Acts Chapter 7

The Defense and Martyrdom of Stephen

So Stephen stands before the Jewish council. In verse one the high priest gives Stephen time to speak. This high priest is probably Caiaphas the same high priest who had earlier questioned and condemned Jesus (Matt. 26:57; John 18:24). Stephen can answer the charges against him (see 6:13-14), yet this is not what he does in the long speech which follows. He is more willing to use the time to speak of God’s truth. He wants to give all the glory to God. Stephen launched into a long speech about Israel’s relationship with God. From the Old Testament history he showed that the Jews had constantly rejected God’s message and His prophets, and that this council had rejected the Messiah, God’s son .Stephen outlines the history of Israel. God’s call of Abraham did not come in the promise land, but when he was far away in the land of Mesopotamia (Gen.12:1-3; 15:7; Neh.9:7). Although Abraham dwelt in the land of Palestine, he did not actually possess the land, but he only held it as a promise from God to him and his descendants. Abraham’s descendants did not quickly possessed the land, but instead would spend 400 years in captivity outside of the promise land (Gen.15:12-15). God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham and his descendants by the sign of circumcision (Gen.17:9-14).

Verses 9-16 tell the story of the patriarch Joseph. This story begins in Genesis chapter 37 and goes on in Genesis 38-50. Even though Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, the Lord was with him (God’s divine plan: Gen.37:28; 39:2) and delivered Joseph who became second in command in all of Egypt (Gen. 41:54-56). Despite his brothers’ evil doings, it was Joseph who would save the rest of his family. Stephen begins to tell the story of the first part of the life of Moses. Moses was born under a sentence of death (vs.19), yet he was born to save his people like Jesus. GOD PREPARED Moses for the work which he was to do, but the Jews did not see that God had sent Moses to set them free (vs.22). Moses had to flee Egypt after killing an Egyptian who was assaulting a Hebrew. God renewed his call to Moses to do his work after spending forty years away from Egypt. Once, Israel did not want him, now he led them to freedom. In verse 37, Stephen uses a quote from the book of Deuteronomy 18:15. We have already found these words in acts 3:22. There, it was Peter who used them.

The Jews in the council thought that they had honored the memory of Moses. So, in verses 39-41 Stephen shows them how quickly the Jews forget the wonders that God had done at the Exodus. In the same way, the Jews who listened to Stephen forgot the wonders Jesus had done. Stephen had been accused of speaking against the temple (6:13). Although he recognized the importance of the temple, he knew it was not more importance than God. God is not limited; He doesn’t live only in a house of worship, but wherever hearts of faith are open to receive Him. For many years after coming into the promise land, Israel had no temple but continued to worship God at the tabernacle. King David a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) wanted to build a temple, but because of the blood on his hand, the building of the temple was delayed until David’s son Solomon built it.

After recounting their history, Stephen’s sermon began to hit home. He accused the Jewish leaders of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised in their hearts and ears, resisting the Holy Spirit, betraying and murdering the prophets, and the righteous One (Jesus the Messiah). The Jewish council hearing the truth of Stephen became “cut to the heart”. Instead of submission to the Holy Spirit, they respond with rage. Stephen will become the first Christian martyr. He saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen’s vision supported Jesus’ claim and angered the Jewish leaders who had condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy. They did not want to hear no more of the Holy Spirit truth; they blocked their ears and gave aloud shout. They charged upon Stephen and dragged him out of the city. It seemed that when the Jews stoned someone, they did not just throw stones at him, they first removed the clothes from him. The witness had the duty to cast the first stone. It is here we come in to contact with Saul, who would later become the great Apostle Paul. As they stoned Stephen his words are like that of our Lord in Luke 23:46. The Lord trusted His Spirit to God, His Father. Stephen trusted his spirit to the Lord Jesus. Stephen was already badly injured. Yet he knelt up, and shouted in a loud voice. His words are again like the words of Christ in Luke 23:34. His last desire was to forgive his enemies. Stephen fell asleep. The death of Stephen is a transition point in Luke’s story. The spotlight leaves Jerusalem as the preaching is forced to the outlying regions. The story of Jesus is beginning to spread around the world. Luke will first take us to Samaria; its people were very unpopular with the Jerusalem Jews.

Questions/answers
Why was King David forbidden to build God a temple?
King David was a warrior king who had committed adultery and murder (2 Sam.7:1-17; 2 Sam.11:1-27; 1 Chr. 22:5-16).

Stephen recorded that the Jews persecuted the prophets. Who were they?
Indeed many prophets were persecuted: Jeremiah (Jer. 38:1-6; Isaiah (2 Kings 21:16 tradition says that he was killed by King Manasseh); Amos (Amos 7:10-13); Zechariah, not the author of the Bible but the son of Jehoiada the priest, 2 Chr. 24:20-22); Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-2).

