Holding onto the Temple and the Customs of Moses (Acts 6:8-15)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 6

Stephen Is Seized

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak 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 will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Today we’re picking up in Acts 6, verse 8, with Luke’s well known account of (spoiler alert) the stoning of Stephen, who we saw for the first time at the beginning of Acts chapter 6 when the apostles appointed seven men to help them manage the practical affairs of the church, deacons, specifically to aid them in the distribution of the generous donations of those within the church to widows who were in need. You see, a complaint had arisen within the church that a certain group of widows were being neglected in the daily distribution, and so they had the congregation select from among themselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom they could appoint to this duty of overseeing the daily distribution and to resolving this particular matter. And it was important that these men possessed certain biblical qualifications, which we considered in our last time, that these men had to be mature Christians full of the Spirit and uniquely gifted with wisdom, in order to serve the church accordingly.

Now, five of these men are never mentioned again in Luke’s Book of Acts, or the rest of the NT, but two of them, Stephen and Phillip, are immediately featured again here in the two chapters that follow. Stephen is famously remembered as the church’s first martyr and Phillip is famously known as an evangelist, all as the result of the two accounts found here in Acts 6-8, and briefly in Acts 21:8 when Paul mentions that he stayed at the home of “Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven” chosen here in Acts 6.

Flash point

Now, up to this point, we’ve seen a couple of interactions between the disciples and the religious authorities. The first was at the Temple when Peter healed a man who had been lame since birth, sitting on the steps of the Beautiful Gate. The religious authorities took notice shortly thereafter in chapter 4 and arrested both Peter and John. Seeing that the sign had won the people's favor, they simply charged Peter and John to remain silent.

But rather than causing the church to recoil, out of fear for the authorities, the church was only emboldened, and so just one chapter later in Acts 5, after the apostles had performed many more signs and wonders among the people, the high priest and the party of the Sadducees, filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles again, and not just Peter and John this time, but apparently all twelve of them. They were so enraged that they wanted to kill them, but cooler heads prevailed, recognizing that if they did, they risked putting their own power and authority in jeopardy. Therefore, after beating the apostles and warning them again, they let them go.

Now, as you can imagine, if the church continued on this trajectory, eventually this situation would boil over. If the apostles continued teaching and performing signs and wonders among the people, the religious authorities would be forced to take further, more drastic action to stop them. Which is precisely what happens here, beginning here at the end of chapter 6, and then into chapter 7, with the stoning of Stephen. In fact, the stoning of Stephen becomes the flash point or catalyst that leads to widespread persecution of the church. This is why we read in Acts 8, for instance, immediately following Stephen’s stoning, that “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.”

And so this account of Stephen’s confrontation with the authorities and martyrdom becomes a turning point in church history, and as we’ll see later, didn’t hinder the Gospel, but only caused the Gospel to spread further. If you recall, back in Acts 1, before Jesus had departed into heaven, he told his disciples that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them, and would be his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In other words, it’ll be this escalation of persecution that’ll become the providential means by which the Gospel will spread beyond the borders of Jerusalem to the rest of Judea and Samaria, and ultimately beyond. So, as we consider this account of Stephen I want you to keep in the back of your mind the big picture, that while the Gospel first came to Jerusalem, that it’s about to have a ripple effect that reaches beyond the borders of the city. Like an earthquake that generates a tsunami and eventually reaches the shores of lands hundreds of miles away.

Now, there’s a lot of text here to cover in this account of Stephen’s martyrdom, and I’m sure we could easily turn this into a four part series, but I’d like to avoid that if we can, because while this account has enough content to do so, I don’t want us to miss the thrust of Stephen’s speech in chapter 7 by getting too deep into the weeds, so my plan is to tackle this account in two parts. First, I want to set the stage for what’s going on here by looking at the remaining verses in Acts 6, verses 8-15, then, second, in our next time, we’ll consider what Stephen says in light of the situation.

Full of grace and power

So, let’s start by picking up there in verse 8,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

So, apparently, not only are signs and wonders being conducted at the hands of the apostles, but there are others within the church, like Stephen, who are engaged in performing these signs and wonders as well. And I know I’ve labored this point before, but because of the confusion that often surrounds the purpose of miracles within the church it’s worth mentioning it again here. Signs and wonders are intended to confirm the message of the person sent by God, signs and wonders authorize the messenger.

How could they be sure that what Stephen was saying was true and authorized by God? Well, first, by whether it coincided with prior revelation, did his teaching coincide with what God had already taught or revealed to them in the past? This is, for instance, how you and I judge teaching today, by comparing it with what God has previously revealed through inspired Scripture. However, when God is also giving or disclosing new revelation, it must not only accord with his prior revelation (that is, not to contradict it), but it must also be confirmed in some way.

