But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while. Then he said to his colleagues, "Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered. "So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!" (Acts 5:34-39 NLT)
A little background, Peter and the other Apostles had just been miraculously broken out of prison by an angel of the Lord, then they were all publicly arrested and brought before the religious leaders.
I love Gamaliel! I love his logic, and I love that he stood alone and stood for God. If this guy Jesus was not from God, then this movement will fizzle out, but if he was from God, then you will never stop this movement. You will be fighting against God himself!
The fact of the matter is that Jesus was sent from God, and if the council had not listened to Gamaliel, then the Apostles would have been dead, or perhaps God would have intervened in some other way, but the movement would have continued... I say God would have intervened in some other way, because I believe that God was speaking through Gamaliel. God was using this man's tongue, his knowledge and people's respect for him, to get His point across to the leaders. Jesus was and is the Savior of the World!
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