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God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven.
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We are witnesses to these things - we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him."
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When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death.
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But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while,
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and then he said to the Council, "Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men.
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You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out.
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After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
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And so in this case, I tell you, do not take any action against these men. Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear,
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but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!"
1 The Council followed Gamaliel's advice.
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They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free.
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As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.