The Seizing of Stephen

The Seizing of Stephen

Introduction:

Open you Bibles to Acts chapter 6 this morning

Acts 6 verse 8 found on page 860 in the black church Bibles that are under the seat in front of you

Last week we looked at the first part of this chapter and saw the institution of Deacons

Now, they were not called “Deacons” at this point - that would come later when the church is more formally structured in the pastoral Epistles

But what we do have is the pattern set up

A pattern of Elders and Deacons shown to us in the Apostles and these servants

These men that were put forward by the congregation to lead the practical ministries

7 men full of the Spirit and wisdom - men of a good reputation

When we got to verse 7, I noted that this is a transition verse that Luke is giving us

A signal that things are about to change - to transition from phase 1 to phase 2

Acts 6:7 (ESV)

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

It is a summary verse, or a status update on the expansion of the church - the expansion of the mission

Remember, the mission is to take the gospel to the ends of the earth - and that was to start in Jerusalem

Luke is letting us know that phase one is done - there are multitudes in Jerusalem that are responding to the gospel - even a “great many of the priests”

Not only the average joe on the street, but many of the religious leaders were now seeing that This Jesus, whom they crucified, was and is the Messiah of God - the promised Saviour and the only way to gain eternal life

The signal for us from Luke, is that something is going to change - the Gospel has to move out to Judea and Samaria

From verse 8 of chapter 6 down through verse 3 of chapter 8 we have the transition passage

And it is a very long passage - so, my plan is to spend three weeks looking at it

This morning we will tackle the introduction - The Seizing of Stephen

Then next week we will look at the bulk of the passage - The Sermon of Stephen

And then finally we will look at - The Stoning of Stephen

So, I would invite you to stand with me for the reading of the Word of God

Read Acts 6:8–15 (ESV)

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.

This is the Word of the Living God

Pray

When the 7 men are chosen by the early church, the first man listed was Stephen- perhaps there is a bit of preeminence in that, but more likely, it is because the events of Stephen’s life would come first

The Second man listed was Philip, and we get a glimpse of his life in chapter 8 - after that, we know basically nothing about the other 5 men

Since Luke is going to show us how the church expanded, it makes sense to highlight two of the men that God used, in very different ways, to cause the church to grow outside of the city of Jerusalem

Not a great deal i s known about the background of Stephen - outside of the fact that his name was greek and it is likely that he was a Hellenistic Jew

You will remember from last week, that means that he was a Jew with a Greek cultural and linguistic background

Nothing outside of this passage is known about Stephen - we know nothing of his parents, siblings, if he was married or had children - we don’t even know his vocation

But what we do know, is that he was a man with a good reputation who was full of the Spirit per Acts 6:3

A man of character and faith - and this morning we will see that character on full display

This morning we will also learn that he was

Full of Grace

Filled with Wisdom

Face of an angel

We will also see (in the midst of that) the enemy attack with

False Witnesses

Let’s start with verse 8 and see that Stephen was…

1) Full of Grace

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

This is an interesting statement that Luke is making - remember, he was one of the 7 who was selected to serve the Tables so that the Apostles could serve the Word

His main ministry in the church was to manage the widow ministry so that the blending of cultures in the congregation did not burst into division and discord in the church

The service ministry of Mercy to the widows (and presumable the orphans and others in need) was a big ministry with some 20-30 thousand people in the church

Yet, it doesn't sem to preclude him from evangelizing - he was busy about the ministry of proclaiming the gospel

It is also note worthy, that this is the first time someone other than the Apostles is listed as doing great wonders

An average joe in the church was full of the grace of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit to do the work of the ministry - this is exactly what Paul was referring to in Ephesians 4 when he noted that God has given the teacher to the church to equip the members to do the WORK of the Ministry

Luke is showing us that Stephen (and presumable others) were out doing the work of evangelism - they were spending their time speaking about This Jesus

And Stephen was Full of Grace and power - or full of faith (depending on your translation) - that means that he was under the influence of faith - under the influence of the Grace of God

So full of faith that it controlled him - it directed his steps and his words

He was going about doing the work of the ministry that seems to have included some sort of signs and wonders - markers that his ministry was in fact of God

It would also seem that he was going into the synagogues and proclaiming “This Jesus” as the Christ

We find that in verse 9 and 10 when we learn that he was…

2) Filled with Wisdom

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.

