Bible Figure
Gamaliel
Gamaliel was a respected Pharisee and teacher of the Law who served on the Jerusalem council. When the apostles faced severe opposition, he advised the council to proceed cautiously, reasoning that a merely human movement would fail but that a work truly from God could not be overthrown.
Biography
Acts 5 identifies Gamaliel as a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law held in honor by all the people. When members of the council became enraged at the apostles and wanted to kill them, Gamaliel ordered the apostles put outside temporarily and addressed the assembly. He cited earlier movements associated with Theudas and Judas the Galilean, both of which collapsed after their leaders died. Gamaliel therefore urged the council to leave the apostles alone: if their plan was of human origin it would fail, but if it was from God the council would be unable to overthrow it and might even be found fighting against God. His advice carried enough weight to restrain the council from execution, though the apostles were beaten and ordered not to speak in Jesus' name. Acts 22 later records Paul saying that he was educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the ancestral law.
Biblical Significance
Gamaliel is significant both as a window into the diversity of Jewish leadership and as the renowned teacher under whom Paul studied. His counsel in Acts does not amount to a confession of Christian faith, but it provides a prudent acknowledgment that God's activity cannot ultimately be defeated by human opposition.