Acts 5:38-39 ” 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. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

The Jewish leaders wanted to be done with the Apostles once and for all. But Gamaliel, a renowned Teacher known for his wisdom and humane interpretations of the Old Testament Law, warned his colleagues not to kill them. Gamaliel very wisely pointed out that if what the Apostles were doing was of human origin – it would fail. But if it came from God – they’d never be able to stop it, and it would essentially become a fight against God Himself…and no one ever wins that battle. Unbeknownst to him, Gamaliel was being used by God to further embolden the Apostles to preach the Good News of the Gospel Message… and he also became a very unlikely harbinger of the words of Jesus to Peter in Matthew 16:18, when Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”