What the does the phrase “he fell asleep” mean?
The term “fell asleep” when it is applied to a Christian means that the person has died a physical death, not a spiritually death. The body goes into the ground to await the resurrection while the spirit goes back from whence it came, back to God who gave it. (See Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12:7). In the New Testament it is a common word for believers (John 11:11-14; 1 Cor. 11:30, 51; 1Thess. 4:14; 5:10).

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Acts Chapter 2

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

Held 50 days after Passover (Lev.23:15-21), Pentecost was also called the feast of weeks and feast of harvests. It is one of the major annual feast (Deuteronomy 16:16), a festival of Thanksgiving for the harvest crops. Jesus was crucified at the Passover, and he ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit came 50 days after his resurrection, 10 days after his ascension. The term “fully come” implies the arriving of a period or point of time. As the believers were assembled in the upper room suddenly God gives signs of sound and sight. Their divine origin and supernatural character is clear. Both of these events were attention getters. The miracles were to communicate and convince the people by signs and wonders that what they were witnessing was of God. It is important at this point for us to understand that only the twelve spoke in tongues (known languages). This is confined by the Holy Scriptures. In chapter one verse 11 the Apostles are referred to as “ye men of Galilee” by the angels, again in verse 7 of this chapter the Apostles are referred to as speaking Galileans, but most important it is these twelve Galileans that Jesus selected to carry the gospel message to the world. What better place and time than on the day of Pentecost, where there would be hundred of thousands of Jews and Proselytes in attendance to hear the gospel message. Remember, they were told to start in Jerusalem.

The Jews and Proselytes from these difference nations were people from the dispersion vss.9-12 (James 1:1; 1 Peter.1:1). The Apostles literally spoke in other languages that the people present fully understood what they were saying (vss.6-7). This was not some form of gibberish that is spoken in some churches today. Paul said that tongues would cease (1.cor.13:8). This speaking was known languages, a miraculous attention getter. These signs were so supernatural; the people accused them of being drunk. Seizing the moment in the midst of the crowd’s bewilderment and confusion, Peter stands up with the eleven to address the crowd. Being filled with the Spirit (vs.4) Peter addresses the crowd with a formal address by addressing his brethren as men of “Judea” and “men of Israel”. Peter’s sermon will explain the events of Pentecost as God’s saving events. Peter addresses the statement of vs.13, in that they were not drunk because it was of the third hour of the day (9am), and that they did not drink at the first morning service.

Peter informed the crowd that what they had witnessed was a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit prophesied by the prophet Joel in the scriptures (Joel 2:28-32). The disciples of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had dreamed dreams and seen visions, and they could not help prophesying. Visions and dreams was God’s means of communication with those whom He called for His service (10:1-3; 10:9-17; 21:9). At the death of Christ, the day had suddenly become night, an earthquake had struck Jerusalem, the veil in the temple had been rent in two, and the graves had given up their dead (Matt.27:51-53). Peter told them that this Jesus, who had demonstrated that God approved Him by miracles and wonders, had been arrested and convicted by the very same people whom He was preaching to, and they caused Him to be crucified by the hands of the wicked gentiles (Roman authority). They killed their own Messiah. But God raised Jesus from the dead, as King David himself had prophesied. What read like a statement by David about himself (psalm.16:8-11) Peter interpreted as David’s description of what would happen to the messiah. Peter told the crowd that David could not have been talking of himself, because David had died and been buried and his tomb was visible to them in Jerusalem. It was He (Jesus) whom God raised up to sit at God’s right hand in glory, and God would not let His soul rest in hell. Peter closed his sermon out by proclaiming that the Person, whom they crucified, was designated by God as their lord and Messiah. Peter’s words had convinced them of the truth of what he had said and also convicted them of their sins. The people response was quick and immediate. They asked the most compelling question in Christendom “what should we do”. They wanted to be told how to amend their lives and become acceptable to God, they wanted to know how they could be saved.

Peter informed them the only way, was for them to repent of what they had done, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. They would receive a double gift: their sins would be forgiven, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Three thousand were converted on the day of Pentecost as a result of Peter’s sermon. As they took their place as new member of the emerging church, the pattern of organization of the believing community began to gradually to take shape. The kingdom church that Christ spoke of in the gospel account was now a reality. The church was a place of fellowship where members shared a common meal as often as they could and where, as part of the worship, they ate bread and drank wine ceremoniously in remembrance of their Lord’s death. They did not break with the Jewish past, they still worshiped in the temple, but they also met in people's homes that they might gain more insight into the Apostles’ doctrine. As the church unfolds, new converts were added daily.

Questions/Answers: 1. What is a Proselyte?
A Gentile who converted to Judaism.

2. What is another name for the Holy Spirit?
The Comforter (see John.14:16, 26).

3. What does the word church means?
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word is “Ekklesia” which means “a called out assembly of people”. It is sometimes called an assembly or congregation (see acts.1:4; 11:26; 15:25).

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