It is of interest to see what is known about the famous Rabbi Gamaliel, one who we may be sure would have a strong influence upon his ardent young pupil, Saul of Tarsus. Gamaliel was a Pharisee of notably broad sympathies, honored among the Jews as Rabban, a distinguished title for a doctor of the Law. Unlike many of the others, he did not object to Greek learning. Thus he was particularly fitted to be the teacher of the young Saul, whose early days had been surrounded by both Jewish and Gentile influences, and whose future work was to bring him into intimate touch with Greeks as well as Jews.
The broad-mindedness of Gamaliel would, of course, bring upon him the disapproval of many of his fellow Pharisees as surely as it won him the love of the people; but for all that, he is thought to have attained high position in the Rabbinical College at Jerusalem. The Talmud says of him, "When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, the glory of the Law ceased and purity and abstinence died." In the book of Acts (5:34) he is characterized as "a doctor of the law" who was "had in reputation among all the people." The verses that follow (35-39) show him persuading the other members of the supreme Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, not to slay the apostles, declaring, "If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."
In short, it is evident that Gamaliel was numbered among the more thoughtful, kindly, and moderate members of the Pharisaic party which, we must remember, included men like Nicodemus, who sought instruction from Jesus by night (see John 3:1,2), and probably Joseph of Arimathea, who "waited for the kingdom of God," and who arranged for Jesus' burial after the crucifixion (see Mark 15:43-46). We have no valid reason for supposing that Gamaliel, like his most famous pupil, became a convert to Christianity; but in him we glimpse the nobler side of Pharisaism. Young Saul found in his teacher not only a great exponent of the Hebrew Law, but also one whose fairness and tolerance must have been an education in itself, unknowingly preparing his thought for that higher law of liberty which occupied much of the apostle's attention in later years.
