiah. Are you fighting God or at peace with him and working on his side?
Respond
Dear Father God, I acknowledge that my sin represents my hostility to your will. I am sorry that so often I discover my ways are not your ways. Please forgive me. I ask that your Spirit would be active in my life to teach me “your ways” and help me oppose evil and be Jesus’ kingdom agent today. Amen.
Larry Perkins
Dr. Perkins is professor emeritus of biblical studies at Northwest Baptist Seminary and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) of Trinity Western University with primary teaching focus in New Testament and Septuagint Studies. He is also director emeritus of NBS’ Korean Language Programs division. He is one of the founding members of the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies. Dr. Perkins served as Dean and President of NBS, as well as Dean of ACTS, the Graduate School of Theological Studies for Trinity Western University. He is married to Judy and they have four children and eleven grandchildren. They are partners with SouthRidge Fellowship Baptist Church, Langley, B.C. Books: Exodus, in A New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under that Title, ed. Albert Pietersma and Benjamin Wright (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007; The Pastoral Letters. A Handbook on the Greek Text (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017); The Art of Kubernēsis (1 Corinthians 12:28). Leading as the Church Board Chairperson (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2019).