Tuesday Acts 5:33-42

The apostles were beaten and ordered to stop preaching.

Click here for an online Bible. Acts 5:33-42

Verse 33 shows the real risk that the apostles were taking. By speaking the truth about the gospel, they incited the Sanhedrin to order their deaths. Just as they were able to orchestrate the death of Jesus, they could have condemned the apostles. They could have pressured the Roman government to execute them as they did with Jesus, or they could have agitated an angry mob to take matters into their own hands.

A Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel brought things back to order. Gamaliel was the most honored teacher of the law in that stage of history. He was the leader of the “school of Hillel.” Gamaliel was the teacher of Paul (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel warned against acting too rashly. He said that similar movements had arisen in the past and then died out.

So, instead of killing the apostles, the Sanhedrin had them flogged. They would have been beaten with a whip with three leather straps. The Law prevented whipping anyone more than 40 lashes, so 39 lashes were used in case of a miscount. They would have been stripped to the waist and tied to two pillars. They would have received 13 lashes to the front and 26 lashes to the back. This was not just a “roughing up.” Sometimes people died from the whipping.

The Sanhedrin ordered the apostles to refrain from preaching about Jesus and send them away. The punishment did not stop them. They continued to preach about Jesus. They even continued to preach in the temple courts.

Two points to consider. First, they rejoiced that they could suffer for the gospel. It is hard for us to fathom that level of commitment. We don’t even like to be inconvenienced for the gospel.

Second, Gamaliel made an interesting remark. He warned that if they were not careful, they could end up fighting against God. It is ironic that the Pharisees who opposed Jesus thought that they were protecting the tradition given by God. But in reality, they were fighting against God. The same warning should strike us in the church. We do not just allow anything to go on because many things are clearly contrary to God’s word. Yet throughout church history, people in the church have opposed movements of God. We have to learn to follow God and know the difference between God and tradition. Most movements of God challenge man’s tradition.