True Wisdom Spoken From Inside The Temple

A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,
stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time,
and said to the Sanhedrin, "Fellow children of Israel,
be careful what you are about to do to these men.
Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important,
and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed,
and all those who were loyal to him
were disbanded and came to nothing.
After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census.
He also drew people after him,
but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.
So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves fighting against God."
They were persuaded by him.
After recalling the Apostles, they had them flogged,
ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus,
and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

Not much of what we have heard coming out of the Temple is infused with wisdom, at least from our Christian perspective.  In today's reading, we learn a lot.  First of all, we see that Jesus was one of many Messiah's that the temple gang had to deal with. Gamaliel names some of them and points out that all of these because they were the invention of men, did not last.  He cautions the council members that if The Way as being marketed by the Apostles was a thing of man it too will fall in on itself but if it is a thing of God, not only will they not defeat it, they will be setting themselves up as enemies of God.  For once they took heed of some solid advice and after flogging the Apostles, they let them go after ordering them never to speak about Jesus again.  As we know the Apostles did not take their advice! 

In our time we should take the warning of Gamaliel to heart because what he says is still true.  The things of God are the only things that will stand the test of time.  The temporary victories of the reprobate should cause us no lasting fear or bitterness.  While we should fight, and fight hard,  for the right and for the protection of those who need protecting from the bullies and merchants of death that infest our world, we can rest assured that the victory of our God is already manifest and in the full light of His Glory, it will be seen clearly  by all.  Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain!

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I know I was gone for a couple of days, needed some time for reflection and to recharge my batteries.  To thank you for taking the time to read my blog here is a special deal for you:  To the right, you will see that I am marketing a thirty-day retreat book - it retails for $17.95.  I will send you a soft copy by email if you want one -free of charge-.  Send me your request by email to michaeljspoula@outlook.com