Acts 6.8-7.60

Stephen, the first Christian martyr (6.8-7.60)

The fabrication that brought Stephen before the Sanhedrin was that he blasphemed Moses and God (6.11). The charges were formalised by false witnesses; the official allegations were that Stephen blasphemed the temple and the law.

The Jews exposed their motives by whispering; ‘we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and … change the customs’ (6.14). They drop ‘holy’ from ‘place’ and reduce ‘the law’ to ‘customs’, showing their idolatrous interest in externals.

Despite false accusations, Stephen did not blaspheme the law or the temple – he had the highest regard for both. The law was a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ (Gal 3.24) and God was showing the nation that it was time to move on. Alas, they stubbornly refused.

A point of debate here, is the nature of God’s revelation. Is it static and fixed? Or, like a river, does it move steadily forward, progressing and finding its fulfilment in Christ? The nature of God’s revelation is woven into Stephen’s defence.

Stephen is asked a straight – ‘are these things so?’ (7.1). He answers the allegations, but his defence is in the form of an historical recital. He spins the rich tapestry of Israel’s history and weaves into it many strands of defence. These strands were like doctrinal goads to his audience (9.5). He highlights moments of Jewish history to make specific points, some of which are:

1) Refutes his charges of blaspheming:

a. the temple

b. the law

2) Refutes claims of speaking against God and Moses

3) Progressive revelation & evidence

4) God keeping his word

5) The location of God’s presence

6) Refusal of Israel to accept God’s deliverer

Abraham (vv1-8)

Far from blaspheming God, Stephen magnified ‘the God of the glory’ (7.1, YLT). God appeared to Abraham in pagan Mesopotamia (Josh 24.2), before Israel became a nation. The Jews restricted God to a temple, but Stephen showed otherwise.

Stephen gives new information to previous revelation; though Abraham was called in Ur of the Chaldees initially he only made it to Haran. Terah was a hindrance, and it was only after his death that Abraham entered Canaan. Stephen said this because new revelation from God is often followed by stumbling steps. God helped Abraham on the way when he ‘removed him’ (7.4) from Haran. God gives enough light for his people to follow. Did the Sanhedrin have sufficient revelation from God that the OT system would pass away when the Messiah came? Certainly. Though Jerusalem was the God-ordained centre for worship (2 Ch 6.6, Ps 132.13), He had proved it was obsolete in Christ. Instead of embracing Him, they clung to shadows.

Stephen emphasises how non-tangible Abraham’s experience was – he relied on a promise when ‘he had no child’ (7.5). The Jews fixated on the externals of the law and unbelievingly refused the promises of God.

Stephen stresses that Abraham did not receive a square inch of Canaan, hinting that God’s presence is not restricted to a temple. Further, the promise that God gave to Abraham shows the entire nation was without any ‘place’ for; ‘400 years’ and it was only after Egypt that they served ‘in this place’ (7.6, 7).

God also revealed that Israel would become slaves in Egypt (7.6). This becomes significant when Jacob is called by Joseph to go into Egypt (7.14-15) and later when Moses predicts the coming Messiah (7.37). God gives advance notice of a change in revelation. Originally God had prohibited Isaac from going to Egypt (Gen 26.2), a command that Jacob followed. When the famine struck, Jacob didn’t go to Egypt himself (in obedience to prior revelation) but sent out his sons ‘first’ (7.12). However, he was then summoned by Joseph to Egypt (7.14-15). Would he stay or go? Would going, entail disobedience to prior revelation? A few things helped dislodge Jacob from the comfort of his tent:

1.

A saviour had gone before

God did send me before you to preserve life (Gen 45.5)

2.

Summoned by the saviour

Thus saith … Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me (Gen 45.9)

3.

Warning of disobedience

There are five years of famine; lest thou … come to poverty (Gen 45.11)

4.

Glory ahead

Ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt (Gen 45.13)

5.

