ReignSample

Sometimes, wisdom comes from an unlikely place. In the book of Acts, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a member of the Jewish ruling council, concluded that it was no use trying to stop the apostles from proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. This was the same Jewish ruling council that convicted Jesus of blasphemy and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate to be crucified. These were the original enemies of the gospel. Their hands were stained with Jesus’ precious blood, and yet one of their ranking members had now concluded that attempting to stop His followers was a waste of their time. In the simplest of terms, here was his logic: if the apostles were making it up, their movement would eventually fade away, but if Jesus did rise from the dead, there would be no stopping them, so why bother trying?

Though we have no evidence that Gamaliel ever became a Christian, his wisdom has proved to be great advice. Here we stand, two thousand years removed from Jesus’ resurrection, and the movement He started is still growing. Guess what, Gamaliel? It’s from God—there’s no stopping it! This world is filled with cynics and doubters who can’t wrap their heads around the possibility that the Son of God lived among us, was killed for our sins, and rose again to new life, the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Yet, if they would listen to Gamaliel’s ancient wisdom, they would be forced to come to his conclusion—it’s all true.