Stephen's Trial - Finale

Main Idea

Jesus is worth any cost.

Today, we will see Stephen’s story come to a close. It has taken us four weeks to get through the abundance of meat on the bone here. We’ve seen how Stephen’s godly service resulted in jealous accusations. How he was seized and dragged to the Sanhedrin, and how he vindicated the truthfulness of the gospel through historical storytelling. Now, we will see him drive the point home and pay the ultimate price for his faith.

Outline

I - God’s House (vv. 44-50)

II - The Accusation (vv. 51-53)

III - Stephen’s Death (vv. 54-60)

BRIDGES

1. Savior bridge. God’s leaders from history point to Christ.

2. Resistor Bridge. The opposition to God’s leaders points to Stephen’s accusers.

RHYTHMS

1. God acts and provides wherever his people are.

2. The Israelites are prone to reject God’s established leaders.

3. God is in control of historical events.

I - God’s House

With the groundwork laid from the stories of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, Stephen makes one final appeal to Israel’s history: the tent of witness and the Temple.

Acts 7:44–50 ESV

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49 “ ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50 Did not my hand make all these things?’

The Tent

If you remember from last week, Stephen ended with a quote from Amos 5, which showed Israel’s downward spiral of idolatry and how they took up the tent of the Ammonite god, Moloch. That is what the darkened hearts of the Israelites desired. This stands in stark opposition to the tent of witness mentioned here.

This tent was their mobile temple in the wilderness, known as the Tabernacle. God directed Moses to make it with very specific design requirements. This means it is God-given, not man-made like Moloch’s tent, and instead of a deaf and mute idol at its center, God Himself would remain there. Joshua and the ‘fathers’ took it to the promised land after they had dispossessed the current inhabitants, and it remained there through the time of King David.

The other articles were representations of God’s presence

• Table of bread = provision, life-giving, life-sustaining, Jesus is the bread of life

• 7-branched lampstand = God’s light and life; Jesus is the light of the world

• Alter of incense = man’s prayers rising to the Lord as a pleasing aroma

All of these things point to the reality that God is with his people wherever they are.

God was present and active for a long time before Jerusalem was developed, and the temple was built. From Ur and Haran to Egypt, to Midian and Mount Sinai - God was with His people wherever they were. That should have been even more obvious with a mobile temple that would travel with the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness before settling into the promised land.

That is the tent, but Stephen isn’t just drawing their attention to the structure. He is also pointing to what was stored inside.

Witness

This was the tent of witness. The witness refers to the tablets of the law in the ark of the covenant or the ark of the testimony. The terminology here - witness and testimony - is meant to point to the exclusive relationship between the one true and living God and His people (as opposed to their desire to bow before a false god). The tablets themselves bear witness to the event on Mount Sinai.

So, for 14 generations that span roughly 1,00 years - from Abraham to David - God’s presence and law were with the Israelites outside of the promised land. And now, God’s promise to Abraham has been fully realized, despite their constant rejection and unfaithfulness.

All of this took place before the temple in Jerusalem was constructed. Stephen has now driven the nail almost into the wood - God acts and provides wherever his people are. There is only one final hammer blow needed.

The Physical Temple

Even though King David wanted to build a permanent home for God, his son Solomon was chosen to build the Temple. And so he did, and when he completed the project, commissioned it, and God’s glory came down, Solomon uttered these words in 1 Kings 8:27:

1 Kings 8:27 ESV

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!

Even King Solomon understood that God could not be contained in a single place. Even though the Temple was glorious and magnificent, it would never house a God who fills the entire heavens! Perhaps that is what Stephen had in mind when he quoted Isaiah:

Isaiah 66:1–2 ESV

1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

With this final hammer blow, Stephen fully sets the nail that God’s presence is not, nor has it ever been, confined to one place, one city, or one structure. The rhythms that (1) God acts and provides wherever his people are and (2) God is in control of historical events are now complete.

