Acts 5:38, commentary and pictures

It counsels to refrain from opposing men and leave them alone to let their counsel or work stand or fall on its origin, for if it is merely human it will fail and come to nothing on its own, but if it is from God it cannot be overthrown and to oppose it is to fight against God.
It was the advice of Gamaliel, a learned Pharisee of great reputation and caution, given with deliberation after having the apostles removed, when the priests and rulers enraged by their bold proclamation of Christ with signs and growing believers intended to put them to death, moved upon his heart by the Spirit of God to prevent their death while evil angels urged their destruction.
He proved it by Theudas who gathered about four hundred men before he was slain and scattered to nothing and by Judas of Galilee who drew away much people before he perished and was dispersed, and his words prevailed so the rulers were restrained from killing the apostles and released them to continue teaching, though they still beat them and ordered silence.
The outcome of every counsel or work is decided by whether it is of men or of God, so that what is not of God cannot be forwarded by human will, prudence or pride, and what is of God cannot be stopped by human power, ridicule, slander or intimidation but will advance and triumph.
So emperors and rulers should leave reform to its outcome rather than oppose it hastily, opposers of God's servants labor in vain, and ministers must not lay hands to stop a religious awakening because of accompanying errors and unbalanced minds but let it alone, correct privately, and gather the interest, lest in meddling without light they grieve the Spirit and fight against God.

Gamaliel's Counsel and Setting

The counsel was given by Gamaliel, a learned Pharisee and doctor of great reputation, a man of caution and clear intellect holding high position, addressing the men of Israel concerning the apostles. He spoke after having the prisoners removed from the council chamber, then with deliberation and calmness warned them to take heed and be careful what they did to these men. He understood the murderous purpose of those who had put Christ to death and recognized the voice of God in the words the disciples had just spoken.

It was uttered when the priests and rulers were enraged by the disciples' bold proclamation in Jerusalem of Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation to give repentance and forgiveness, accompanied by signs and healings and by growing numbers of believers. Peter's witness that God had raised Jesus whom they slew and exalted Him had stirred them to plan how to kill the apostles, and they intended violent death for the prisoners. Gamaliel saw that the violent step contemplated would lead to terrible consequences.

His intervention was moved by the Spirit of the Lord, God sending an angel to move upon his heart to raise up from within their own ranks a voice in favor of the disciples to prevent their death, while evil angels were moving upon the priests and elders to put them to death. The sense of his words was to refrain from the men and let them alone, to let the movement stand or fall on its origin. If this counsel or work were merely human it would fail and come to nothing on its own, but if it were from God it could not be overthrown, and to oppose it would be to fight against God.

He therefore counseled waiting until the movement's character was clear rather than using violence hastily against it. He proved the point by Theudas, who boasted himself to be somebody and gathered about four hundred men before he was slain and his followers were scattered and brought to nothing. He added the case of Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, who drew away much people before he perished and his followers were dispersed.

The council agreed with his reasoning, and his words prevailed to restrain the rulers from killing the apostles, so they were not put to death then. They released them to continue teaching about Jesus, though they still had them beaten and ordered them to stop preaching in Jesus' name. The disciples' continued triumph over opposition in Christ's strength showed the success of their work.

Principle and Its Application

The test of any counsel or work is its origin, whether it is of men or of God, for what is merely human will come to nothing if left alone. If it is not of God no human will can forward it, and no human prudence, will, pride, haste or opposition can give it effect, but only the counsel of God can establish it. If it is of God it cannot be put down or overthrown but will advance and triumph in spite of every opposing influence. No human power can stop it, and ridicule, slander, falsehood and intimidation against its workers cannot hinder the truth, for God keeps those who have given their lives to Him and to advance His cause, and takes care of opposing pens so that nothing said against the truth stops its advancement.

God has a work to accomplish in the earth so that truth shall triumph, and what bears the marks of His hand will go forward and not come to nothing. He chooses simple instruments to carry forward this great work, yet they only carry out the mind and will of the great Master who stands at the head of the work. Continued conversions, large congregations, and people coming to hear truth despite all that is said and done to stop them prove the work is of God and will go forward. Attacks meant to overwhelm it only give greater access to the hearts of the truly honest.

Every hindrance to that work will bring God's sure punishment and judgment upon the actors, as with Ananias and Sapphira. Every deceptive and unjust dealing in the Lord's work, every oppressive act, every use of lawyers to take advantage of circumstances, every exorbitant price exacted, every connivance of fraud, and every diverting of His means into a wrong channel brings that judgment. The same rule judged the reform of Luther in bringing forward new truths, whose success depended not on human prudence, will or opposition but on whether it was God's work and accorded with His will. The emperor, electors and States should therefore leave the matter to its outcome rather than oppose it, since a human religious work will ultimately fail if it is not of God, while a work of God cannot be overthrown and to resist it risks fighting against God. This answered the charges that he acted hastily, from impulse, from pride and forwardness and without direction from God, just as Christ and all the martyrs were put to death as proud despisers of the wisdom of their times.

So also efforts by those who oppose God's servants and try to destroy confidence in their work and message will be in vain if the work is of God. Ministers must refrain from laying hands on a religious effort to stop it by declaring it is not the work of God. When God is giving people warning and drawing them to take hold of truth, Satan will be on the ground working through unbalanced minds and imperfect characters, so that mistakes and errors will be present, yet the deep movings of the Spirit of God remain genuine. The right course is to let the work alone and join it, correcting errors in as private a manner as possible, putting no arguments or excuses in the minds of opposers to resist the truth, and making the most of the interest to gather outsiders, because to meddle with the work of God without light from heaven is a delicate, dangerous matter that grieves the Spirit of God. The same reasoning holds when it is argued that Paul should not be opposed if his message comes from God, since human opposition cannot defeat a work that is truly of God and fighting against it means fighting against God.