But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.

Acts 5:34-41

34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Today’s title is “Remember Gamaliel”

Pharisees have been the most prominent oppressor of the Lord. The Lord also criticized them for their religious formalism and hypocrisy. Those are all facts. But we should not rush to categorically deny Pharisees as the enemy of the Lord or gospel. Ironically, Christianity is indebted significantly to some Pharisees who got out of the mainstream Pharisees and received the gospel of Christ. A good example of such Christian Pharisees will be Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Although they were not publicly following Jesus during His ministry, they showed their faith after Christ was crucified by boldly taking care of His burial. Another marvelous example of Converted Pharisees will be the apostle Paul. He said that he was the Pharisee of Pharisees before He came to know the Lord. In today’s passage, we see another Pharisee who showed a non-biased attitude toward the gospel of Christ if not actively supported it. Gamaliel was probably the highest-ranked Pharisees among all the Pharisees we mentioned. Not only his name is recorded in the Bible, but he also had a great reputation in the history of Judaism. He was either the president or at least an influential senior member of the Sanhedrin. According to Jewish history, he was so revered among the Israelites that even a king would ask his advice. Apostle Paul said that he studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He was such as man of honor. We see why he was in today’s passage. Citing several historical examples, he persuaded the whole council of Sanhedrin to be more patient with the Christians. Gamaliel’s speech literally saved the lives of the apostles. So, was Gamaliel a Christian like Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea? We will never know. But one thing is clear. God used him to help out the church and believers at the time of crisis. I am glad that I have encountered many people like Gamaliel in my own life. They were not believers yet, but somehow render critical services when a church or a believer is in crisis. What prompted them to do so? We don’t know that either. But what’s clear is that God is behind all this. Right? So, should we be grateful to those Gamaliel's? Absolutely! We own it to them. Furthermore, although we are not sure, they are very close to God’s heart. Many of them will eventually come to the Lord I believe. If not, God can still use them powerfully as they have saved us from the crisis. Do you have your own Gamaliel? Did you thank him and remember him?