So Glad You Asked

After being seized and hauled before the Sanhedrin, Stephen remained, as far as we can see, silent

He stood accused of trying to change the customs of their faith, he wanted to show them the continuity of the faith from its origin to the Christ—the anointed one, Jesus of Nazareth

Now, he is given the chance to speak

Interesting to note that when he speaks, quite eloquently…he really doesn’t answer the question asked…at least not directly and certainly not as they were expecting; a simple yes or no would have sufficed

In total, we’ll see that his answer presents a predicament, and attempts—unsuccessfully—to guide them to a proper response

We’ll see that Stephen respected his questioners, he returned to common ground, he retraced their history

We can look at this as part 1 of a critical lesson in Jewish history

There has been a long history of God’s servants—the prophets of the OT—giving a history review when God’s people have had a period of failure; it comes down to a restatement of the facts

He...

Respected

…his questioners—even though they’d brought him by force—it hadn’t been his plan to be there

…even though he stood falsely accused

There was no animosity on the part of the early church—the Way—toward the Jewish people, they still met within the temple; most likely, they continued practice of all the Jewish customs and traditions

He addressed the common in his hearing as brothers, the council elite as fathers—a sign of respect

The verb is imperative: hear me! (tidbit, the word is akouo) Surely not a snarling tone of voice, but a plea to be heard—without hearing they could not grasp the importance of the message he would be giving them

He...

Returned

…to common ground

He references the

God of Glory

…and the relationship that God initiated with Abraham

Our father, Abraham

A basic fact established here is that God Chose Abraham

He was among a people serving other gods when God Jehovah chose, him, called him and directed him

He

Retraced

...the critical points of the history

Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

He begins with Abraham

graphic

He takes them through the key players…one of the patriarchs being Joseph…of that coat of many colors

Within this morning’s text is a hint toward the captivity in Egypt and the bringing back to the land

Interesting sidebar: Stephen alludes to Exodus 3:12 “He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”” but instead of quoting it he modifies it; instead of “on this mountain,” he uses, “in this place”

Scholars differ on whether he was meaning Palestine—the promised land—or the temple mount

One of things that make you go HMMMMM?!?!?!?

As he traces this history they will be…or should be...seeing the consistency of God’s goodness in establishing, guiding and providing for His people

They will be His people and He will be their God Leviticus 26:12 “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

…that spoken among other instructions and commandments

Note what he did NOT remind them about: primarily, he only followed the key player of their lineage

He was not, for this lesson, interested in anyone but the line of the promise—to the patriarchs

There was no need for a discussion of any of the mis-steps of any of them; no need for the other offspring (e.g. Esau) and their lineages

WITFM?

Change that to

Why is this important to Christians?

The story, as being told here, began with God, Abraham, and promises

Comment on Dever’s books: Promises Made/Promises Kept

https://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/sermon/promises-made-the-message-of-the-old-testament/

https://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/sermon/promises-kept-the-message-of-the-new-testament/

We could back up and trace the same path of promises, sovereignty…from Adam through Noah, to the separation of nations at Babel

With an examination of the history, we come to fact that:

Jesus was and is the fulfilment of that of blessings for all nations

Words spoken by the LORD in Gen 18 18-19

Genesis 18:18–19 (ESV)

seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

Just as the Jew cannot divorce themselves from the completion of the promise in Jesus, we cannot divorce Christianity from the Jewish history

Paul tells us clearly in Rom 9 4-5

Romans 9:4–5 ESV

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

We will follow up on that next week and in following weeks

Meanwhile

We are in the church age, post Pentecost, pre-return of Christ

How are we to apply it? Here? Today?

As we read chapter 7, we have not seen the trials and tribulations that come from disobedience—we will

Start with our acknowledgment of the history we’re in—we don’t exist in a vacuum; the Biblical narrative didn’t happen in a vacuum

Stephen has only begun his dissertation: he’s started with God’s sovereignty, His Promises and His faithfulness

We’ll start there

Have you grasped His sovereignty? This who story we’re now a part of is not about us, it’s about Him

Can you see His promise? Ultimately, it’s a promise to redeem sinful man

Have you trusted in His faithfulness? It’s revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ

We may not understand it from our perspective at this moment BUT, we can trust it!