Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Wednesday, June 5, 2013 Read – Acts 5:17-42 We have met opposition before in a story that sounds very similar to this one (Acts 4:1-22). Once again the apostles are arrested. In the previous story it was only Peter and John who were arrested but here Luke’s seems to imply that all twelve are included. It is important to notice who is implicated in the arrest and who is not. Luke tells us it was the religious establishment that arrested them – “the high priest and all who were with him, that is the sect of the Sadducees” (Acts 5:17). Luke has been very careful to distinguish between the religious establishment which was mostly made up of Sadducees and leading men of power and the Pharisees who were at least somewhat open to Jesus. That continues here. In fact, as we will soon learn, it is a Pharisee, Gamaliel, who rescues the apostles from the fate the other religious leaders may have had in mind. It is important for careful readers of Luke and the other gospel writers to notice that Luke differs from the others with respect to the Pharisees. That, of course, leads us to wonder which tells the “correct” historical view. That is something we simply are not able to determine. The story Luke tells us reveals that God is the one who is really active in what is happening. Just as Jesus was arrested at night and held until morning (Luke 22:54,66), and just as Peter and John were also held in custody until morning the first time they were arrested (Acts 4:3), the apostles are held overnight in the prison. But a strange thing happens in this story. Though the prison remains securely locked they are freed. One might think that they would have been a bit more careful – but once they are freed they are right back at proclaiming Jesus in the Temple. Luke’s story is written to emphasize that point – the apostles are fearless and will not be stopped. Or, should we say, the Holy Spirit working in them will not be stopped. Arrested again, they appear before the religious establishment. Again Peter is the spokesman. And – we should not be surprised by now to hear it – Peter’s defense repeats the core message in all the speeches in Acts – “The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exulted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31). The religious authorities are not convinced and seek to kill the apostles. But, into the fray steps a Pharisee, Gamaliel, who Luke tells us was a member of the Sanhedrin. We have met another member of the council, or Sanhedrin, who is also a good and faithful man – Joseph of Arimathea who provided for Jesus’ burial. Though Luke does not tell us, Joseph was also likely a Pharisee. Gamaliel was likely the grandson of a famous Jewish rabbi, Hillel, who was noted for his wisdom. Hillel was the one who likely first brought the two great commandments, love God and love your neighbor as yourself, together having remarked that all the rest of the Law was commentary on these two. This is likely also the same Gamaliel who had served as Saul’s teacher. It must have been dangerous for Gamaliel to act as he did. After all death was hanging in the balance. But Gamaliel speaks with a wisdom that is difficult to argue against – “if this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail, but if it is of God you will not be able to overthrow it” (Act 5:38-39). In coming to his conclusion Gamaliel pointed to two other “uprisings” that happened during those times. Pointing to these other “Messiahs” who had ended in disaster is effective – but it is not without problems for those who study history closely. Luke speaks of a man named Theudas and another named Judas, the Galilean, (this is not the Judas who betrayed Jesus). Other historical documents, particularly Josephus, also write about these people. That helps to verify that they really existed. Unfortunately, the timing of each is in dispute. Josephus tells us that Judas, the Galilean, led his rebellion in 6 AD in protest of the taxation policy enforced at that time. It is likely that it was this same taxation that Luke has in minds when he tells us that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem to be enrolled since this is the only census and taxation event known in the time period. Josephus also tells us that Theudas led his rebellion in about 44AD, which would have put it about 10 years after the events Luke is narrating in the book of Acts. How are we to resolve these conflicts? We can decide that it is Josephus who has it wrong – but that would be rather unusual since his chronology has been demonstrated to be quite accurate in all other cases. Or, perhaps Luke is simply referring to these two episodes he knows about at this point not knowing exactly when they occurred. By the time Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts all of these events would have been in the relatively distant past. Gamaliel is successful and the apostles are spared – at least for the time being. Luke will narrate the death of James in due time. In fact the very next episode that Luke narrates will be the appointment of Stephen and his martyrdom. The plot of Luke’s narrative is advancing and there is an escalation of hostility occurring. In the first arrest, Peter and John were commanded to stop speaking about Jesus but released unharmed. Here, the apostles are flogged – a serious punishment that had the possibility of ending in death. As the story ends Luke tells us that the apostles do not stop – they cannot since the Holy Spirit is empowering them. They continue to witness in the Temple and at home. The Holy Spirit is on the move among them.