CHAPTER 5
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:1-2
Marshall says of this story that it, “…must be ranked among the most difficult for modern readers of Acts…” 1 One thing we can certainly say is that Luke tells it like it is. He does not try to cover up the ugly and disagreeable things in the early church. There is the story of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, who was disfigured in his face by several warts. A court painter once did his portrait and thought, as a favor to him, he would leave off the warts. Cromwell, upon seeing the painting, told him to take it away and in the future to paint him “warts and all.” 2 Luke here tells the early Christian story “warts and all.”
It seems that the sacrificial gift made by Barnabas had inspired others, but in the case of one Ananias, it inspired him in the wrong way. He wanted to bask in the praise for giving a large gift, like Barnabas had, but he wanted to save a good part of the gift for his own enjoyment. It was sort of like “having your cake and eating it too.” Such a thought did not originate in the otherwise Christian brain of Ananias but clearly it was inspired by Satan, in his frantic attempt to destroy the church (5:3). In short, Ananias was lured into being a hypocrite. George MacDonald once wrote, “Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be what one is not.” 3 Unfortunately, in his hypocrisy Ananias had deeply involved his dear wife Sapphira. Her name means “beautiful,” 4 but her heart soon became ugly.
While most of the church members were living in the awe, respect and fear of God, these two had allowed Satan to deprive them of that holy fear. As someone has said, “If you can’t be good, then look good.” They had forgotten that the church is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Tim. 3:15). It is all about being and not just about looking. As we will see, their ruse did not work for long.
“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?’” (5:3). Stott says, “It is a good general rule that secret sins should be dealt with secretly, private sins privately, and only public sins publicly…” 5 Peter immediately brings this sin before the whole church in a dramatic fashion. If Ananias even thought that he could “pull the wool” over Peter’s eyes, he was sadly mistaken. He should have remembered that Peter was chief among Jesus’ disciples. Peter was the rock on which the church was to be built and the Lord had given him special authority to bind and loose things in the spiritual realm (Matt. 16:18-19). In addition, the Lord had breathed on Peter as well as the other disciples and had given them a special anointing of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22). Through these great spiritual gifts Peter was able to look right into the heart of Ananias (cf. Heb. 4:13; 1 Cor. 2:10).
Although in reality, it was not Peter that Ananias was trying to deceive, it was the Holy Spirit of God. He had lied to the Holy Spirit. It was Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, “Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.” 6 We might ask why Peter was so hard on this lie. We all slip and lie at times and certainly there is some hypocrisy to be found in all of us. In answer to this, Barker and Kohlenberger say that what Ananias and Sapphira did, “…was so diametrically opposed to the whole thrust of the gospel that to allow it to go unchallenged would have set the entire mission of the church off course.” 7
In speaking of this problem, Morgan pictures the early church as a new tree. It would have been disastrous for this sin to be left unattended. The new tree would have been deformed by it and the root would have become corrupted. Today the Christian tree is large with numerous branches and it is much better equipped to withstand a lie in one of its branches.8
Quite a number of commentators have compared the sin of Ananias to that of Achan in Joshua’s time. Achan kept for himself some items dedicated to the Lord and brought defeat upon the armies of Israel. Bruce says, “In both narratives an act of deceit interrupts the victorious progress of the people of God…Ananias ‘kept back’ part of the price…he uses the same Greek word as is used in the Greek version of Joshua 7:1…” 9 Meyer adds, “…we must not allow one corner for Satan or selfishness to possess, because instantly we shall have to concede the right of way, and a thoroughfare will be opened, along which all manner of contraband may be smuggled in.” 10
“Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God” (5:4). Here Peter clearly supports the validity of having personal property. The early church was not some sort of Communistic or socialistic organization as we have said before. Also, we realize here that the large gifts to the church were purely voluntary and not compulsory.11
“When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened” (5:5). Peter did not cause this death. God caused it. We can imagine that Peter was more surprised and shocked than anyone else when Ananias fell dead at his feet.12 There is the story on record that King Edward the First of England once blazed in anger at one of his courtiers. The man was so frightened that he dropped dead with fear.13 Ananias could have died of fear, shock or a heart attack. However he died, it was no doubt a great surprise to all present.