Hopefully, you can see how this applies to you. For the 1st Century Jew, the Temple was God’s dwelling place. Today, we don’t have temples. We have churches. God’s presence doesn’t dwell in buildings. He dwells in His people. In fact, Paul brings that metaphor full circle when he calls the human body a temple. If you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are now God’s dwelling place. You are made holy by His presence, and you can enjoy fellowship with Him any time... anywhere. What a glorious truth! You’re never alone!

This would be the final defense by way of historical story-telling. Stephen rests his defense of blasphemy with the accurate retelling of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses’ stories. The final rhythm and the two bridges have been mostly constructed. Now, it is time for Stephen to complete the span into the present day.

II - The Accusation

In this next section, the two bridges reach the other side. The history lesson is over. Now it is time for the application, and Stephen pulls no punches. Though it may seem harsh, he unloads four accusations on his accusers, which leave them utterly defenseless.

Acts 7:51–53 ESV

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

Stiff-necked

Stephen has already used the description of Israel’s past leaders against her current leaders. That was the point of the history lesson: you are prone to resist God’s leaders just like your forefathers did. Last week, we left off with Israel’s rebellion at the base of Mount Sinai with the golden calf and beyond.

Now, he is using God’s own description of the past leaders against the current leaders (see Ex. 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deut. 9:6, 13 for examples). One example is used in this same story with the golden calf when God says:

Exodus 33:3 ESV

3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Have you ever seen an animal resist being led? That is what they will do. Using the harness to pull them where you want them to go, they will stiffen their neck and head, actively pulling away from the direction you are pulling them toward. My dog does this exceptionally well when he knows it’s bath time.

That is what Stephen is saying they are doing. They see where they are being led and resist it, just like harnessed animals do.

And by using God’s terminology, this is a direct indictment, not from Stephen, but from God Himself, and brings the accusation on their heads in full force. That’s indictment #1.

Uncircumcised Hearts and Ears

Indictment #2 brings back the previously mentioned covenant of circumcision.

Earlier, Stephen specifically mentioned God’s covenant of circumcision with Abraham. Here, he is making the spiritual application of circumcision, saying they had adhered to the letter of the law through physical circumcision but utterly failed in the spiritual application. Your body is circumcised, but your heart and ears remain uncircumcised. Outwardly, you show yourself to be God’s covenant people, but inwardly, you are at war with Him because your heart is blinded to the spiritual principles behind the laws you so closely protect. In their unfaithfulness to the true meaning of the covenant, they are no closer to God than uncircumcised gentiles.

And as Jesus said on more than one occasion: you have ears but do not hear, or else you would not have done what you did. You are covenant breakers, just like your forefathers.

This terminology is also widely used throughout the Old Testament (see Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16, 30:6; Jer. 4:4, 6:10, 9:26; Ezek. 44:7, 9 as examples).

Deuteronomy 10:16 ESV

16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.

Stephen is demonstrating that they are the ones who stand accused in God’s judgment with His words, not him. In his letter to the Romans, Paul would later flesh this out in more detail (no pun intended), making the distinction between a physical circumcision and a spiritual one.

Romans 2:25–29 ESV

25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

What is the point? The religious leaders thought they could find salvation and justification by obeying the law and completely missed the purpose behind it. What God truly desires is the transformation of the heart by the power of his word and through the new birth provided by the Spirit.

Resisting the Holy Spirit

But that won’t happen as long as you actively resist this way. These first two indictments result in indictment #3: you claim to know God, but you are blind because you actively resist His Spirit.

Remember Gamaliel’s wise words? If the movement is from man, it will fail, but if it is from God, there’s no stopping it. They persecuted Jesus throughout his earthly ministry and are now attacking his followers, despite all the signs and healings that point to God. They’ve made a career of resisting the Spirit whom they claim to know and follow.

This parallels Isaiah’s words in 63:10, which say:

Isaiah 63:10 ESV

10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

Like a dog returns to its vomit so the religious leaders return to the ways of their forefathers...

You are just like the leaders of the past

They all persecuted and killed their prophets. Which one remained un-persecuted? They fought against God’s messengers, and you have done the same. Over and over again, Stephen echoes the words of his Lord Jesus. (see Luke 11:47–51; 13:34). Jesus issued this same indictment.

