Acts 5:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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,

NIV: But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

NASB: but if the source is God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.'

CSB: but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God." They were persuaded by him.

NLT: But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!'

KJV: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

NKJV: but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

Gamaliel, a highly respected Pharisee, is explaining why the Sanhedrin shouldn't kill Jesus' twelve apostles. In the previous three verses, he points out what happens to religious/political movements that are not in God's will: once the leaders are gone, the movements disappear. He's not entirely accurate, but the most glaring error in his claim won't manifest for another thirty years or more. In AD 70, the remnant left after the defeat of Judas the Galilean (Acts 5:37) will spark a reprisal from Rome that obliterates the temple. The main point he makes, coarse as it is, is that false spiritual movements will eventually fail by the hand of God.

In this verse, Gamaliel gives the positive corollary. It's unclear how he means this and how it is taken. Most men in the room would never admit—yet—that Jesus could be on God's side. But pretending it's a possibility gives them an excuse to save face. They don't have to demand the apostles' execution and risk losing the people's support. Instead, they can posture as if taking the high ground, letting God handle things (Acts 5:13). This is a slightly-more-polite version of their strategy with Jesus and Pilate (Matthew 27:15–23).

Gamaliel's calmness and restraint are not universally shared. His student, Saul of Tarsus, will brutally persecute the Christians (Acts 8:1–3; 22:3). Before long, a mob of Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia will debate with Stephen; they'll stone him when they find his conviction that God's worship cannot be confined to the temple blasphemous (Acts 6:8–7:60). We know Saul is at Stephen's murder, guarding the mob's cloaks (Acts 7:58). Since he is from Tarsus in Cilicia, he is possibly involved in the initial debates, as well. Saul goes on to persecute the early believers, chasing them out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1–3) and beyond (Acts 9:1–2). Fortunately, Stephen is proved right; Jesus meets Saul not in the temple but on the road to Damascus, and Saul responds (Acts 9:1–22).

Proverbs says, "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21). Gamaliel accurately applies this truism to the Sanhedrin's situation. He's only wrong about which side will be defeated by God.

Acts 5:27–42 occurs in the aftermath of a miraculous jailbreak. The chief priests arrested the apostles for teaching and healing in Jesus' name (Acts 5:17–18). On the morning of the inquiry, the guards find the prison cells empty and the apostles, again, preaching in the temple courtyard (Acts 5:22, 25). The guards bring the apostles back, and the Sanhedrin questions them. When the apostles insist Jesus is alive, the priests want them killed. But a Pharisee, Gamaliel, calms the situation. The Sanhedrin do flog the apostles before releasing them, starting the long history of physical persecution against Christ-followers. Verse 29 is a cornerstone of Christian ethics: that God's will is worth suffering for.

The apostles continue to make hard decisions in the name of Jesus, both inside and outside the church. When Ananias and Sapphira lie to God, the Holy Spirit inspires Peter to pronounce God's judgment on them, protecting the church from the love of the world. Despite the Sanhedrin's watchful eye—and direct orders (Acts 4:17–18)—the apostles continue to preach and heal openly. The guards arrest the apostles, but the Sanhedrin settles for beating them instead of capital punishment. The apostles consider it an honor to suffer on behalf of their Savior.

In Acts 5, persecution from unbelievers begins to accelerate. The Sanhedrin has become aware the apostles teach that Jesus rose from the dead (Acts 4). Now, they start to push back in earnest, arresting and beating the apostles. Soon, a mob will kill Stephen, a deacon (Acts 7:54–60), and the Sanhedrin will empower Saul to run down and arrest any Jesus-follower he can find (Acts 8:1–3). The apostles will stay in Jerusalem. Other Jesus-followers will carry His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation with God into the Roman Empire and beyond. The apostles' faithfulness and submission to the Holy Spirit is why we have the gospel message today.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.