Stephen's Speech to the Sandhedrin 3

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DO NOT FORGET TO UNMUTE

It’s the 19th day of October— Monday

Last week right here at “The Message” we covered the narrative about the arrest and interrogation of Stephen— After the high priest had asked him if the accusations against him are true, he started a speech to address the Sanhedrin— It was quite a long monologue so we divided it into 3 parts— from the first 2 of 3 parts we learned:

GOD USES PEOPLES’ EMOTIONS TO FULFILL HIS WILL

Because the patriarchs [his brothers] were jealous of Joseph

GOD USES CRISIS TO CARRY OUT HIS PLANS

Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan

SOMETIMES MY FEAR IS USED BY GOD TO LEAD ME TO MY CALLING

GOD CALLS AND SENDS ME WHERE THERE IS NEED

God saw the oppression of His people in Egypt— God saw the need, and He called Moses, and sent him to Egypt

Today we will look at the final part of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin— Open your Bible to ACTS 7:35-53— Once you get there, type “let’s see how the speech ended”

When reading in advance, whenever you’re studying God’s Word— look for words that defines that CHARACTER of God, COMMANDS to obey, PROMISES to claim, good EXAMPLES to follow and bad examples to avoid, ENCOURAGEMENTS & CHALLENGES to keep you going, reasons to be THANK GOD for, PRAYERS to pray

READ ACTS 7:35-53

BOOK

Acts 7:35–53 NIV

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. 37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. 39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon. 44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human 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 where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?’ 51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

WHAT: The conclusion of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin

WHERE: still at the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem

WHEN: After Stephen was arrested

WHO: Stephen, Sanhedrin, and his accusers

WHY: Stephen made the connection between Israel’s history and Jesus as the promised Messiah

LOOK

GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR OWN PEOPLE

Stephen has now made a clear and direct connection between Israel’s ancestors and our Lord Jesus Christ— DEUTERONOMY 18:15

BUT OUR ANCESTORS REFUSED TO OBEY HIM

They rejected Moses and in their hearts turned back to Egypt— Stephen is making his case that Israel has the repeated history of rejecting God— as it is the case with the Sanhedrin—

THE MOST HIGH DOES NOT LIVE IN HOUSES MADE BY HUMAN HANDS

If you remember, one of the accusations against Jesus and Stephen was the destruction of the temple— ACTS 6:13— so, he laid this facts to show that God cannot be contained in a structure built by man such as the temple that they regards to be so holy

YOU STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE, YOUR HEARTS AND EARS ARE STILL UNCIRCUMCISED

Yahweh sometimes used this term against Israel to expose their unfaithfulness to His covenant— circumcision is a physical sign of membership in the people of God

Stephen said to them, “you always resist the Holy Spirit!”— He asked them, “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?”— remember his predicate to this is when he cited the rejection of Moses by the Israelites—

They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one [Jesus]

AND NOW YOU HAVE BETRAYED AND MURDERED HIM

Stephen directly accused them of murdering Jesus— remember, it was the Jewish leaders led by the high priest that called for the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus

Then Stephen ended his speech to the Sanhedrin by saying…

YOU WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE LAW THAT WAS GIVEN THROUGH THE ANGELS BUT HAVE NOT OBEYED IT

In other words Stephen was saying, they are very good in the law [Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the law] but disobedient to it— you can be as knowledgeable as a Bible scholar, but if you don’t obey the Bible, it’s worthless

That is how Stephen defended himself from the false accusations against him— tomorrow we will see how the Sanhedrin reacted to everything he said— meanwhile, we are taught two things today...

TOOK

BEING A CHRISTIAN IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE

I MAY BE SUPER KNOWLEDGEABLE IN THE BIBLE, BUT IF I DON’T OBEY IT, IT’S WORTHLESS

SING

Agape Worship Team— At Your Name