The Week That Changed The World Devotional April 4

ACTS 5:33-39 | 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named
Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 35 Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, consider
carefully what you propose to do to these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him, but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”

Gamaliel was a great Jewish scholar who lived during the time of Jesus. His grandfather was Hillel the Elder, a legendary scribe. In Acts, he expresses what I call “Gamaliel’s Rule.” The disciples have been preaching with great effect in Jerusalem and then are jailed by the authorities. Their miraculous release and continued teaching, in defiance of the official ban on their proclamation, has enraged the leadership—they are ready to kill the disciples. Gamaliel advises caution—reminding them that God’s will is revealed in history.
Previous Messiah claimants arose, and their movements flourished until their leaders died, and then they withered. If Jesus is like Theudas or Judas the Galilean, then a similar thing will occur. The authorities have no need to suppress what God does not support. But if God is behind the Jesus movement, “you will not be able to overthrow them!” Wait and see.

This advice makes sense. It also throws into belief the incredible miracle that was the survival and triumph of the early church. Without an army or an administration or a treasury, this little band would overcome the greatest pagan empire in history. Roman opposition, local and imperial, was a failure. Today, there are billions of Christians, or “little Christs,” and Little Caesars is the name of a pizza chain.

Could this have happened without a living leader, based simply on three years of itinerant ministry in the outback of the Roman empire by a Jewish carpenter? The Resurrection is real.

The church is a natural part of our landscape—but it is also an unlikely, nearly impossible reality. Do you agree?

Gracious God,
Thank You for the church. May I help it to grow and flourish.
Amen.