For example, we can trust what Moses wrote (that is, the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Bible), because his ministry was confirmed repeatedly by signs and wonders. And not only can we trust the history that he recorded, but the Israelites followed him out of Egypt (albeit at times reluctantly) as a result of the signs and wonders performed at his hands. They could also trust the divine revelation given to them at Sinai, because it was confirmed by signs and wonders, whether it was the thunder and lighting, the audible voice of God, the earthquakes, or the pillar of fire and smoke that lead them through the wilderness. There could be no reasonable doubt in their minds that this was the God of their fathers.

And we could go on about how signs and wonders accompanied Joshua and the Israelites into the land of Canaan, and how even during the time of the judges that signs and wonders accompanied men like Gideon and Samson, how signs and wonders accompanied prophets like Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha, and that prophets were held to account for the words that they spoke, that if the word they spoke didn’t come to pass or come true, that the people could know that it was a word that the Lord had not spoken, and that the penalty for such a crime was death.

Now, this isn’t to say that signs and wonders were common throughout biblical history, they weren’t, though it may seem like it since Scripture is often a redemptive highlight reel, but instead signs and wonders typically accompany divine revelation. Which coincides with the signs and wonders of the early church during the apostolic age. This was a unique time in redemptive history when new revelation was being given.

In other words, as the old covenant was coming to an end the new covenant was being established, and established by new divine revelation. This is why we shouldn’t expect the same signs and wonders to be performed by the church today, because the foundation of divine revelation has already been laid. That isn’t to say that God doesn’t perform miracles today, that’s not what I’m saying at all, however, the miracles that take place today, which are rare, are not intended to serve the purpose of confirming new divine revelation. That type of revelation has ceased in the same way that the signs and wonders performed by Moses in Egypt served a temporary purpose and ceased thereafter.

So as you think about the apostles and men like Stephen it’s important to properly understand the function and purpose of these signs and wonders that accompanied them. Furthermore, remember what we just read back in Acts 1:8, Jesus’ final words to his disciples, when he said, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” hence Luke’s description here that Stephen was full of grace and what? Power. He was full of grace and power, and “doing great wonders and signs among the people.”

Synagogue of the Freedmen

Then Luke continues there in verse 9 and writes,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

Now, in recent weeks we’ve talked about the difference between the Jews who lived in Jerusalem and the region of Palestine, and the Jews who lived beyond the borders of Palestine. That the Jews who lived in the land predominately spoke Hebrew, while the Jews who lived elsewhere in the Roman Empire usually spoke Greek. These were the Hellenistic Jews who were a part of the dispersion. Which is just a reference to those Jews who were scattered abroad as the result of either prior exiles, like the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, and those who just never returned, or simply the result of Jews who had relocated voluntary for other reasons.

Either way, a practicing Jew would travel regularly to Jerusalem to worship and to participate in the various biblical festivals, both locals and those who were a part of the dispersion. As a result, there were synagogues that were tailored to accommodate the Greek speaking Jews who were either traveling in from out of town, or for those Greek speaking Jews who had at some point relocated back to Jerusalem.

Since Greek was their first language, you can imagine many of them would have preferred to have their services conducted in Greek, which is probably what this particular synagogue of the Freedmen was, a synagogue tailored for Greek speaking Jews. We get this impression because the members of this synagogue who disputed with Stephen were from cities outside of Palestine. They included Cyrenians and Alexandrians which are people from cities in North Africa, and those from Cilicia and Asia, or what would be modern day Turkey.

Furthermore, the name of this synagogue is also telling. It’s called the synagogue of the Freedmen, which is a reference to Jews who were formerly slaves (or the children of slaves) who had been emancipated by their owner. Many Jews who were taken captive to Rome at the time of Pompey's conquest of Judea in 63 BC were later emancipated and thereafter had the status of freedmen. (The Book of Acts, Bruce, p. 125) So, this synagogue was apparently composed of Greek speaking Jews of whom many had the shared experience of being former slaves.

Rose up and disputed with Stephen

Now, we’re told that those who belonged to this synagogue “rose up and disputed with Stephen,” because they disagreed with the message he was proclaiming. However, they found it impossible to argue against it. Luke continues there in verse 10, writing,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak 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 will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”

You can imagine how infuriating it must have been for those men who were dogmatically opposed to what Stephen was teaching but “could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.” And rather than being convinced by the truthfulness of Stephen’s teaching, which was confirmed by the signs and wonders that accompanied him, they dug their heals in. In other words, they weren’t interested in hearing the truth, they were only interested in protecting their own traditions and practices, for the sake of those traditions and practices, which is made clear by their willingness to bear false witness against him.

