Following the apostles’ activities of preaching and healing, the Jews became furious and decided to execute them. They were arrested and brought before Sanhedrin where they were questioned on the reasons that made them continue preaching the name of Jesus despite the warning they had received. The apostles answered that according to their belief they are commanded to obey God and not man. This statement was not received well by the Jews, and they decided to put the apostles to death. Gamaliel, having critically analyzed the apostles’ teachings, found that there was some truth in what they were teaching. They could heal and drive away demons. There were cases when the apostles were arrested, only to be released later when it was discovered that the God they preached was superior to the extent of intervening on their behalf. Gamaliel was a teacher of the law who was obeyed by many (Masters 1995, p.16). On the arrest of the apostles, he stood and cautioned the Jews about their actions. In Acts 5:39, he warned them that if the teachings from the apostles really came from God, their action of subjecting them to death will not be a fight against the apostles only but will also be a fight against God. He asserted that if they were teaching from God’s teachings, killing them would not stop their effort at preaching the gospel (The Holy Bible, 2008).
Gamaliel’s advice was seen to work for the good of the Christian church which was still young at the time. Having been persuaded by Gamaliel, the Jews decided to punish the apostles and let them go. They were subjected to beating and allowed to leave. However, this did not deter the apostles from going on with their activities of preaching and teaching God’s word. To them, suffering as a result of preaching the word of God was worthy. They believed that by suffering due to their activities, they would be rewarded as promised in the bible (Masters 1995, pp. 17-36). For Peter, he believed that nothing in this world elevated a Christian’s level of service in his or her lifetime than suffering due to preaching the word of God. This made him to have the courage to go house- to- house preaching and encouraging many to accept the word of God. According to the bible, those who suffer because of the word of God get the spirit of God. This word made them have courage to continue preaching the gospel.
The more the apostles preached the gospel, the more the number of those who converted increased. They engaged in the activity of helping the needy such as the widows. The need to cater for the widows led to the apostles electing seven men amongst them who were to take this responsibility, even as the rest continued preaching the gospel. Gamaliel he had warned that if they were not preaching from God’s teachings, they would be continued expanding their services to various regions including Samaria. The ability of the apostles to heal and do different miracles made many people believe in their doing harm to themselves and they would not survive for long. This made Jews to allow them to go on with their activities without interruptions (Maxey 2003, para. 2). The word spread to Samaria where Peter and John were sent to preach. The apostles baptized all who accepted the name of god and prayed for them to gain the Holy Spirit. The assertion made by Gamaliel that the apostles were to scatter in near future if they were not preaching the truth gospel made them strive to prove that they were preaching the right gospel and that their teachings were not coming from themselves but from God (Maxey 2003, para. 3).
According to Gamaliel, if the apostles were really preaching the word of God, they were to survive but if they were not, they would perish. Thus, he saw no reason for the Jews to be prevented from going on with their preaching. As the Jews heeded his advice, this made it easy for the apostles to preach and heal, even as the Jews watched their actions from a distance. They got the courage to even stand before the court and proclaim the word of God. In the past, a person who proclaimed the word of God was subjected to death. This made a lot of people fear to spread the gospel. It is believed that Gamaliel was a strong believer in Christian teachings. As a resulted, he could openly stand and protect the apostles. His authority in the Sanhedrin made his directions obeyed by the Jews. Despite his believing in the apostles’ teachings, he remained a member of the Sanhedrin in order to protect them. This made it possible for apostles to spread the gospel without being interrupted by the Jews (McKeever 2010, para.2).
Based on one’s theological approach, Gamaliel’s counsel to the Sanhedrin can be considered as one of the wisest advice to have ever been issued. It is evident that if an intention is in accordance with to the will of God, managing to bring it down becomes very difficult. No matter how much one may try to bring to naught an intention preordained by God, its purpose is always accomplished. This underlines the reason why it is imperative for people to make proper considerations before deciding to thwart an intention attributed to God. On some occasions, relying on Gamaliel’s advice of waiting for the effects of an action might be dangerous in cases where the life of people is in danger. In cases where the intention is clearly seen to mislead people, leaving it till we see its effects might be detrimental. This requires people to use their wisdom in making decisions on the line of action to take. This is where most people fail too understand leading too them fighting over issues that are not very important. For many years, there have been numerous religious movements deceiving people. Based on Gamaliel’s statement, it implies that all these religions come from God for they have been able to thrive for a long period of time. This is where people need to take caution when making their judgments because in some instances the advise my be misleading (McKeever 2010, para. 3-5).
Many cult leaders have also used the advice wrongly. Whenever one appears to criticize their beliefs, they tend to warn them that their actions amount to fighting against God. This has made it hard for many to correctly scrutinize religions based on teachings from the bible due to fear that they might be fighting against God. As a result, many have been misled into joining wrong religious sects. There are instances where one is expected to go against the statement.
Reference List
Masters, P., 1995. Be ware of the counsel of Gamaliel. The Metropolitan Tabernacle, pp. 14-36.
Maxey, A., 2003. Guidance From Gamaliel: Analyzing the Aptness of his Advice.
McKeever, B., 2010. Was Gamaliel’s Advice in Acts 5:38 Biblically Sound?
The Holy Bible, 2008. New International Version.