Luke introduces us in this passage to Gamaliel, the great
rabbi who flourished around the time of Jesus and the early church. Gamaliel
had a reputation for piety and was recognized as one of the ablest teachers of
the Law in his day. He was a grandson of Hillel, one of the two great rabbis
(along with Shammai) whose opinions framed much Jewish theological debate. The
respect in which he was held is seen in this passage, as the Sadducees stop the
proceedings, send the apostles out of the room, and listen as he speaks. His
advice about the apostles is followed, although with the addition of a severe
flogging.
Some scholars have questioned the historicity of this
passage. They present two basic objections. The first is questioning how Luke
could have gained knowledge of these proceedings, given that the apostles were
not present. It is not difficult to see how Luke could have gotten information
about this, however, First, it is possible that Saul (later Paul), a student of
Gamliel, was present at this time. He may even have been a member of the
Sanhedrin, since he speaks in Acts 26:10 of casting a vote to condemn
Christians. Even if Paul was not there, in Acts 6:7 we are told a large number
of priests became Christians, and among them may well have been someone who was
either present at this trial or who heard the story of it from someone who was.
Luke was a careful researcher, so presuming he had a source for this account is
entirely in line with what we know of his work.
The second, more serious, issue is Gamliel’s use of the
examples of Theudas and Judas. Josephus mentions an uprising led by Theudas in
about AD 46 in his Antiquities (XX.5.1).
This would be well after the time Gamaliel gave the speech recorded here in
Acts 5. In Josephus’ account, the sons of Judas are mentioned as creating
trouble after Theudas’ revolt, so some scholars believe Luke misread what
Josephus wrote and had Gamaliel commit an anachronism by speaking of a revolt
that had not yet occurred.
The difficulty with that interpretation is that Josephus’ Antiquities was not published until AD
94. Luke was probably written around AD
62 (since Paul is still in prison in Rome at then end of the book), more than
30 years earlier. Even most liberal critical scholars date Luke to around
80-90, still too early for him to have read Josephus.
The most likely solution to this issue is that Gamaliel
refers to an otherwise unknown Theudas, who led a revolt around the time of the
death of Herod the Great. There were many disturbances during this time, and we
know the names of only a few who led revolts. Theudas was not an uncommon name
in the early first century, so it could well be that Gamaliel knew something we
have lost. While this solution is not absolutely certain, it makes more sense
than assuming Luke used a book he couldn’t have read.
One other question about this passage that is sometimes
raised is how a tolerant and patient man like Gamaliel could have been the
teacher of the zealous persecutor Saul. Yet teachers today know that their
students don’t always accept everything they are taught, but often make up their
own minds based on information or ideas they have gained elsewhere. We will see
Gamaliel’s student confront Christians in a much more hostile way (if he was
present at this trial, I’m sure he approved of the flogging). Yet it is the
violent Saul rather than the peaceful Gamaliel who will become one of God’s
great instruments in the spread of the Gospel throughout the Roman world.
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