Now, this stands in stark contrast to the openness I often see in new believers, who may not have a particularly Christian background or upbringing, but when they come to Christ their whole world changes. As they consume Scripture they begin to reorient their entire lives. Previous behaviors, friendships, practices, and traditions are all now filtered through the lens of Scripture and sifted. Anything that doesn’t accord with Scripture is thrown out and replaced with biblical practice or shaped by biblical principles. They’re willing to change or relinquish anything out of a desire to follow God, and as the years go by, and their understanding is enlarged, they continually seek to conform their lives to it.

Now, we’re all tempted to hold onto traditions, behaviors, practices, and friendships, even if they run counter to Scripture, whether we came to faith later in life without being raised in a Christian context, or whether we’ve been steeped in a Christian worldview from our childhood. We all have traditions that we love, traditions that we grew up with, the way we celebrate holidays, the structure of our church services, certain theological positions we’ve held for years, worship music preferences, political alignments, certain habits, certain cultural norms that we practice, certain friends and groups we’re a part of, and so on. And many of those practices and traditions may be right and good, but they may not be, and either way the question is whether you’d be willing to relinquish them if you had to? Would you be willing to relinquish them if you discovered them to be unbiblical?

Unwilling to relinquish traditions and submit to the message

Now, despite that Stephen’s teaching and reasoning was indisputable, despite the signs and wonders that accompanied him, these men from the synagogue remained unwilling to humble themselves and to embrace the truth that Jesus was the fulfillment of the very law and promises they claimed to cherish. And as a result, they preferred to silence the messenger rather than to submit to the message.

The tragic irony is that the very people most familiar with Scripture were the ones least willing to let it reshape them when God spoke through His servant Jesus and his disciples, who were attested to them by God with many mighty works, signs, and wonders done through them. And it serves as a sobering warning to every generation, including our own. That when the Spirit confronts us with truth that disrupts our comfortable traditions and lives, will we dig our heels in like these men, or will we humble ourselves like a new believer who says, “Have you way, O Lord”?

Bearing false witness to protect the temple and customs of Moses

Now, the fact that these men were willing to secretly instigate other men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God,” should have been their first clue that they they were on the wrong side of the issue, if they genuinely feared God. You see, they had to conjure up false witnesses to overcome Stephen’s arguments. They had to bear false witness in the name of “protecting the temple and protecting the customs of Moses.” (Acts 6:14) They had to resort to false claims that he was speaking against the temple and the customs of Moses. They were forced to misrepresent Stephen’s teaching to make it easier to attack him. They had to invent a strawman of Stephen’s position, since they couldn’t engage with his real arguments.

Furthermore, Luke says they “stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes,” until “they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”

You see, if the high priest and his party could frame Stephen’s teaching as an attack upon the temple and the customs of Moses then they could garner the approval of the people to condemn Stephen. If you recall, up to this point, the religious authorities had refrained from putting the apostles to death for fear of the people and putting their own power and authority in jeopardy, but now they had found a way to condemn Stephen without incurring the wrath of the people, in fact, the people might even do their bidding for them and put Stephen to death, if they could successfully convince the crowd that Stephen had spoken against the temple and the law.

Disciples were prepared for moments like this

Now, as we’ve studied these first six chapters of Acts, I can’t help but find myself constantly reminded of how Jesus had prepared his disciples for moments just like this. For example, listen to what Jesus told his disciples in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Then in John 16:1-4 he told his disciples, “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” Notice not only that Jesus gives them a heads up, but he also says that he warned them of all these things “to keep you from falling away.” Isn’t that interesting. In other words, one of the ways you will be kept from falling away under the threat of persecution is having been warned that moments like these will come. Not so that you can avoid persecution, but so that you won’t be overcome by it.

In fact, at one point, in Luke 21:8, Jesus tells his disciples that when they’re persecuted and brought before the council for his name’s sake that “this will be your opportunity to bear witness, and to settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.” Sounds like Stephen doesn’t it, “for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Conclusion

So, here’s the situation, Stephen has been doing great signs and wonders among the people, and as a result, some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen rose up and disputed with him, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking, so they convinced men to accuse him of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God, and they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes until they came upon him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who claimed that Stephen has been speaking against the temple and the law, and that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy this place and change the customs that Moses had given them.

The stage is set. How will Stephen respond to their accusations when the high priest asks to him in chapter 7, “Are these things so?” What wisdom will the Spirit of God give him in that hour? Had Stephen and the apostles been speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God? Had Stephen spoken against the temple and the law and said that Jesus would destroy the temple and change the customs given to them by Moses?

Well, that’s what we’re going to consider in our next time. Until then, Luke tells us that like Moses after coming down from Mt. Sinai, “Stephen’s face was like the face of an angel.”

Prayer