Acts 5:33-42 New International Version (NIV)
33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 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. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 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. 37 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. 38 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. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40 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.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 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.
The Sadducees were very angry. They thought that they knew everything about the Jewish religion. But Peter said that they had they had not recognised the Messiah and had killed him postles. There were also some Pharisees in the Sanhedrin. Pharisees were experts who knew the Jewish Law well. The people respected the Pharisees more than they respected the Sadducees.
Gamaliel was a very important Pharisee and he was a famous teacher. He taught Paul (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was a sensible man and he was a clever man. The apostles went outside. So, then Gamaliel could talk to the Sanhedrin in private.
Gamaliel talked about two men. These men said that they were important leaders. One man lived ‘at the time when people made the census’. The Romans made the census so they could force the people to pay tax to the government. The people hated this. Many men led the Jews in order to fight against the Romans. Theudas and ‘Judas from Galilee’ were Jews like that. But both Theudas and Judas were dead. Nobody remained in their groups. The same thing would happen to the apostles if their message was not from God. But if it was from God, the men in the Sanhedrin could not stop them. If the Sanhedrin did try to stop the apostles, its members would be fighting against God!
The Pharisees believed that God controlled everything. But they also believed that people had a choice. People could choose what they did.
The Sadducees agreed with Gamaliel. They let the apostles go. But first, they punished the apostles. As their punishment, someone probably hit the apostles 39 times with a whip. (Look at Deuteronomy 25:3.) Afterwards, they were not sad and afraid. They were happy! Their bodies hurt, but in their spirits they had great joy. They knew that God was blessing them. They would have a great reward in heaven. Jesus had said this (in Matthew 5:10-12 and Luke 6:22-23).
The Sanhedrin had tried to stop the apostles. But they could not stop them. Since then, many people have tried to destroy the church. But they could not destroy it. Today, more people than ever before are suffering because they are Christians. But the church continues to grow in numbers.
Satan will always attack the church. But Jesus has defeated Satan already, on the cross. Christians must not be worried and they must not be afraid. The church will continue. Nothing can destroy it.