Acts is Luke's apology for Christianity, a demonstration that God was in the work of the apostles. The "powers that be" had set themselves in opposition to them. But when establishment leaders wanted to kill them all and be done with the nuisance, the respected rabbi Gamaliel wisely sounded a word of caution: "if this work is of God, you will not be able to overthrow these men; you may possibly even be found fighting against God" (Acts 5:39).

    Surprisingly, it was Gamaliel's most famous pupil, Saul of Tarsus, who took up the challenge, and had to learn the futility of fighting against God. His campaign against Christianity was self-destructive, casting him in the role of a stubborn ox kicking against the goad ... until he surrendered and became Christianity's greatest spokesman. Join L. A. Mott in a fresh reading of this story of how Christianity was established in a hostile world, taking away Gamaliel's "if" and proving that this work is of God.