Orr suggests that if such a thing happened in churches today they would probably appoint a cover-up committee and try to keep the news form the public. He points out how when God does the exposing, the Lord is vindicated and the work of God gains strength.14
How true the words of 1 Peter 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
“Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him” (5:6). This verse on the surface sounds really cruel and un-Christian. There was no funeral, no eulogy for the good deeds he must have done in the past, no notifying next of kin, just burial. Even the wife was not notified.15 To really understand this we need to go back to the sin of Achan. Because he had committed a sin against the whole nation of Israel, he was unceremoniously stoned, along with his whole family, and his animals. All his goods were burned and a heap of stones was raised over them all (Josh. 7:24-26).
To better understand the burial of Ananias, we need to remember that burial practices were much different in the First Century than they are today. When we think of burial we think of digging a grave, burying the person six feet in the ground and then closing the grave. In New Testament times people often had family tombs. These were usually hewn into the soft limestone around Jerusalem or else an existing cave could be modified and used. When someone died, that person was placed on a slab in the family tomb and left there about a year. Then some family member would take the bones and place them in a small ossuary or stone case with a lid on top. That small box would often be inscribed with the person’s name. The bone box would then be slid into one of the niches in the walls and the tomb was then ready for the next deceased family member.16
The dead person was usually wrapped in a shroud of some sort or bound with linen strips. Various spices were used in this process to cut down on the odors of decomposition. As we see in scripture, loved ones could visit the tomb and complete this process (Mk. 16:1). So, in the case of Ananias, his body was not cut off from the care of other family members. When all was finished a stone could be rolled or placed over the tomb’s entrance.
We should also note that in ancient Israel, burial followed as soon as possible after death 17 Bodies were not embalmed nor were there other modern funeral practices. The body was buried and then the family went into mourning for a period of seven days. I well remember how Israeli soldiers died in the morning in the Lebanon war and were buried the same afternoon in Jerusalem. In the case with Ananias, the young men of the church were called upon to take care of the burial.
“About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, ‘Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?’ ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that is the price’” (5:7-8). Bruce suggests that this three hour period gave Peter time to assess the tragedy and to realize that it was a matter of divine judgment.18 After quizzing Sapphira, Peter realized that the two had formed a conspiracy to lie to the church and to God and his Holy Spirit. We cannot imagine the shock that Sapphira must have felt. Her husband was dead and she now found herself suddenly before the judgment of God. It was apparently more than she could take.
“Peter said to her, ‘How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.’” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband” (5:9-10). Just like her husband did before her, Sapphira fell dead at Peter’s feet. The young men who had just returned from burying her husband took her out also. We can be certain that according to Jewish sensibilities they must have had some help from the women. Pett points out that the men did not wrap her as they did her husband. He says, “Under Jewish practice they could, as men, do that for a man but not for a woman. It would not have been seemly for men to beshroud a woman. However, it is probable that women were called in to perform the duty before she was buried.” 19
This is still a puzzling section of scripture. Guzik remarks about it: “But we can see that it is possible for a Christian to sin unto death (1 Jn. 5:16-17), and we have New Testament examples of saved Christians being judged by being brought home in death (1 Cor. 11:27-32).” 20 Perhaps we are dealing here with what the Bible calls a sin unto death.
“Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (5:11). We can understand how a holy fear fell on people after this dreadful event took place in the church. We can see how the later words of 2 Timothy 2:19 could have surely applied to this situation: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’”
It is interesting that in this difficult situation Luke uses the Greek word ekklesia in describing the church. This is his first usage of this term in Acts. Guthrie says, “ekklesia…has its background in the LXX [Septuagint] where it is sometimes used of the ‘congregation’ (Heb. Qahal) of Israel…” 21 Stott adds that this usage is an affirmation of the continuity the Christian church has with the gathered and redeemed community in the Old Testament.22 Pfeiffer and Harrison note that this word is never used as a designation of a building, but rather is used to designate the people of God.23
APOSTOLIC MIRACLES
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. Acts 5:12
This will now be the second account of the apostles being arraigned before the Sanhedrin. It is interesting how these accounts resemble each other. The apostles preach and perform miracles in the name of Jesus; they are arrested and brought to trial; then they are miraculously released. Stedman comments: “Whenever truth is uttered, it enrages men like this. They oppose it with the only weapon they can think of— physical violence.” 24 Jesus had said: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-12).
There is a real sense in which Solomon’s Colonnade became the gathering place for the newly-born but quite large Christian assembly. It was not only a place of preaching and teaching but a place of miracles. All this was an offense for the Sanhedrin crowd, but so far they were powerless to stop it.
The believers were all together in worship. For the fifth time in Acts, the NIV misses the very important Greek word, homothumadon (cf. 1:14; 2:1; 2:46; 4:24). It was surely one of Luke’s favorite words. It means that they were not just “together” but they were of one accord. This is a great part in their secret of success. As they were together many signs and miracles were wrought. It seems that the signs and miracles were mostly from the hands of the apostles.25 Chrysostom in reflecting on this scene comments: “Earth was becoming like heaven, for their way of life, boldness of speech, wonders, for all besides. Like angels were they looked upon with wonder.” 26
“No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people” (5:13). Barnes comments: “The rich and the great then, as now, stood aloof from them, and were deterred by fear or shame from professing attachment to the Lord Jesus.” 27 We should note that, as it was in the case of Jesus, “…the common people heard Him gladly” (Mk. 12:37 NKJ). So, we see that the Christians were highly esteemed by the crowds and that the Ananias and Sapphira episode had done them no harm. It is possible that some feared to join them precisely because of this event. They realized that being a Christian was a deadly serious matter and hypocrites would be found out.
“Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (5:14). This is the first time that Luke mentions women being added to the church. In his gospel and also in acts, Luke has a lot to say about women.28 Although women had a universally low position in the ancient world, the teaching of Jesus had lifted them to great heights. In fact, women played key roles in the gospel story. We see a picture here of a rapidly growing church.
“As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by” (5:15). This verse speaks of really supernatural healing. People were brought on beds and mats in order to be healed. The Greek words here are klinariōn and krabattōn. The first word simply means a bed but the last word means a mattress or pallet or what would be the poor man’s bed.29 So, the wealthy and poor alike were coming to be healed.
We are told an astounding thing here. They were gathering so that perhaps Peter’s shadow would fall upon them and they would be healed.30 We see things similar to this other places in the Bible. People once touched the edge of Jesus’ cloak and received healing (cf. Mk. 5:25-34; 6:56). It was a sort of contact point for their faith. Later in the ministry of Paul we are told that people were healed by coming in contact with handkerchiefs and aprons that were brought from the body of Paul (Acts 19:12). These stories may sound strange, but as LaSor says, “… we cannot assume that Luke would gullibly accept stories of miraculous healing without investigating them.” 31 After all, Luke was a very careful and thorough historian.
This was surely a period of intense supernatural signs as the gospel was spread. We note in the next verse that, for the first time, the gospel is said to be extending beyond the city of Jerusalem, and it was extending with mighty works.32 Jesus had once promised, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn. 14:12).
“Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed” (5:16). On the Temple Mount, right under the noses of the Sadducees, there was much commotion with great crowds gathering and numerous miracles taking place. The pressure was surely building upon Israel’s spiritual elite do something about all this. Even droves of people were coming in from the countryside to participate in this great revival. The Sanhedrin elite thought they had a problem with one crippled man jumping up and down and shouting, and now they have that multiplied many times with numerous happy folks doing similar things. Not only were the sick being healed but powerful demonic spirits were being cast out. It must have been quite a scene!
