Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, April 23, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Good ol’ Gamaliel. I love this guy’s wisdom. I especially love that in the end, his wisdom proves the validity of the Way of Jesus. The Jewish authorities say the disciples must be stopped at all costs. Gamaliel stands up and says, “Look, there have been countless other prophets and would-be messiahs running around recently. They’ve amassed followers. Then they’ve been killed and all their followers have scattered. This is probably just another case like that, so if we ignore them, most likely they’ll go away. On the other hand, if they don’t go way then…um…this is legit and if we persecute them we’re persecuting God.”
Gamaliel spoke truth. There had been lots of other would-be messiahs in Jesus’ time, and none of those movements panned out. But Jesus was murdered by the state and not only did his disciples not scatter, but they surged and the movement grew. A couple centuries later, before Constantine converted and Christendom (with all its attendant corruption) was born, the Romans simply could not figure out how this religion was still around. It persisted in spite of all their attempts to squash it, like dandelions in a lawn.
Long after this wise Pharisee counseled his buddies to leave well enough alone, the group they had been trying to stamp out was still going strong. And here we are a couple thousand years later. Good ol’ Gamaliel.
Why do I think the Way flourished despite persecution? Is my faith persecution-proof?