Evidence

To his father he sent … asses laden with the good things of Egypt (Gen 45.23)

6.

New revelation

Fear not to go down into Egypt … I will go down with thee … and I will … bring thee up again (Gen 46.3-4)

7.

Consistent with prior revelation

(Israel) should sojourn in a strange land … (be brought) into bondage … after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place (Acts 7.6-7)

Despite Isaac being warned not to travel to Egypt, and this prohibition holding true for Jacob, God had proven beyond doubt that it was time to move. It would have been folly for Jacob to disobey. This idea applied to the Jews of 33 A.D.

Stephen refutes the charge of blaspheming the law by saying that circumcision was a sign of the Abramic Covenant. Abraham’s progeny (7.8) was a reminder that God had fulfilled his promises to a barren couple. God keeps His word. This is a significant motif and gets to the heart of the nature of revelation. How can we trust God? It is because previous revelation has been fulfilled. His word is true. This idea climaxes when Moses says that God would raise up the Prophet (7.37) – Christ. The Sanhedrin should have known.

Joseph (vv9-16)

Stephen now weaves a new motif into his argument; Israel, had repeatedly refused God’s chosen deliverer. ‘The patriarchs … sold Joseph into Egypt’ (7.9) and later spurned Moses (7.25, 26, 35, 39). This climaxed in their rejection of Christ (7.52).

Stephen uses Joseph as a type of Christ; both were ‘sold … delivered … and made … ruler(s)’. Having betrayed their brother, their eyes were opened on their ‘second’ visit to Egypt (7.13). Fast-forward to 33 A.D. and the resurrection of Christ had presented Israel with a second chance. Instead of acknowledging their guilt, they hardened their heart.

Joseph himself was buried in Shechem, which in NT times was Samaritan territory (7.16). ‘Stephen reminded the Sanhedrin that their ancestral deliverer Joseph was buried in the land that orthodox Jews despised’.[i]

Moses – part 1 (vv17-28)

Stephen divides Moses’ life into 40-year periods: Egypt (7.17-28), Midian (7.29-34), and the wilderness (7.35-44). All his life was outside the promised land. Stephen refuted the charge that he blasphemed Moses in reciting an orthodox view of the prophet.

Stephen highlights progressive revelation again, saying, ‘when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt’ (7.17). ‘God had given clear instruction for Israel to go into Egypt, but this was a temporary arrangement. Stephen made it abundantly clear that the successive stages in God’s … revelation were always consistent with … his original purpose, the advent of a new stage in that revelation required Israel to begin acting in a different way … A child who has been taught by means of coloured bricks the basic arithmetical principles of addition … will not be abandoning that basic principle when he moves on from bricks to computers. But he will abandon the bricks’.[ii]

God miraculously delivered Israel, but he multiplied the nation from seventy souls to thousands by very ordinary means. ‘The people grew and multiplied in Egypt’ was part of the fulfilment. Day by day, Israel could see God’s faithfulness.

The introduction to Moses’ life (vv17-22) is dominated by Gentile activity. Moses wasn’t raised according to the law. Stephen weaves the account, presenting Moses as the deliverer (7.25) who was ‘thrust away’ (7.27). Similarly, the Jews had thrust away the Saviour (7.25, 27).

Moses – part 2 (vv29-35)

Stephen stresses the gentile geography that dominated Moses’ life, as he lived in Midian (7.29), called his son Gershom (a stranger in a strange land) (Ex 2.22) and used the word place (topos) (cf. 6.14, 7.7, 7.33, 7.49), to refer to holy ground in the Sinai desert. God could meet with his people anywhere. This was vital as the gospel spread and assemblies formed. God would meet with those that gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus (Mt 18.20) anywhere on planet earth.

Moses – part 3 (vv35-44)

Moses came to a people groaning under slavery (7.34). Stephen parallels Moses with the Lord Jesus, showing that both were emancipators and miracle workers (2.22, 7.36); but ultimately ‘refused’ (3.14, 7.35).

