And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
This warning stands near the end of Acts 5, after Ananias and Sapphira died for keeping back part of the price while pretending to give all, lying to the Holy Ghost and tempting the Spirit of the Lord, and after many signs and wonders were done by the apostles' hands, with multitudes added to the Lord and the sick and those vexed with unclean spirits healed. The priests and rulers were enraged because the accused apostles had charged them with the murder of Christ, and they meant to put the prisoners to death without further trial. They were ready to kill them without Roman authority.
God raised up Gamaliel from within the council itself to stay their violence. He was a learned Pharisee and doctor of great reputation, learning, high position, and extreme caution, with clear intellect. He recognized the voice of God in the disciples' words and saw that the violent course would lead to terrible consequences. Before speaking in behalf of the prisoners he had them removed, because he knew well the elements he had to deal with, that the murderers of Christ would hesitate at nothing to carry out their purpose. Then with great deliberation and calmness he warned the men of Israel to take heed what they intended to do touching these men.
His warning called for careful consideration and restraint from violent action. It counseled leaving the apostles alone until the nature and outcome of their movement became clear, rather than acting without weighing the consequences. He argued from the examples of Theudas and Judas of Galilee that movements begun by human leaders collapsed after those leaders died, but work begun by God could not be overthrown. To kill the apostles without proper judgment could bring grave consequences. To oppose a work of God would mean fighting against God.
His counsel prevailed and checked the plan to kill them. The chapter as a whole warns that when dealings in the Lord's work are deceptive and not straightforward — oppressive, unjust, using lawyers to take advantage, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving at fraud, hindering the work, and diverting His means into a wrong channel — the Lord will just as surely bring punishment and judgment on the actors as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, in order that the truth shall triumph.
This warning stands near the end of Acts 5, after Ananias and Sapphira died for keeping back part of the price while pretending to give all, lying to the Holy Ghost and tempting the Spirit of the Lord, and after many signs and wonders were done by the apostles' hands, with multitudes added to the Lord and the sick and those vexed with unclean spirits healed. The priests and rulers were enraged because the accused apostles had charged them with the murder of Christ, and they meant to put the prisoners to death without further trial. They were ready to kill them without Roman authority.
God raised up Gamaliel from within the council itself to stay their violence. He was a learned Pharisee and doctor of great reputation, learning, high position, and extreme caution, with clear intellect. He recognized the voice of God in the disciples' words and saw that the violent course would lead to terrible consequences. Before speaking in behalf of the prisoners he had them removed, because he knew well the elements he had to deal with, that the murderers of Christ would hesitate at nothing to carry out their purpose. Then with great deliberation and calmness he warned the men of Israel to take heed what they intended to do touching these men.
His warning called for careful consideration and restraint from violent action. It counseled leaving the apostles alone until the nature and outcome of their movement became clear, rather than acting without weighing the consequences. He argued from the examples of Theudas and Judas of Galilee that movements begun by human leaders collapsed after those leaders died, but work begun by God could not be overthrown. To kill the apostles without proper judgment could bring grave consequences. To oppose a work of God would mean fighting against God.
His counsel prevailed and checked the plan to kill them. The chapter as a whole warns that when dealings in the Lord's work are deceptive and not straightforward — oppressive, unjust, using lawyers to take advantage, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving at fraud, hindering the work, and diverting His means into a wrong channel — the Lord will just as surely bring punishment and judgment on the actors as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, in order that the truth shall triumph.