A synagogue was set up as a meeting place for Jews to gather and worship the Living God - they would gather for the teaching from the Scriptures

This was the case throughout the known world - when the Babylonians swept into kJerusalem and carried away the Jews into captivity, man y of the those outside the city fled to the surrounding nations - they were dispersed

In doing so, they carried with them their beliefs and set up synagogues in the cities that they arrived at

To have a synagogue in a city, there had to be a least 10 heads of house residing there - a minimum of 10 families

After the return to Jerusalem by the captive Hebrews, the Temple was rebuilt and the Jews from around the world would travel to the city for the feasts and to make the appropriate sacrifices

Now, what is perhaps surprising here is that these synagogues were set up in Jerusalem - the location of the Temple

It would seem that these were set up for the Hellenistic Jews - that is, the outside Jews who traveled back - it was in these separate houses of worship that they would gather for teaching and training

According to the Talmud, there were 480 synagogues set up in Jerusalem at the time of the early church

And here in our text we have several listed

Scholars debate as to how many are in question here - some say there are five listed and others say only one - while the balance seems to be three

Implying that one is the Synagogue of the Freedmen - that is a synagogue made up of families who were at one time slaves in the Roman Empire but had now gained their freedom

The descendants were known as Libertarians - they were freed men

The other synagogues listed here were likely regional ones

One that covered North Africa and one that covered Asia Minor

You can see how Luke pared them

The Cyrenians and the Alexandrians were residents of two the major cities in North Africa

Symon, who carried the cross of Jesus, was from Cyrene

Alexandria was the capitol of Egypt and a safe haven for many of the Jews during the captivity of Babylon - it was also the home of many Jewish Scholars (particularly those who translated the Scriptures into Greek

Both Cilicia and Asia were Roman provinces in Asia Minor

Cilicia is noteworthy, for it is the location of the city of Tarshish

Tarshish was the hometown of a young man named Saul

Saul, of course, will show up at the end of this larger passage and then again as the principle convert to Christ and writer of much of the New Testament

So, as Stephen was teaching in the Synagogues of the Hellenistic Jews, there arose opposition to him

These men of the synagogues were debating the Scriptures with Stephen - and it would not be surprising if a young Saul was among them - since his synagogue is listed here

Yet, it would seem that they were of no match for Stephen

Not because we was particularly sharp - though I would guess that he was a student of the Scriptures and likely had a firm grasp on them

Perhaps he was like Saul in that he had been trained - or perhaps he was just a man who attended and listened

Here is the source of His great wisdom

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

The wisdom that they could not surpass was wisdom given by the Spirit of God

This is exactly what Luke highlighted in his gospel account - when he recorded the Lord instructing his followers as to what would happen when He was gone

Jesus warned of persecution and promised that they would have words of wisdom to speak in the moments that they needed them

Luke 21:14–15 (ESV)

Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Clearly Luke wants his readers to remember that here - this is a fulfillment of that promise

Just as God filled the mouth of Moses before Pharoah, so too he will fill the mouth of His disciples before the enemy

And they will not be able to counter the wisdom of God

Even Saul - who sat at the feet of the greatest of the Jewish teachers - Gamaliel

Without the ability to best Stephen in wisdom, they did what they had done before - slander and...

3) False Witness

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.”

This is the same tactic that they used with Jesus - they could not stand the Truth - so they sought to rouse false witnesses and stir up the mob

It is an age old tactic - when you cannot win an argument on merit, you sling mud at you opponent’s character

Here they accused Stephen of the highest of crimes “Blasphemy”

It is interesting that they first accuse him of blasphemy against Moses and then secondly against God

As though Moses is before God - or at least equal with God - which is interesting because the brief moment in which Moses claimed equality with God is the moment that cost him the promised land

You will remember, that is when he stood before the people and struck the rock with his rod to produce water - he said…

Numbers 20:10 (ESV)

…“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”

He did not keep the LORD Holy before the people and thus he was prohibited from entering the promise land

You might say, he blasphemed

Yet here, what we find is that the Jews seemed to hold the Law of God higher than the Name of God

Which is why they mention Moses first - and the chief argument and accusation is that Stephen was preaching against the Temple and against the Law

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.”