Stephen quotes the Messianic prophecy (7.37); ‘the LORD … will raise up … a Prophet‘ (Dt 18.15). ‘Stephen … noted that Moses … predicted that a Prophet like himself would appear … the Jews should not have concluded that the Mosaic Law was the end of God's revelation to them’.[iii]

Stephen was accused of disregarding the law (6.13-14) but he unmasks the façade of religious ceremony that the law had become. ‘Stephen spoke of the Mosaic Law as "living oracles" suggest(ing) that he viewed it more in its revelatory than in its regulatory aspect’[iv]. His language shows a higher regard for the law than the ‘customs’ the Jews pretended to keep. Stephen says the living oracles were ‘given unto us’ (7.38), for practical obedience; but were broken (7.39). Israel rejected Moses again (7.27, 39), and apostatised. Their ultimate refusal of Moses came at the cusp of the promised land, when the nation demanded ‘another captain’ and wanted Moses stoned (Num 14.10). The parallel with the Lord Jesus is clear, He was inviting them into heaven, which entailed leaving behind the OT system, but the Jews would not go.

Stephen mentions that the people spoke ‘unto Aaron’ to make an idol as the law was given (7.38-40). Just as Israel’s religious leader was embroiled in idolatry in the wilderness, history was repeating itself, as the religious class were leading the people astray. The Jews of the Exodus descended into idolatry, which Stephen summarised as, ‘they rejoiced in the work of their own hands’ (7.41). The Jews had also descended into idolatry; in building a man-made religion, with the external trappings of the law. We too, must beware of idolatry (1 Jn 5.21).

Stephen has regularly condensed parts of Israel’s history into a few phrases (7.8, 16, 36, 39). This is repeated as God giving them up to worship the host of heaven (7.42) applies equally to the wilderness and the promised land. These compact statements apply to the entire history of the nation as they repeated the cycle of, sin, judgment and restoration. Israel had a penchant for worshiping the constellations (Dt 4.15-19, 2 Kings 21.1-5). By Jeremiah’s day (before exile) there was epidemic levels of star worship; ‘all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven’ (Jer 19.13).

The rhetorical question ‘have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?’ (v43), is ironic. Though many of the outward forms of sacrificial law were observed, the heart of the people was far from God.

Stephen presses home the extent of their idolatry, by quoting Amos, saying, ‘ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch’ (v43). Such was their idolatry, it was as if they carried a heathen god. The ‘tabernacle of Moloch’ indicates corporate idolatry, while the ‘star of Remphan’ could refer to a smaller symbol kept in the home. Privately and publicly, they were corrupt.

This idolatry resulted in Babylonian captivity (v43). Amos, prophesying to the northern kingdoms wrote, ‘therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith … the God of hosts’ (Amos 5.27). Stephen applies Amos’ quotation, to Babylonian captivity; not Damascan. The title ‘the God of hosts’ is significant, considering Israel had worshipped the stellar heavens. Babylon would also remind them that Solomon’s temple was destroyed. God had judged before and would do so again.

The holy place (vv44-53)

By saying that the tabernacle was made according to the ‘fashion’ (7.44), Stephen countered the charge that he spoke against the temple.

As the ark entered ‘the possession of the Gentiles’ Stephen proves that Jerusalem was not initially holy ground. The ark was constantly on the move. Stephen was reminding them of progressive revelation in relation to the temple; ‘unto the place which the LORD … shall choose … to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek’ (Dt 12.5). When the time came for God to place his name in Jerusalem, it would have been sin to stay at Shiloh in a tent (1 Sam 4.4). Similarly, the Jews needed to realise that the Messiah had come and was building the church.