And it is here that Stephen finalizes the two bridges. He has fully connected the Resistor bridge to his accusers without confusion.

Now, he connects the Savior bridge by mentioning The Righteous One. These men listening to Stephen’s words are the ones who have betrayed and murdered The Righteous One, though they were the ones entrusted with the angel-delivered law that pointed to him.

It is a bit peculiar that Stephen didn’t mention Jesus’ name outright. But, whatever the reason, there was no mistaking whom he was talking about. This was Peter’s title for Jesus in his sermon at the temple portico when the lame beggar was healed (see Acts 3:14–15). Isaiah uses this title in Isa 24:16 & 53:11, which speak of the coming Messiah Stephen and the twelve disciples claim is Jesus.

But what they have done is both the same and worse! Israel’s forefathers killed the prophets who foretold the coming Messiah - The Righteous One - but Stephen is making a harsher claim on his accusers because they betrayed and murdered the Righteous One - the one whom the prophets of the past prophesied about! They killed the messenger, but you killed the actual Messiah!

Stephen is not the one on trial here… not in God’s view, anyway. The Hellenistic Jews and the Sanhedrin are, and they do not take these incitements well.

III - Stephen’s Death

Unfortunately, their reactions remain consistent with the past. Their internal rage materialized in their uncontrolled mannerisms. Unlike Stephen’s godly character, the pious religious leaders act like depraved wild dogs.

Acts 7:54–60 ESV

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Out of the depths of the heart, the mouth speaks.

And lest we are tempted to think that Stephen’s harsh words were a bit overkill, Luke draws a distinctive parallel. While they were filled with rage, Stephen was full of the Spirit.

The Son of Man

And, while being full of the Spirit, he saw heaven open, revealing God’s glory and Jesus standing at His right hand, saying, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” We could spend all day unpacking these two verses! It is so glorious and overflowing with meaning.

God’s right hand.

First, Jesus is positioned at God’s right hand, a place of prominence and equal standing with the one on the throne. Jesus rules and reigns on equal ground with the Father and confirms the reality of Ps. 110:1, which says:

Psalm 110:1 ESV

1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

By saying this, the Jews would have been able to charge him with the same blasphemy they charged Jesus with because Jesus claimed to be God. Here, Stephen verbalizes the same.

Sit vs. Stand.

In Ps. 110:1 and other places, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, but this is the only place in scripture where Jesus is standing. Being seated signifies that his atoning work is complete. By standing up, Jesus is defending and vindicating his faithful disciple. It is almost a visual representation of the words we all long to hear, “well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” And Jesus is standing to receive him into His arms.

Son of Man.

Not only was this Jesus’ favorite title for himself (Matt. 26:64), but it is also a completed picture of Dan. 7:13-14:

Daniel 7:13–14 ESV

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Time after time, Stephen uses Old Testament language to indite his accusers and justify his claims of Jesus’ Lordship. This is language the entire Sanhedrin would have known and understood. Upon hearing these words, the Jews could no longer contain themselves.

Stephen’s Murder

As they seized him to bring him to trial, so they seized him for execution.

This was done illegally. Their law allowed for it (Lev. 24:16), but they couldn’t carry it out without Roman consent, as we see in Jesus’ trial.

Stephen imitates his Savior in life and death. Through his final words:

• He was tried and judged by the Sanhedrin

• He did not back down from the truth

• He used Jesus’ words in his defense (as we have already mentioned) and in his death

• Lord Jesus, receive my spirit (Luke 23:46)

• Lord, do not hold this sin against them (Luke 23:34)

And so, we have the first Christian martyr. And at his death, a new character stands in approval of this illegal execution. A man named Saul is introduced, the great persecutor of the church… the one we will later come to know as Paul the Apostle.

Conclusion

Stephen shows us how we can reflect Christ in our lives, whether through the blessings we receive or the suffering and persecution we ensure. I want you to go home this week and ask yourself these questions:

Do you act as though living for Jesus is worth this cost?

Do you understand that the Son of Man is sitting on His throne in 2023?

How should that change you?