Day 230: Acts 5:27–42

Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people . . . said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re going to do to these men” (vv. 34–35).

One of the most wonderful concepts in the Word of God concerns the plan He has for our lives. In Galatians 1:15, Paul described God as the One “who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by His grace” (hcsb). Yes, God had a plan for Saul from birth. Nothing in the young man’s life would be a waste unless he refused to let God use it.

In hindsight, then, it’s no wonder that Saul took a seat in the classroom of the rabbi Gamaliel, grandson of the great Hillel—names of considerable importance in the history of Judaism. Gamaliel continues to be so highly esteemed in Judaism that even the rabbi I interviewed for this writing spoke of him with genuine familiarity. So highly revered was Gamaliel that the Jews referred to him as “the beauty of the law.”52

All of Saul’s religious training, his countless hours spent in Scripture and study, and his brilliance in spiritual matters would all be parts of God’s ornate plan. God would use what Saul learned at the feet of Gamaliel, who was “clearly a remarkable man—the first to whom the title Rabban (Master) was given.”53

He was almost liberal in comparison to many of his contemporaries. Bighearted, wise, and open-minded, Gamaliel had been raised on the teachings of his grandfather Hillel, whose words often had a remarkable similarity to the Greatest Rabboni who would ever live, Jesus Christ. “Judge not thy neighbour until thou art in his place; . . . my abasement is my exaltation; he who wishes to make a name for himself loses his name; . . . what is unpleasant to thyself that do not to thy neighbour; this is the whole Law, all else is but its exposition.”54 Do those words sound familiar? God in His wonderful wisdom made sure that the law was taught to Saul with a touch of rare grace.

God included a sample of Gamaliel’s teachings in the passage you read from Acts 5. During the early days of the young church, the Jewish officials wanted to put the apostles to death, but Gamaliel advised them: “Stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God” (vv. 38–39 hcsb). Obviously Saul sat at the feet of one of Judaism’s most grace-filled teachers.