Acts 7

CHAPTER 7THEME: Stephen’s address and martyrdomIn this chapter we find Stephen’s defense before the councilwhich is really not a defense. Rather it is a rehearsal of the history of the nation Israel and of their resistance and rebellion against God. He charges the council of being betrayers and murderers of Jesus. That, of course, engenders their bitterest hatred and leads to the stoning of Stephen. In his inspired survey of the history of the nation, Stephen makes it very clear that there never was a time when the entire nation worshiped God. Yet there was always the believing remnant, a small remnant of true believerseven as there is in our day.

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STEPHEN’S ADDRESSThey have made an accusation against him. He is questioned as to the truth of the charges. In his response he makes no attempt to clear himself. In fact, he doesn’t even mention the charges they have made against him. What a marvelous beginning. He calls them brethren. They are his brethren in the flesh. He calls the older men fathers. He is a younger man and shows them this respect. This young man is to become the first martyr in the church. We sometimes hear it said that at the beginning Christianity was actually a youth movement. It is not altogether inaccurate to state that it was a youth movement. Two men who held as prominent a place as any were Stephen and Saul of Tarsus, whom we will meet soon. These two men had a great deal to do with the shaping of the course of the early church. Both of them were remarkable young men. Both of them were gifted and used by the Holy Spirit.

Yet the only time these two young men ever met, they were enemies. The Cross divided Stephen and Saul of Tarsus just as truly as it divided the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. Paul knew what he was saying in 1Co_1:18: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” When Saul saw Stephen, he thought Stephen was very foolish. This address of Stephen is a master stroke. He reviews the history of the nation beginning with Abraham. That is where the history of the nation Israel began. They did not go back any farther. You will find the same thing in the Gospel of Matthew. This book, written to the nation Israel, traces the genealogy of Jesus Christ back to Abraham. If you want to trace it all the way back to Adam, you must turn to the Gospel of Luke. Stephen starts with Abraham, a man of faith. Even though he traces the resistance and rebellion against God by the nation, still there was always a believing remnant. This is true today, too. In the organized church, in the visible church which you and I can see, there is a remnant of believers. Not every one in the visible church is a true believer. People may ask, “Do you think So-and-So is a Christian?” The answer is that even though he goes to church and is a church officer, he may not be a Christian. Just as in the nation Israel there was the believing remnant, so in the visible church there is the little remnant of true believers. Abraham was a man of faith. He believed God, and he obeyed God. Faith always leads to obedience. Stephen starts his narrative with Abraham in Mesopotamia, down in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. That was the place of Abraham’s hometown. It was there that God called him.

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God called Abraham away from his home because it was a home of idolatry.

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He is relating the story of Abraham. This shows the faith of Abraham. God had promised him a child, and God had promised him the land. Although Abraham had neither one, he believed God.

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Stephen goes from Abraham to the patriarchal period. He speaks of the brethren of Joseph, motivated by envy and hatred who sold Joseph into Egypt. But God overruled and used Joseph to save them. What we have here is really the Spirit’s interpretation of the Old Testament. That makes this a remarkable section.

Acts 7:9

Now Stephen comes to another period in the history of these people. He is going to remind them of the deliverance out of Egypt. God made Moses the deliverer. And he shows that at first the children of Israel refused to follow Moses and that Moses had trouble with them all the way.

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The comment which Stephen adds confirms some of the things that we said when we were studying about Moses. If Rameses II was the pharaoh of the oppression, Moses could have been the next pharaoh. Pharaoh’s daughter brought him up as her own son. This pharaoh had no sons, so Moses would have been the next in line.

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Moses was brought up in the wisdom of the Egyptians. The wisdom of the Egyptians is not despised even in our advanced day when we feel that we know about everything. Too often we do not give the Egyptians full credit for what they did know. They had developed mathematics, chemistry, engineering, architecture, and astronomy to a very fine point. They had developed these fields of study in a way that was really remarkable. Look at the pyramids. Look at the colors we find in the tombs, colors which have stood the test of the centuries. They understood about embalming. They had calculated the distance to the sun. My friend, they had a highly developed culture and were not an ignorant people. Moses had all the advantage of that day, being raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was outstanding. Yet he was not prepared to lead God’s people. All the learning of the world of that day did not equip him to lead God’s people. All the wisdom that men have today is not enough for them to understand the Word of God.

It is too difficult. Why? Because the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. These things are foolishness to him and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned (see 1Co_2:14). Although Moses was learned in the wisdom of his day, he was not ready to deliver God’s people. So, after forty years of learning in Egypt, God put him out into the desert.

There God gave him his B.D. degree, his Backside of the Desert degree, and prepared him to become the deliverer.

