Obeying God Over Man — Acts 5:29-42 Daily Word

Peter and the apostles boldly declared, “We must obey God rather than men.” Discover how early believers showed unwavering faith, rejoicing even in suffering for Jesus’ name. A powerful lesson in faithfulness from Acts 5:29-42.

Obeying God Over Man

[Scripture]

[29] But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. [30] The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. [31] God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. [32] And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:29-32, ESV)

[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 held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. [35] And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. [36] For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. [37] After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too 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, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; [39] but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, [40] and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. [41] Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. [42] And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. (Acts 5:33-42, ESV)

[Daily Word]

At these words of Peter, the Sanhedrin was enraged and sought to kill him. The reasons for their fury were threefold: Peter’s declaration that the Sanhedrin bore responsibility for Jesus’ death, his call for Israel to repent and receive forgiveness of sins (v. 31), and his claim that God had given the Holy Spirit as a witness. Because the Sadducees did not believe in supernatural beings, the idea that God had appointed the Holy Spirit as a witness was utterly absurd to them.

In the midst of this situation, Gamaliel, a Pharisee who belonged to the council, stepped forward to offer his view (v. 34). The Gamaliel introduced here refers to Gamaliel I. He is generally believed to be a descendant of the moderate rabbi Hillel. In (22:3), Paul identifies this Gamaliel as his own teacher.

In fact, the Pharisees had been among those who handed down the verdict to put Jesus to death. However, not all of them were of one mind — some had actually shown favor toward Jesus¹Luke 7:36; 11:37; 14:1 , and indeed some among them even converted to Christianity.²Acts 15:5; 23:6 Above all, unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees held to a belief in the resurrection and in angels, and for this reason
they likely harbored far less hostility toward Peter’s words than the Sadducees did.

In this context, Gamaliel cited two historical figures — Theudas and Judas the Galilean — as examples, arguing that the council should exercise caution in dealing with the apostles. (35) The first example he raised was Theudas. At the time of Herod’s death, there were numerous uprisings, and Theudas was one of the men who led such a revolt. The second figure, Judas the Galilean, arose when the Romans conducted a census to collect more taxes. This Judas harbored deep resentment and led a rebellion at the time of the registration. (37) Both of these men gathered followers and formed a sizable movement of as many as 400 people, (36) yet once they died, all who had followed them scattered.

Gamaliel therefore reasoned that since Jesus — whom the apostles followed — had already died, if this movement of Christianity were of human origin, (38) its followers would inevitably scatter as well. But if it were of God, the council would not be able to stop it, and they would only find themselves fighting against God. (39) The council found Gamaliel’s words convincing and decided to follow his advice. They had the apostles flogged and once again ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus.

According to Jewish tradition, flogging consisted of forty lashes minus one — that is, thirty-nine strokes.³(Deut 25:2ff; 2 Cor 11:24, ESV) One stroke was withheld to guard against a miscount that might accidentally result in forty blows being delivered. While this punishment fell short of the death penalty, it was by no means a light sentence — for there were those who died from the flogging itself.

However, as stated in verse 41, the apostles left the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord. The apostles were fulfilling the words found in Luke 6:22-23.
[22] “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! [23] Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23, ESV)

The apostles continued to proclaim Jesus as the Christ regardless of the council’s opposition, because they believed it was right to obey God rather than men (v. 29). Since the apostles were born of God, they considered the glory of God a greater joy than their own personal happiness. If we truly believe that we are born of God, we must remember that we are called to live lives that bring glory to Him.

Obedience to God, boldness of the apostles, witness of Jesus, faith of the early church, integrity of faith

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com