But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go.
(Acts 5:29-40 ESV)
I love Gamaliel. He’s a sensible man. He considers the possibility that the apostles might actually be telling the truth about Jesus and what God is doing to bring people to faith in Him. Gamaliel isn’t ready to commit himself in either direction yet; he waits to see what will happen, whether the new Christian movement will fall apart like so many other human-inspired plans.
This is a rare kind of wisdom, to react on the basis of evidence, and to refrain from letting emotion push you into doing things you’ll regret later. We can see that the rest of the leaders didn’t quite manage it—yes, they refrained from killing the apostles, but they did beat them, which isn’t the kind of cool-headed careful judgment Gamaliel was recommending.
And yet, in the end, even Gamaliel’s wisdom isn’t enough. Because there comes a point where we have to jump in one direction or the other. Is Jesus really the Christ? Are we going to entrust ourselves to Him, to this Man who claimed to be One with God, and who suffered and died and rose again so that we could be forgiven and at peace with God—more than that, so we could be God’s own children?
That is a point where no human wisdom can take us. The Holy Spirit gives us that trust in Jesus. And He gives us that gift freely, out of pure love and kindness to us. Thanks be to God!
We Pray: Dear Lord, help me to trust in You even when my own wisdom isn’t enough. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on April 7, 2026
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
Reflection Questions:
• Why is wisdom so valuable in your daily life?
• What kinds of things is it no good for?
• When have you seen God do something in your life that showed His own great wisdom? Tell the story.