David longed to build the temple, but it was Solomon who carried it out. The Lord was content to wait. Stephen mentions the temple with the briefest detail; ‘Solomon built him an house’ (7.47); emphasising that God is greater than the house. Just as Israel made an idol out of the brazen serpent (2 Kings 18.4), God knew Israel would idolise the temple, and thus Stephen contrasts the temporary, transient building with the eternal transcendent builder of the universe (7.48-50).

Conclusion (vv51-53)

After weaving the tapestry of Israel’s history in a way that vindicated his position and condemned the Sanhedrin, Stephen spells out the sins of the nation. Stephen shifts from the first-person plural ‘we’, to the second person plural ‘ye’. He lays the blame squarely on the Sanhedrin who represented the nation.[v]

They were as stiff-necked as their fathers (Ex 33.3, 5; 34.9). The Sanhedrin boasted in circumcision, hoping that links to Abraham would save them, yet Stephen scathingly says, ‘ye … uncircumcised in heart’ (7.51). God wanted the physical sign to reflect the spiritual reality (Dt 10.16), but the Jews ignored this.

Just as their fathers had resisted God in the wilderness (Num 27.14), this generation had opposed the Son of God, and now the Spirit of God. Nationally, their rejection of the Triune God was total.

Stephen stands as the climactic prophet in Israel’s history joining Isaiah and Nehemiah in declaring that they were resisting the Holy Spirit; ‘they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit’ (Is 63.10); ‘many years thou … testifiedst against them by thy Spirit … yet would they not give ear’ (Neh 9.30).

Stephen, in using the title ‘Just One’, shows that only Christ kept the law, and satisfied its claims at the cross.

Just as their father’s had received revelation from God ‘through angelic ministry (7.53) this generation saw Stephen’s face as an angel (6.15). Angelic ministry shows that both generations knew this was divine revelation.

The stoning (vv54-60)

His scathing rebuke cut the heart of the Sanhedrin (7.54). Instead of repenting they ‘gnashed with their teeth’. Just like Gabbatha when the crowd cried out for the crucifixion of Stephen’s Master (Mk 15.14, Jn 19.16) the same was happening again. They hated Christ and hated Stephen (Jn 15.18). Stephen followed the conduct of his Lord. He saw suffering in light of glory (Lk 24.26). Just as the Lord saw heaven opened prior to Calvary (Jn 12.28), Stephen follows in his path. The glory of God and Jesus are equated. A man is sitting where only God can, emphasises the deity of Christ. The Son of man is a Divine title (Dan 7.13-14) and it reminded the Jews of one who would reign in righteousness. The Son of man would give ‘judgement … to the saints of the Most High’ (Dan 7.22). Stephen knew his cause would be vindicated.

As the stones rained down on Stephen, ‘he was praying … Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’ (v59, JND). Resembling his Lord (Lk 23.46), he commits his life to One who judges righteously (1 Pet 2.23). Just as the Lord prayed that his crucifixion would not be chargeable to the Jews (Lk 23.34 ), Stephen prays in parallel fashion. He fell asleep in Christ (7.60). This metaphor shows that Stephen died full of faith. He neither feared stoning nor the wrath of man. He embraced death as a gateway to paradise. His spirit would soar into the heavenly temple, and his battered body would await the day when ‘the dead in Christ rise first’. He had finished his course and kept the faith (2 Tim 4.7). He had a victor’s entrance as the Lord stood to greet the first martyr. May we follow his courage and be faithful unto death (Rev 2.10).

[i] Constable TL. Notes on Acts, p. 171. Available: https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/acts.pdf

[ii] Gooding D. True to the Faith (Coleraine, N Ireland: The Myrtlefield Trust, Reprinted 2013), p. 118.

[iii] Constable TL. Notes on Acts, p. 173. Available: https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/acts.pdf

[iv] Constable TL. Notes on Acts, p. 173. Available: https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/acts.pdf

[v] Riddle JM. The Acts of the Apostles (Kilmarnock, Scotland: John Ritchie Ltd., 2012), p. 123.