Acts 5:34-39 English Standard Version

³⁴ 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. ³⁵ And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶ 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. ³⁷ 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. ³⁸ 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; ³⁹ 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,

In the show The Chosen, Nicodemus is called “teacher of teachers” by some of his students but that title is not allotted to anyone in the bible.

Here in Acts 5 is a scene where Gamaliel addresses according to verse 21 “they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel”. This is as close to being a teacher of teachers by example as those men heard him out and followed his recommendation.

Perhaps this is the true role of a teacher, to take into account all that they have learned and to present recommendations, not eidetics or judgments, or regulations that go above and beyond what the bible says.

God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to all of us that have placed our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is our helper so that we might know what God’s plans are for each of us.

My recommendation, as someone who is not a teacher, is to get to know how to listen to the Holy Spirit by faith. “We that have ears, let us listen.”

I asked you to read the sermon on the mount to see how long it would take. I did the same and it took me 20 minutes. That is not a long time in comparison to most sermons. We do not all read at the same pace. Some are speed readers and those reading times would be shorter.

During my reading I noticed two things. I did not pause in my reading to allow those words to sink in. Pastors do not rush through a sermon and often pause, gesture, and move from side to side looking his congregation in the eye.

The second thing I noticed was that the Holy Spirit would remind me of other scriptures that I have read over decades and connected what Jesus was saying with other passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Those listening to Him on that mount did not have all that information nor had the Holy Spirit been given them.

Sermons are not given these days as Jesus gave the sermon on the mount. All that Jesus spoke that day deserves more than just a quick read. They deserve discussion so that their importance is not easily discarded. Jesus said before that sermon, Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Bread has to be digested in order to nourish the body, as does His Word.