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Notice that Moses did what he considered to be a very fine thing to do. He intended to deliver his brethren. But they didn’t understand. Actually, neither did Moses understand. He still was not really ready, and God had to take him out to the desert to train him.

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Now Moses was frightened.

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Moses had wanted to deliver the children of Israel, but he wasn’t prepared for it, and the people weren’t prepared for him either. They wouldn’t accept his leadership. They resisted him. Then God called him to be the deliverer.

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God told Moses, “I have heard their groaning.” He saw their need. That was the reason He delivered them. It was for the same reason that He provided a Savior for you and me. It wasn’t because we are such wonderful people. He didn’t look down and say, “My, they are so lovely down there. I must go down and save them. They are so sweet, and so kind, and so loving to Me, and so faithful to Me.” No! God looked down and saw nothing but corrupt, rotten sinners. We were all lost in iniquity. He loved us in spite of our unloveliness. That is the explanation.

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Notice the emphasis that has been placed upon the ministry of the angels in the life of the nation Israel. You will find the ministry of angels prominent throughout Israel’s history. God gave the Law to Moses through the ministry of angels. We hear a lot about the angels at Christmas. Whom were the angels addressing? And for what purpose? They had messages for the people of Israelfor Mary, for Joseph, for Zacharias, and for the shepherds. God is not sending messages through angels during this period of the church. No angels have appeared around my place. And there have been none appearing to you. If you are seeing angels, you had better make an appointment with a psychiatrist. By contrast, angels did appear and bring messages from God to members of the nation Israel. Now Stephen goes on to describe the wilderness experience.

Acts 7:36

The word church here does not mean that there was a church in the Old Testament in the same sense that there is a church in the New Testament. The word for church is ekklesia, which means “called-out.” Even a group called out to mob somebody would be an ekklesia, a called-out group. So, Israel in the wilderness was a called-out group. They were called out of Egypt, by God, for a particular purpose.

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Israel did not go back to Egypt in a physical, material sense. But in their hearts they went back to Egypt many, many times. In the same way there are many people today who say they deplore certain sins of the world and sins of the flesh. It is always so easy to point the finger at someone else and condemn him for his sin. A question we need to ask ourselves is: Would I like to do the same thing? Where is our heart? Israel went back to Egypt in their heart.

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They didn’t know what had happened to him, and they didn’t care. They had rejected Moses.

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Stephen is showing them that Israel has always been rebellious.

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They went into idolatry. That is why Moses (and later Joshua) pleaded with the people to choose God and turn from their idols.

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Jesus is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Joshua.

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You see that the temple was David’s idea. I have always thought it should be called David’s temple even though Solomon built it.

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Now he comes to his condemnation of the religious rulers of that day.

Acts 7:51

Physically, these men were circumcised, but in their hearts and in their ears, they were uncircumcised. That is, they would not hear God any more than their ancestors down through the years had heard Him. This is a masterful speech. Stephen reminds them of the deliverance out of Egypt. God made Moses the deliverer, but the children of Israel refused to obey him. The wilderness experience was a series of rebellions against God, brought to a climax in the making of a golden calf. A plague of idolatry broke out again in the land and resulted in the Babylonian captivity. Stephen concludes with Joshua, who led them into the land, and Jesus, who made the way to heaven. He charges that the Law was given to them supernaturally by the ministry of angels, and they did not keep it. Perhaps they knew that the birth of Jesus was announced by angels. Obviously, they have been the betrayers and murderers of Him.

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MARTYRDOM OF STEPHENStephen became the first martyr. Also, in this portion of the chapter, we are first introduced to Saul of Tarsus. How they hated Stephen for saying what he did!

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Since God is a spirit, how can there be a right hand of God? Because at “the right hand of God” indicates the place of prominence, the place of honor. God had promised Jesus Christ that He would glorify Him and give Him a name that is above every name. Jesus Christ is exalted. He is at the right hand of God. In Heb_1:3 we are told, “…when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The fact that He was seated at the right hand of God indicates that His work was completedour redemption is finished. But that doesn’t mean He isn’t still working in our behalf. Here He is standing, ready to receive His first martyr.

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These two young menStephen and Saul of Tarsusare together here for the first time, the only time, the last time. They are enemies. They stand on the opposite sides of the Cross.

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Stephen falls asleep. Jesus puts his body to sleep to await the Rapture. Stephen goes into the presence of Christ who is standing to meet him. Stephen is the first martyr of the church to go to be with his Lord. The other young man there that day was a Pharisee, and he thought he had everything. He looked up into heaven when Stephen said that he saw the heavens open. I am sure that Saul looked up longingly and admitted to himself, I don’t see anything, but I’d like to see what he sees. I have an empty heart. Stephen was a tremendous witness to Saul. Stephen was the one, I believe, who prepared Saul for the appearance of the Lord Jesus on the Damascus road, as we shall see.