“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” Acts 7:51-60
Stephen fulfilled Jesus’ prayer: “I have given them the glory that you gave me”(John 17:22) as he faced the Sanhedrin with the “face of an angel”. Answering the high priest’s question “Are these charges true?”—to the charge of blasphemy. Stephen’s response was framed in familial terms: “Hear me, my brothers and fathers….”
In a remarkable recapitulation of Israel’s history, Stephen pointed out how the patriarchs initially rejected Joseph and Moses, despite the evidence that God was with them.
He centered on the Synagogue of Freedmen and their deference to the law of Moses and the temple. They had accused Stephen of making “blasphemous words against Moses and against God”. Stephen in his history reminds them they disowned and rejected Moses at first. “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?”— they had said to him in Egypt. Moses, whom God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush…. “This man led them out, performing signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for 40 years.” (7:36)
This is the same Moses who said to the sons of Israel, “ God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. You must listen to Him.” (Deut.18:15,18) He thus predicted the coming of the Christ.
Stephen reminded them of their apostasy regarding the temple they so venerated.
“Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf…..But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. (7:39-42)
Then, amazingly, we find that a role reversal has occurred, where now Stephan is the de facto judge and the Council is on trial! Where before he had addressed them as “brothers” and “fathers”, Stephen now distances himself from them as he directly denunciates them as “You stiff-necked people “. The image evoked is that of a stubborn ox which will not go where it is led. Their covenant of circumcision that they had taken so much pride in, has become as the non-circumcised pagans. “You do always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?
Stephen, here, makes a distinction that “your ancestors “ are not his ancestors. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel….But it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”(Rom.9:6-7) Stephen was speaking as one of those “children of the promise”.
“And now you have betrayed and murdered Him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
But Stephen remembered the Master’s emphasis on mercy. And he remembered the Scriptures promised “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 59:20) So there was hope for his kinsmen. It’s too bad that they did not extend the same mercy back to Stephen.
Questions To Think About:
Stephen fulfilled Jesus’ prayer: “I have given them the glory that you gave me”(John 17:22) as he faced the Sanhedrin with the “face of an angel”. Answering the high priest’s question “Are these charges true?”—to the charge of blasphemy. Stephen’s response was framed in familial terms: “Hear me, my brothers and fathers….”
In a remarkable recapitulation of Israel’s history, Stephen pointed out how the patriarchs initially rejected Joseph and Moses, despite the evidence that God was with them.
He centered on the Synagogue of Freedmen and their deference to the law of Moses and the temple. They had accused Stephen of making “blasphemous words against Moses and against God”. Stephen in his history reminds them they disowned and rejected Moses at first. “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?”— they had said to him in Egypt. Moses, whom God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush…. “This man led them out, performing signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for 40 years.” (7:36)
This is the same Moses who said to the sons of Israel, “ God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. You must listen to Him.” (Deut.18:15,18) He thus predicted the coming of the Christ.
Stephen reminded them of their apostasy regarding the temple they so venerated.
“Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf…..But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. (7:39-42)
Then, amazingly, we find that a role reversal has occurred, where now Stephan is the de facto judge and the Council is on trial! Where before he had addressed them as “brothers” and “fathers”, Stephen now distances himself from them as he directly denunciates them as “You stiff-necked people “. The image evoked is that of a stubborn ox which will not go where it is led. Their covenant of circumcision that they had taken so much pride in, has become as the non-circumcised pagans. “You do always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?
Stephen, here, makes a distinction that “your ancestors “ are not his ancestors. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel….But it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”(Rom.9:6-7) Stephen was speaking as one of those “children of the promise”.
“And now you have betrayed and murdered Him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
But Stephen remembered the Master’s emphasis on mercy. And he remembered the Scriptures promised “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 59:20) So there was hope for his kinsmen. It’s too bad that they did not extend the same mercy back to Stephen.
Questions To Think About:
- The Sanhedrin took great pride in the Law but failed to obey its ultimate point (Jesus), Are there religious habits or “rules “ you follow while ignoring the weightier matters of mercy or faith?
- Israel initially rejected Joseph and Moses—the very people God sent to save them. Have you ever dismissed a blessing or a word from God because it didn’t come in the package (or through the person) you expected?
- Stephen faced hostility with the “face of an angel” and ended with a prayer of mercy. When you are unfairly criticized or “put on trial “ by others, what is the natural reaction of your heart? How can you cultivate Stephen”s Christ-like perspective?
- Stephen transitioned from calling the Council “brothers” to “stiff-necked people “ when the truth required it. How do you balance the call to be “gentle as doves” with the necessity of being “bold as lions” when standing up for the Gospel?
- Even in his scathing rebuke, the hope of Isaiah 59:20 (the Redeemer coming to those who repent) remains. Is there someone in your life who seems “unreachable “ or hardened to the Gospel for whom you can pray for a “circumcised heart”?
Posted in The Sanhedrin on Trail