Daily Devotional • August 13
A Reading from Acts 5:27-42
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gama′li-el, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men. 36 For before these days Theu′das arose, giving himself out to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was slain and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him; he also 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 men, 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!”
40 So they took his advice, 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 at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Meditation
The Pharisee Gamaliel is a member of the Sanhedrin and one of St. Paul’s teachers. He was known as a “liberal” and was said to be honored by all. It was the “other” party in Judaism, the priestly Sadducees, who ordered the apostles to be arrested for preaching about Jesus in the Temple. But when an angel liberated them from prison, they returned to preaching in the Temple — a defiant and courageous decision. This time the apostles are brought before the Sanhedrin where the high priest accused them of trying “to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Peter replies that they must obey God and not men, enraging his hearers such that they want to kill them. That could have been the end of the Christian movement.
Gamaliel, however, was not afraid to speak up and urge caution in judging them. He reminds his peers of recent history: there have been other men claiming to be “someone” whose followers were dispersed and came to nothing. He advises, “Keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God.” His words of wise restraint are effective, so the Council “only” has the apostles beaten and charged not to preach in the name of Jesus. There is no evidence that Gamaliel eventually becomes a follower of Jesus, but his counsel to refrain from condemning Jesus’s first disciples is courageous and significant. We often long to take sides and commit to the rightness of our cause. But sometimes we might want to follow his example and advise patience until it becomes clearer whether God is doing something new, as he often proclaims in Scripture he is doing.
The Rev. Dr. Jean McCurdy Meade is a retired priest of the Diocese of Louisiana, formerly the rector of Mount Olivet Church, New Orleans.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Idaho – The Episcopal Church
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Dallas