Prophecy

Passage: Acts 5:17-42

One of the dynamics that comes out regularly in accounts of the early church is conflict between the Jewish religious establishment and the community of Christ’s disciples. The Sanhedrin – a collection of elders who govern Jerusalem – serves both a religious and political purpose. They serve as a kind of court, enforcing Judaic law and they maintaining social order. In Acts 5 the apostles are arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. They’re brought up on charges of preaching in Jesus’ name.

In response to the charges, Peter says, “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

The Sanhedrin erupts with cries of “Heresy!” and “Treason!” They clamber for the apostles’ blood.

But when things quiet down a respected elder named Gamaliel stands up. He addresses the group: “Friends, we’re obviously not going to resolve this today. These men are convinced they’re right. Nothing we do is going to change their minds. If they’re wrong, their movement will eventually fizzle out. We’ve seen religious sects come and go. This is no different. In fact, the bigger a deal we make out of this Jesus, the more people will believe there’s something to him. And if, on the off chance, this is from God, then we can’t stop it anyway.”

The Sanhedrin seems satisfied with Gamaliel’s logic. They assume, of course, the former. That this is a flash-in-the-pan religious movement that will burn out as quickly as it flared up. We know better. Gamaliel’s appeal turned out to be prophetic. He said, “…if [this] is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Two thousand years later neither Gamaliel nor the Sanhedrin nor any other force that has aligned itself against Christ’s disciples has been able to stop the message from getting out. Could there be any doubt who’s behind it?