Now, it is interesting that these are the accusations - for these are the same accusation that they made against Jesus

When our Lord stood before the council, the false witnesses that were conjured up repeated what they had heard Jesus say…

Matthew 26:61–63 (ESV)

“This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ ” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent…

Because what they said was partially true

That is always the case with strong delusion - the best lies are truth laced with the smallest particles of dececite

Jesus did in fact say that he would raise up the Temple 3 days after they destroyed it - but it was not right to link it directly to the temple in jerusalem

For, Jesus, though He was in the Temple when He made the statement was not speaking directly about the physical Temple

He was speaking, mostly, about His body

The statement comes after Jesus cleansed the Temple and is found in…

John 2:18–22 (ESV)

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

The picture is this… Jesus is the Temple - His body is the Temple

Now, it was a cryptic picture - so much so, that the disciples didn’t understand until after Jesus was raised from the dead

Then they understood that Jesus was referring to the Body - as as we move through the NT we find that the church is the Body of Christ - the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit

Here is the greater picture

The old Temple, with its old sacrificial system that only covered sins, was now being destroyed and raised again in the New Temple of the Body of Christ, in which sins are completely forgiven

The Law that demanded obedience is not destroyed, but no longer has any charge against those who are in the New Temple - For Jesus has fulfilled the Law

Therefore, the Law of Moses and the Temple of God are replaced by the Man of God who is Jesus

Now, I go through this exercise so that we can see where the discrepancy is

I think Stephen was in the synagogues explaining that Christ has fulfilled the Law on our behalf and the become the Temple - therefore, the customs of Moses and the usefulness of the Temple sacrifices had ended

It was all fulfilled in Jesus

Yes, “This Jesus of Nazareth”

I don’t think their accusations were false - only their claim of blasphemy

For Stephen did not claim that he was equal with God - nor did he hold up moses as equal with God - rather he claimed Jesus is God

And that would only be blasphemous if it wasn’t true - but the death, burial, and resurrection proved the deity of This Jesus of Nazareth

The frustrated and enraged men o the synagogues stirred up the people against Stephen - so much so, that they brought him before the council

The same council that had early promised to heed the words of Gamaliel

The wise Pharisee who warned that they should “keep away and let these men alone” - 5:38

Warning that if they did not, they might be found opposing God

Well, it seems now that the council has disregarded that warning - and in their hatred they will seek to raise the level of persecution

They have already warned the Apostles and threatened them (chapter 4) - Then they moved a step further and raised the persecution when they flogged the Apostles (chapter 5) - and now we will see at the end of Chapter 7, this incident will accelerate to murder, when they stone Stephen

But before they get there, they will be confronted by a man with the…

4) Face of an Angel

15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

What an amazing statement

Now, it does not mean that he had a fat little baby face - or an honest looking face (that angelic face)

I think it has ties back to Moses

See, what we are finding here is that Stephen is a prophet like Moses - a man chosen by God, full of Grace and full of wisdom and full of power, who would speak by the power of the Spirit of God - and now we find that Luke is showing us that the face of Stephen was like that of Moses after he had been with God

Exodus 34:29 (ESV)

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

I think this is what Luke is referencing with the phrase “the face of an angel”

For the job of an angel is to reflect the Glory of God as a messenger of God

It is why people are frightened when they saw the face of an angel

It is not like the movies and the TV shows that depict angels as soft beings

When characters in the Bible were faced with an angel, they fell down or fell back - they were fearful

When the angel spoke to Mary the first words were “fear not” - because the natural thing to do was to fear!

I think there is a boldness in the face of Stephen - for he has the message of God - the same boldness that was in the face of Moses - who had the message of God

Yet, here in the council the men stood around and gazed at him

Perhaps the most shocking part - the man of God filled with the Spirit of God and the Wisdom of God and showing the face of God - is right before them and they are not afraid

The hardness of their hearts precluded them from seeing the glory of God

Their anger was stirred - here was a man going into the synagogues and preaching “This Jesus” - and many of the priests were believing - Chapter 6 verse 7

Conclusion:

Here is another point about the Face of an angel - it is a supernatural face of boldness

One that is bold in Christ no mater what the enemy does

It is not a oldness that you can muster on your own, but one that comes to those who talk with God in the moments that they need it

So that they say and do what is necessary regardless of the consequences

We will continue to see this unfold as the sermon is preached in chapter 7 and ultimately as Stephen is stoned at the end

Friends, as we see again, the enemy only has three weapons to deploy against the church

Persecution from the outside, the infiltration of hypocrisy, and discord among the brothers

The answer to all three of those is to walk and talk with God

For a sweet relationship with Jesus will solve the problems of unity and it will protect against the false teaching and false identities of hypocrisy - and it will embolden you to endure whatever persecution comes your way.

May God grant us faces like Angells in the moments of persecution.

Pray

Communion

Benediction

Revelation 5:12–13 (ESV)

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!” …

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”