Acts 7:8-8:3

Last week we looked closely at verses 1-8 as I hopefully showed you how Stephen was demonstrating to his audience that the promise of Jesus Christ dates back before Moses, and did so by showing you from Genesis the promises that God gave to Abraham ultimately was fulfilled in Christ.

So this week we will keep reading in Acts, and see how Stephens history lesson is proving the point I made last week, and that is the Jews are the ones actually teaching against the law and they killed the messiah.

In the next section Stephen says this..

Acts 7:9–15 ESV

9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers,

So just as a reminder Joseph is the youngest son of Jacobs kids, and he was sold because his brothers were upset at him because of the love his father had for him, and a dream that came true that he would be in a place of authority over his brothers. and really much more, but because God made a promise to Abraham he was going to keep his people alive, so how did he do this?

So Joseph gets sold is a servant is a high officials house and the wife takes a liking to him, and wants to have relations with him, and he runs away completely naked and gos to prison, because the wife said he tried to have sex with her, and while he was in prison the Pharaoh has this dream that no one can interpret, and someone tells the Pharoah there is a guy in prison who can interpret your dreams.

So Joseph goes and interprets the dream tells the Pharoah what it means that there is a great famine coming we need to get ready for it, and as a result he saves his people who are not in Egypt, and so all through that Jacob thinks his son is dead. Doesn’t know what is going on in Egypt, yet he hears there is grain there, so he sends his sons, and his sons go have to leave the second oldest Benjamin to prove they are not spies, and then when they come back again Jospeh tells him who he really is causing like Stephen says his family to join him in Egypt.

Why does this matter? Stephen is telling them God is always with his people, and something we are going to see in this sermon several times, The Jews reject God’s representatives.

So now we get to Moses.

Acts 7:20–22 ESV

20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

God saves moses from this death decree that was brought out to kill some of the children because the Israelites were growing to large, and places him in a house that he is eventually by the power of God going to get them out of slavery.

Acts 7:23–29 ESV

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

So we see a transition in Moses life that happens after being in the home of the Pharaohs he goes back to his own people and saves one of his own, and through that he leaves because his own people reject him.

Keep reading…

Acts 7:30–38 ESV

30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.

So Moses who was rejected by his own people goes to save his people. Verse 37 is a reference to Jesus himself.

One Scholar said… Stephen traces Moses’s career through the Egyptian, Midianite, and Wilderness to point out that God was with Moses in every case.

Moving on Acts 7:39-43

Acts 7:39–43 ESV

39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

These verses are tough for me because if you have read your bible and seen what God had done through moses by seeing him do incredible things by the Power of God, for them to go back on him and God is sad. They turned to idols though they had been rescued by God.

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?’

Stephen wraps up this section by going through the Israelites settlement in the land talking about the tabernacle, and temple.

Theologian John Stott said… A single thread runs right through the first part of his defence. It is that the God of Isreal is a pilgrim God, who is not restricted to any one place. He has pledged himself by solemn covenant to be their God. Therefore, according to his covenant promises wherever they are, there he is also.

The next few verses is where it really heats up.

Acts 7:51–54 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.” 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

He laid out the truth and now he is going after them. He knows there are people in this group that do not know God, and they have resisted the Holy Spirit. They hear the truth yet never properly respond.

and so in verse 52 he asks them an important question. The Jewish people were not shy about going after their prophets. Just as the fathers of Israel had killed so many prophets of God, so Stephen accuses his audience of committing an even worse act of rebellion by killing the Righteous One himself: Jesus. They are a proud, people who are unfaithful to the covenant. If they were faithful to the covenant, they would not have rejected the prophets of that covenant! Like Peter, who charged those at Pentecost with crucifying and killing Christ, Stephen charges the crowd in Acts 7 with murdering the Righteous One, the one long foretold by the prophets.

What did this do? It made them furious.

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.

The death of Stephen looks alot like the death of Jesus. And prior to that death Stephen sees something pretty incredible. He sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is unique because we usually see Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. Some say its because Stephen served him with great honor worthy of a standing ovation.

Even though he had his eyes on heaven he himself was stoned. And they put there garments down at Saul’s feet.

He is most likely the ringleader for this.. This is the first time we see Saul in the text. Though alot of acts soon will be about him, and his ministry. The putting down of the garments was a sign that he was in charge.

Something to note here is that Stephen asked the Lord to receive his spirit and Lord do not hold this sin against them.

Saul would become the prayer that Stephen asked for..

Acts 8:1–3 ESV

1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.