A More Sure Word!

Acts 6:13-7:8

13 They also set up false witnesses who said, "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us." 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

7 Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?" 2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.' 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 7 'And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.' 8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs. NKJV

Picking up where we left off, from our last study of Acts 6, we will begin with Stephen before the members of the Sanhedrin. As a quick refresher, Stephen was dragged away against his will for blasphemy charges that were just not ‘warranted’ to arrest him. He was secretly slandered for speaking things against God, Moses, the law, and the temple. But they were all false charges because his opposition were in violation to God, Moses’ prophesies, and the Law. They were willfully misapplying the law when once confronted with the fulfillment of them ­– Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30). The apostles were already arrested for causing disturbances in the temple for preaching in the Name of Jesus Christ, but here we have Stephen teaching things about their laws that no longer apply to them as God’s people. This quickly infuriated the chief priests once they got wind of it and sent for Stephen’s arrest.

And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Now, in spite of being dragged away without a warrant or a purpose of arrest, Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin (the council) with “the face as of an angel”. What does this mean? Stephen was most likely smiling as bright as the sun to have the honor to suffer for Jesus Christ at the hands of the highest law in Israel. This would have been like a peasant without a lawyer being able to make his case before the Supreme Court. Stephen was given the honor to be almost equaled to the call of an apostle. His face was radiant with the joy of the knowledge of Jesus Christ; and now he has the opportunity to preach Christ to the elite of Israel. His confidence was no doubt in the Lord’s righteousness, for he was being persecuted as an evil doer and a law breaker (Isa.9:17). This was a tremendous privilege to have the Sanhedrin stare at him with discontent and contempt. After all, he was in contempt of the disrespect of the law and the temple. Imagine seven supreme judges holding you in contempt of their infallible court. This was a real reward to Stephen, to have been so pleasing to His Maker, that the law of the land is gnashing their teeth at him, while he just sits there with a big grin on his face. To the council this was no doubt an arrogant, proud, and blasphemous grin, but to God and to Stephen it was the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Cor.4:6). Stephen fully understood who and what he is about to suffer for (2Tim.2:9). He was going to suffer for the glory of Jesus Christ and for the future of God’s children, both Jew and Gentile (1Pet.4:15). This was Stephen’s reward, and to give you a glimpse into the future of Stephen, it was the reward of seeing Christ coming in His full glory.

Acts 7:54-56

When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" NKJV

Stephen’s power came by keeping his eyes on Christ. In seeing Christ in God’s position of authority, and standing up for Stephen in intercession, he was able to be obedient in his death (Heb 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NKJV). It was not Stephen’s pride that killed him this day, but the Lord’s sovereign purpose to eventually scatter the gospel throughout the world. It will be because Israel rejects and persecutes Christ’s church that the apostles are sent, and their disciples dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, to declare the message of Jesus Christ (Rom.11:19-22). No doubt, the early church believed the beginning of the end was coming very quickly (Rev.22:20).

Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?"

Here we have the president of Israel showing his democratic colors, and putting on his show that he is about the defense of Israel, showing kindness to Stephen by giving him an opportunity to defend himself; but as we shall soon see, as we continue to study what Stephen is aiming for in his defense; the “highest pope” of Israel is going to quickly execute his “infallible” dictatorship and have Stephen immediately stoned without even going lawfully to the Roman courts.

And he said, “Brethren and fathers, . . .

First thing we need to notice is the respect Stephen gives to the chief priests in spite of their ignorance and false accusations. Stephen refers to them as “Brethren”. Stephen is not about to exalt himself over his enemies. Stephen saw them as equal to him in the fall of Adam and original sin (1Cor.15:22). Together, as children of Adam, they are all brothers in sin; but Stephen is not about to be “brethren in arms” against Rome. Stephen did not want to defeat Rome through an insurrection, but through a spiritual war. Second, we need to recognize that Stephen respects them as “fathers”. In spite of the heavy yoke and the burdens that the high priests placed on the children of Israel, he understood that they sit in Moses' seat, for the present, in the providence of God. They are the law of the land and currently have the authority to execute judgment on behalf of the children of Israel but they will be accountable to God.

Matt 23:1-12

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. NKJV

Therefore, Stephen is showing respect for their position while showing disrespect for their sin, for he is going to challenge them in their understanding of the law and prophets. But here in lies the challenge for Stephen, they did not perceive Stephen as their equal, for they were blinded by the pride of their position; therefore the burden was upon Stephen. Stephen was just a young man, and was deemed “not qualified” to debate with them, not having studied in their approved schools. This was the sin of the chief priests that led to Stephen’s death, for they truly believed they were doing God service by ridding Israel of the likes of this young man and his predecessor – Jesus Christ (John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. NKJV).

. . . listen:

Listen is exactly what I want to do for Stephen, so I can convey the most truth out of his intent in the context of this chapter. Stephen is a very hyperactive young man, and I can barely keep up with what the Holy Spirit is aiming to proclaim to us, through his intense rebuttal before the Sanhedrin. It appears that he starts out slow and respectful, but as he meditates further upon the truth of God’s Words, the anger and intensity of his speech increases as he describes the history and purposes of the covenant of circumcision (vs. 2-8), and how God delivers Egypt and the patriarchs (vs. 9-16), and then Israel from the oppression of Egypt (vs. 17-36), and summarizing his defense against the customs (vs. 37-43), and the temple having been done away in the fulfillment of Jesus Christ (vs. 44-50), and the conclusion of his condemnation of the elders apostasy (vs. 51-60).

Acts 7:51-53

"You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it." NKJV

We need to consider why Stephen would exercise such hostility towards the Supreme Court of Israel. They had examined Jesus’ teachings and miracles for roughly three and a half years only to come to the conclusion that He was a blaspheming lunatic. Stephen knew that this kangaroo court was like OJ Simpson; they got away with murder. Lord willing we will go through Stephen’s outline in more detail, but I want to begin and end with the main point of Stephen’s defense; and that would be Jesus Christ putting an end to the customs that were central to the temple laws and sacrifices in the fulfillment of Christ’s birth, 3 1/2 year ministry, His onetime death for sins, the resurrection, and ascension of His body that the law, and prophecies, and even the customs alluded to in Jesus Christ (Hos.2:11). These men of Israel were without excuse in the mind of Stephen. Therefore, hear him (Stephen) speak for God (in His Son) by the mouth of the prophets in our next study of Acts chapter seven.

Matt 17:5-7

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. NKJV

Heb 1:1-4

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. NKJV

2 Peter 1:19-21

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. NKJV