PERSECUTION FALLS
Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. Acts 5:17-18
Luke tells us that the high priest and his Sadducee associates were all filled with jealousy. After all, thousands of people were joining the Christians and no doubt their own crowds and coffers were suffering from this success. They simply could not stand it any longer. Once more they reached out their hands to persecute the believers by putting all the apostles in jail. How interesting, the apostles were laying their hands on the sick and healing them and the leaders were laying their hands on the apostles and arresting them. It was the English martyr Hugh Latimer who said, “Whenever you see persecution, there is more than a probability that truth is on the persecuted side.” 33
Once more, the leaders were not filled with joy that their sick were being made well, but they were rather being filled with jealousy. The Greek word is zēlou and it means jealousy or envy. This Greek word actually conveys the meaning “to boil.” 34 We wonder how many times in history pure envy and jealousy have been hidden under “zeal” for supposedly defending the faith.35
“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ‘Go, stand in the temple courts,’ he said, ‘and tell the people all about this new life’” (5:19-20). On this occasion it appears that all the apostles were locked up. No doubt Satan had a grand plan to have all the apostles killed, but that too did not work out like he planned. During the night there was a miraculous angelic appearance and the apostles were released from jail. A few commentators, who do not believe in such things, have tried to say that some sympathizer opened the jail doors and let them out. Such a thing would have been almost as impossible as an angelic appearance. In those days, people guarded jails with their very lives. In fact, when people escaped from Roman jails the jail keepers were executed. Also, we cannot imagine a sympathizer instructing them to go preach the gospel. We are told in Hebrews 1:14, that the angels are ministering spirits for the benefit of the saints.
Hughes sees some divine humor in this account. The Sadducees did not believe in angels, yet it was an angel who released the apostles from their own prison.36 The apostles were obedient and early that morning they were back in the temple courts preaching once more. This was the place where God wanted to make himself known to his people.37
THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING DISCIPLES
At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin— the full assembly of the elders of Israel— and sent to the jail for the apostles. Acts 5:21
There is a great deal of humor in this picture also. The high priest and all his associates arrive and get themselves ready for trying the apostles. When they have themselves prepared and arranged in their neat semi-circle, they send out for the apostles. This scenario leaves us dangling in hilarity.
“But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, ‘We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.’” (5:22-23). Kretzmann comments, “The angel of the Lord had therefore not only smitten the keepers of the prison with temporary blindness, but he had also relocked the doors to remove all evidence of the miraculous deliverance of the apostles.” 38 We should think at this point that the Sadducees would have started to believe in angels, but it was not to be. At this point Coffman says, “…they could not have failed to know that God was with the apostles of Christ, but they were determined to carry forward their opposition…” 39 This reminds us of the reaction of this very group to Jesus. They absolutely must have realized that he was the Messiah, but they were still determined to get rid of him.
We can imagine the frustration and even apprehension of the poor guards at this disappearance. Keener says of them: “These guards are fortunate that they are Levites policing for the Jewish temple aristocracy rather than recruits under the Romans or Herod Agrippa I, who might have executed them (see 12:18-19).” 40
“On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to” (5:24). We can imagine that a number of people were now suspecting that supernatural forces were at work. Probably others of the Pharisees were beginning to get suspicious.41 Also, we have to think that the common people were getting wise to some of the miraculous things that were happening. Such stories make their rounds rapidly.”
The guard and the chief priests were plainly perplexed. The Greek word here is diaporeō, which has the meaning of doubt, uncertainty and perplexity. Luke uses this term on a number of occasions (cf. Lk. 9:7; 24:4; Acts 2:12; 10:17; 25:20).42 Chrysostom says, “Here are men whom neither prison nor bonds nor closed doors had been able to keep in…” 43
SURPRISE, SURPRISE!
