Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
ACTS 7
Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’
27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
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.”
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Application Notes
7:1 This high priest was probably Caiaphas, the same man who had earlier questioned and condemned Jesus (John 18:24).
7:2-53 Stephen launched into a long speech about Israel's relationship with God. From 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. He made three main points: (1) Israel's history is the history of God's acts in the world; (2) people worshiped God long before there was a temple, because God does not live in a temple; and (3) Jesus' death at the hands of the religious leaders was just one more example of Israel's rebellion against and rejection of God.
7:2-53 Stephen didn't really defend himself. Instead, he took the offensive, seizing the opportunity to summarise the history of Israel and their rejection of God's ways over the centuries. Stephen was accusing these religious leaders of failing to obey God's laws—the laws they prided themselves in following so meticulously. This was the same accusation that Jesus had levelled against them. When we witness for Jesus, we don't need to be on the defensive; we can simply share our faith.
7:8 Circumcision was a sign of the promise, or covenant, God made with Abraham and the entire nation of Israel (Genesis 17:9-13). Because Stephen's speech summarised Israel's history, he told how this covenant had fared throughout that time. Stephen pointed out that God had always kept his side of the promise, but the people of Israel had failed again and again to uphold their end. Although the Jews in Stephen's day still circumcised their baby boys as a sign of their commitment to God, their hearts were actually far from God. Their lack of faith and lack of obedience showed that they had failed to keep their part of the covenant.
7:8 The Jewish rite of circumcision, like Israel's regular sacrifices and annual feasts, was intended to be a very meaningful event. As with all religious rituals, circumcision was designed to serve as an outer symbol of an inner reality. Those who participated thoughtfully would be reminded of profound spiritual truths. But we know from our own experiences of repeating the church creeds, saying the Lord's Prayer, or celebrating ordinances like baptism and the Lord's Supper that we can find ourselves sometimes merely going through the motions. We are often guilty of participating passively and mindlessly in religious exercises. Make it your goal to give God your full attention (body, soul, and spirit) the next time you pray, take Communion, or take part in a church ceremony.
7:17 Stephen's review of Jewish history gives a clear testimony of God's faithfulness and sovereignty. Despite the continued failures of his chosen people and the swirling world events, God was working out his plan. When faced with a confusing array of circumstances, remember these truths: (1) God is in control-nothing surprises him; (2) this world is not all there is-it will pass away, but God is eternal; (3) God is just and he will make things right, punishing the wicked and rewarding the faithful; and (4) God wants to use you (like Joseph, Moses, and Stephen) to make a difference in the world.
7:37 The Jews originally thought this prophet was Joshua alone. But Moses was also prophesying about the coming Messiah (Deuteronomy 18:15). Peter quoted this verse in reference to the Messiah (Acts 3:22).
7:38 Stephen used the word ekklesia (translated “assembly”) to describe the people of God in the wilderness. This word was also being used by the first-century Christians to describe their own community or assembly. Stephen's point was that the giving of the law through Moses to the Jews was the sign of the covenant. By obedience, then, they would continue to be God's covenant people. But because they disobeyed (7:39), they broke the covenant and forfeited their right to be the chosen people.
7:38 Galatians 3:19 and Hebrews 2:2 seem to indicate that God had given the law to Moses through angels. Exodus 31:18 says that God wrote the Ten Commandments himself (“inscribed by the finger of God”). God likely used angelic messengers as mediators to deliver his law to Moses.
7:43 Now Stephen gave more details of the idolatry referred to in 7:40. These were idols worshipped by the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings (Exodus 32:4). Molek was the god associated with child sacrifice, and Rephan was an Egyptian god. Amos also names Assyrian deities worshipped by Israel (Amos 5:25-27).
7:44-50 Stephen had been accused of speaking against the temple (6:13). Although he recognised the importance of the temple, he knew it was not more important than God. God is not limited; he doesn't live only in a house of worship, but in hearts of faith that are open to receive him (Isaiah 66:1-2). Solomon knew this when he prayed at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 6:18). God wants to live in us. We need not wait to pray or worship just once a week in church. God's Spirit resides in the hearts of all believers, and we can worship him wherever we are.
7:52 Indeed, many prophets were persecuted or killed, including Uriah (Jeremiah 26:20-23), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1-6), Isaiah (tradition says he was killed by King Manasseh; see 2 Kings 21:16), Amos (Amos 7:10-13), and Zechariah (not the author of the Bible book but the son of Jehoiada the priest; see 2 hronicles 24:20-22). Jesus also told a parable about how the Jews had constantly rejected God's messages and persecuted his messengers (Luke 20:9-19). The “Righteous One” is a reference to the Messiah.
7:55-58 Stephen saw the glory of God and Jesus the Messiah standing at God's right hand. Stephen's words are similar to the words Jesus spoke before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69). Stephen's vision supported Jesus' claim and angered the Jewish leaders who had condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy. They would not tolerate Stephen's words, so they dragged him out and killed him. Even if people do not kill us for witnessing about Christ, they may let us know they don't want to hear our message and try to silence us. Keep honouring God in your conduct and words. Though many may turn against you, and against the truth, some—perhaps even years later—will turn to Jesus and follow him because of your witness. Remember, Stephen's death made a profound impact on Saul (Paul), who later became the world's greatest missionary.
7:58 Saul is also called Paul (see 13:9)—the great missionary who wrote many of the letters in the New Testament. Saul was his Hebrew name; Paul, his Greek name, was used as he began his ministry to the Gentiles. At this point, when Luke introduces him, Paul was going everywhere persecuting Jesus' followers. This is a great contrast to the Paul about whom Luke wrote for most of the rest of the book of Acts, describing him as a devoted follower of Christ and a gifted preacher of the gospel. Paul was uniquely qualified to talk to the Jews about Jesus because he had once persecuted those who believed in him and understood how the opposition felt. God can reach and change anyone, even the most unlikely of people.
7:59 The penalty for blasphemy, speaking irreverently about God, was death by stoning (Leviticus 24:14). The religious leaders, who were furious, had Stephen stoned without a trial. Because these men were not seeking the truth and only wanted support for their own views, they did not understand that Stephen's words were true.
7:60 As Stephen died, he spoke words very similar to Jesus' words on the cross (Luke 23:34). Many believers in the early church were persecuted for telling others the Good News of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Sometimes, as in the case of Stephen, they were even put to death. Jesus had promised his followers that living for him would lead to trouble (Luke 21:12-19). This is still true. Nothing in the Bible promises a life free from trouble. If we boldly live out our faith, the light of our lives will expose the sinfulness of others. Our words of truth will pierce their souls. Some will be convicted and yield to the leading of the Spirit. Others will become angry and hardened in their hatred of the truth. As Jesus said, · They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me· (John 15:21). We shouldn't be surprised or abandon our faith when we are persecuted. Instead we should let persecution fill us with the hope and promise of Jesus' return.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)