“Then someone came and said, ‘Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.’ At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.” Acts 5:25-26
This time the captain of the guard goes rather meekly and persuades the disciples to come before the Sanhedrin. He probably realized that the crowd could easily become agitated and start pelting him with rocks. Barker and Kohlenberger comment: “This says something about the early Christians’ response to Jesus’ example of nonviolence and non-retaliation during his own arrest (cf. Mk. 14:43-50)…” 44 The apostles may have realized that God was about to give them another wonderful opportunity to share their testimony about Jesus with the leaders of Israel.45
“The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,’ he said. ‘Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood’” (5:27-28). We might suspect that the high priest and leaders were beginning to remember their own words at the crucifixion: “All the people answered, ‘His blood is on us and on our children!’” (Matt. 27:25).
Coffman comments: “It is nearly incredible, the hatred which the Jewish religious hierarchy had for the blessed name of Jesus, which name they simply would not pronounce under any circumstances, saying ‘this name,’ as here, instead, and always referring to him as ‘this man’ or ‘that man…’” 46 In some quarters, the hatred continues to this day. Some Jewish people substitute Yeshu for the Hebrew Yeshua or Jesus. This acronym means “May his memory and name be stricken out” (Heb. yimach sh’mo v’zichro).
THE DISCIPLES’ DAY IN COURT
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead— whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” Acts 5:29-32
Once again, Peter reaffirms the position of the apostles, that they must obey God and not men. Once more, he declares that Jesus was raised from the dead and that all the apostles were witnesses of this fact. Peter boldly declares to the Sanhedrin members their awful guilt. They had murdered their own Messiah by hanging him on a cross or tree (Gk. xulou). Guzik says, “Peter referred to the cross as a tree because he drew an association from Deuteronomy 21:22-23, where it says that a person hanged from a tree is cursed by God. Peter brought attention to the magnitude of their rejection of Jesus, pointing out that they killed him in the worst way possible, both from a Roman perspective (the cross) and a Jewish perspective (the tree association).” 47
His death was not the end of the story. God raised him up and exalted him at his right hand. He now has the title of Prince and Savior. The Greek words are archēgon and sōtēra. We have dealt with this first word before in 3:15, and noted that its meaning could be Prince, Author or Pioneer. Jesus was the great Pioneer who made a way into the spiritual world for all who believe. The second word, sōtēra means a deliverer or preserver. It refers to someone who brings us into security and safety.48
Peter did not mince words but strongly indicted the whole Sanhedrin with the murder of their own Messiah. His message could not be missed by them. Interestingly, he presents them with the idea of repentance. Marshall exclaims, “Here is the offer of salvation to the very people who had crucified Jesus…” 49 We just have to pause here and marvel at the great grace of God that is offered to them and to us. Actually, in a sense, we have all crucified Jesus with our sin and rebellion. We have surely driven nails into his hands.
In this section we cannot miss the fact that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all mentioned together.50 We see this many places in the New Testament and it was for this reason that the early church fathers finally proclaimed the concept of the “Trinity.”
THE APOSTLES ARE DELIVERED
When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. Acts 5:33
Upon hearing Peter, the members of the Sanhedrin were literally “cut to the quick” (Gk. dieprionto), like they were cut with a saw.51 Coffman remarks: “The sermon the apostles had just given was identical in all essentials to the one delivered on Pentecost; but the results produced by the declaration of the gospel were opposite in kind. On Pentecost, the people were pricked in the heart, which means they believed; and here the priests were cut to the heart, which means they were infuriated and filled with murderous thoughts.” 52 Their immediate thought was to put all the disciples to death. Pett says, “There is nothing like a bad conscience to make a man judge severely.” 53
The American circuit riding preacher, William Godbey, tells this story: “… A vile reprobate once pointed a gun at me, which fired all right a few minutes previously. When he pulled the trigger it only snapped. Why? My work was not done.” 54 The work of the apostles was certainly not over. It was really only beginning, so God was about to make a plan of escape for them.
“But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while” (5:34). The Sadducees were in an awkward position. They sat in the place of power, influence and authority, but the Pharisees, who were in the minority, commanded much more respect from the people than did the Sadducees. Their hands were tied and they could take no action without support of the Pharisees.55
Gamaliel (Gamaliel the Elder) was a Pharisee and a greatly honored teacher in Israel at that time. He had previously been the teacher of Paul (22:3), and Paul probably had gone to the head of his class (Gal.1:14). Gamaliel was certainly one of the most popular and influential rabbis of his time. He was also grandson of the famous Rabbi Hillel. Gamaliel requested that the apostles be put outside the room while he addressed the problem.
The Pharisees in general were not like the Sadducees. They believed in a personal Messiah and a Messianic Age. They believed in the resurrection, in angels and in demons. They tried to live lives of simple piety spurning the wealth and luxury of the Sadducees.56 It was entirely possible that the Pharisees in the meeting were already smiling smugly at the preaching of the resurrection and at the account of angelic ministry. Utley says, “It is just possible that the Pharisees (i.e., Gamaliel) saw the early church as a useful thorn to poke at the Sadducean rejection of resurrection in general.” 57
“Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: ‘Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing’” (5:35-36). The commentators have written much concerning this Theudas, but still today little is known about him. It is true that the historian Josephus speaks of a Theudas who led a group of followers to the Jordan River, but this event happened when Fadus was procurator of Judea (AD 44-46).58 Obviously, this event would have been several years after the Sanhedrin meeting and the speech of Gamaliel.
Theudas was a rather common name and there were many rebels in those days. Josephus says, “Now, at this time there were ten thousand other disorders in Judea, which were like tumults, because a great number put themselves into a warlike posture” (Antiq. Bk. xvii, ch. 10, 4; cf. Bk. xx, ch. 5, 1). Undoubtedly, Gamaliel was speaking of another rebel with the same name who came sometime earlier, or else Josephus had some wrong information. The point being made by Gamaliel was that the works of men often fizzle out and come to nothing.
“After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered” (5:37). Bruce says of this: “Judas, a man from Gamala in Gaulanitis (Golan), inaugurated a religious and nationalist revolt, contending that it was high treason against God, Israel’s one true king, for his people in his land to pay tribute to a pagan ruler.” 59 This Judas became the founder of the Zealot movement and his revolt can be dated to AD 6 or 7. 60 Of course, this revolt was also put down and finally the Zealot stronghold at Gamla was destroyed by the Roman armies in AD 67. Again, Gamaliel’s point is that movements begun by men have a high mortality rate and a tendency to fail.
It is very interesting that Gamaliel mentions the census here. Some have tried to match this census up with the one that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem (Lk. 2:1-5). However, that census would have taken place several years earlier than his revolt.61
“Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (5:38-39). Gamaliel’s advice was a godsend for the apostles. The Sadducees were persuaded by it and the apostles were spared. However, when we analyze the advice it does not contain much logic. Wiersbe says of it: “Gamaliel’s ‘counsel’ was unwise and dangerous, but God used it to save the apostles form death…To begin with, he automatically classified Jesus with two rebels…Gamaliel assumed that ‘history repeats itself’…Gamaliel also had the mistaken idea that, if something is not of God, it must fail. But this idea does not take into consideration the sinful nature of man and the presence of Satan in the world…” 62
“His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go” (5:40). The Sadducees had lost the case but they still demanded their pound of flesh. The apostles were all flogged. This was the usual Jewish lashing (cf. Deut. 25:3) and was limited to 39 strokes (40 less one). We should be aware that this was not the Roman flogging that Jesus endured, for that flogging could be life-threatening.63 Still the Jewish flogging was painful and humiliating.
“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (5:41). Jesus had taught concerning such occasions, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:12). Stott speaks of “the honor to be dishonored, the grace to be disgraced.” 64
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (5:42). Clearly, Gamaliel had bought them a little time. They continued right on to conduct their ministry in the temple area. Luke tells us that they continued to meet in various homes as well. They were absorbed with fellowship, worship, teaching and seeking the lost.65