Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:
And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
But Solomon built him an house.
Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Hath not my hand made all these things?
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 7 marks a crucial turning point in the narrative of the early church. Up until this chapter, the church had experienced favor with the general public, while facing indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, tensions escalate. The Sanhedrin has already punished the apostles and forbidden them to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the public is beginning to understand the radical differences of Christianity. In Jerusalem, Stephen, a Hellenistic Jewish follower of Jesus, finds himself in a heated debate with other foreign Jews. These opponents falsely accuse him of speaking against the temple, Moses, and the Law, echoing the accusations leveled against Jesus (Acts 6:8-15). Acts 7 records Stephen's powerful defense, a speech that ultimately leads to his martyrdom and the introduction of Saul, who would later become the Apostle Paul.
Context: Law, Temple, and Relationship with God
Stephen's defense can be challenging for modern readers. He weaves together truths about the Mosaic Law, the prophets of Israel, and the role of the temple throughout Old Testament Jewish history. Essentially, Stephen argues that God never explicitly demanded the temple, and the Israelites did not require one to follow Him. He also implies that Moses was not infallible, and that the Israelites consistently failed to adhere to Moses or the Law. Crucially, they even killed the very prophets who pointed them toward the coming Messiah.
The Jewish leaders of Stephen’s day had become so focused on their religion, encapsulated in the law, the land, and the temple, that they had forgotten the fact that God wanted relationship. While the land was a benefit received by Abraham’s descendants, the main idea here is that Abraham’s relationship with God was key.
Abraham: A Promise Before Law
Stephen begins by setting the stage, recounting God's call to Abraham to leave his homeland in Mesopotamia and journey to a land God would reveal (Acts 7:2-3). Abraham obeyed, eventually arriving in Canaan (Acts 7:4). God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land, though he himself would not. As a sign of this promise, God commanded Abraham to circumcise all males in his clan.
Stephen emphasizes that God called Abraham and established circumcision, the identifying mark of God's people, long before He gave the Mosaic Law or permitted the construction of the temple (Acts 7:1-8). This highlights that a relationship with God predates and supersedes adherence to specific laws and places.
From Egypt to Exodus: God's Presence Beyond a Place
Next, Stephen describes the Israelites' descent into Egypt and their subsequent enslavement for four centuries. They sought refuge in Egypt from famine, and their numbers grew into a nation while in bondage. For 400 years, the Israelites lacked the Law, the temple, and the freedom to worship God as they desired. Yet, they remained God's chosen people (Acts 7:9-19). God predicted that Abraham’s descendants would be enslaved in a foreign country for four hundred years (7:6). Yet he would deliver them so that they could worship him in this place—that is, in the land of Israel (7:7). The land was to be the geographical context for knowing and worshiping God. Being God’s people, however, was about more than living in the land.
From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob descended the twelve patriarchs, eleven of whom sold their brother Joseph into Egyptian slavery out of jealousy (7:8-9). Nevertheless, God was with Joseph (7:9)—even though he was no longer living in the promised land. Then God rescued Joseph, gave him favor with Pharaoh, and used him to deliver his relatives from a famine (7:10-15). This highlights another theme from Stephen’s sermon. Unbelieving Israelites often rejected those whom God chose. God exalted Joseph and used him, even though his brothers rejected and persecuted him. In a similar way, the Jewish leaders rejected and persecuted Jesus.
Stephen then turns to Moses. This great prophet, who spoke to God as a friend, delivered the Law, and led the Israelites from slavery to the threshold of the Promised Land, began as a murderer. Yet, God remained with him and His people (Acts 7:20-29).
Moses and the Wilderness: God's Call Outside the Promised Land
Stephen highlights that God's call to Moses mirrored His call to Abraham. Just as God called Abraham in Mesopotamia and Haran, He called Moses in Midian. God is not confined by geography (Acts 7:30-34). Fleeing to Midian, Moses encountered God, who appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai (7:29-32). Again, then, the Lord initiated a relationship outside the promised land. Moreover, the land where God appeared to Moses was holy ground because of God’s presence (7:33). Land is only holy if God is present; a church is only holy if Jesus is in its midst.
God empowered Moses to lead His people out of Egypt to Mount Sinai, where He gave them the Law. Stephen subtly points out that the Israelites didn't revere Moses; they rebelled against him. Again, God is not bound by place. He gave His people the Law in the wilderness, between Egypt and the Promised Land (Acts 7:35-43).
The Tabernacle and the Temple: Dwelling Place vs. God's Presence
Stephen shifts the focus from the Law to the temple. God didn't instruct Moses to build a temple but a tabernacle, a portable tent. This tabernacle and its successors served the Israelites throughout their journey to the Promised Land, during their campaigns, throughout the time of the judges, and during the reigns of King Saul and King David. In fact, the tabernacle didn't even reside in Jerusalem until David's reign (Acts 7:44-46). Their ancestors had the tabernacle that God commanded Moses to make (7:44). Then Joshua brought it into the promised land when God drove out their enemies before them (7:45). Then Solomon constructed God’s temple in Jerusalem (7:47). But, ultimately, God doesn’t dwell in a manmade structure because heaven is [his] throne and the earth [his] footstool (7:48-49). The Jewish leaders of Stephen’s day were devoted to the temple (see 6:13-14), but they had lost sight of the God to whom the temple pointed.
Stephen emphasizes a crucial perspective on the temple: God didn't request it; David desired to build it. David, Israel's most beloved king, didn't construct it; his son Solomon did. During its dedication, Solomon acknowledged that the temple could not contain God. The temple is sacred because God allowed and blessed it, not because it is inherently necessary (Acts 7:47-50).
Resistance to the Holy Spirit
Sensing the growing hostility and recognizing the urgency of the moment, Stephen swiftly connects his historical overview to his audience. He accuses them of rejecting Jesus, the prophet promised by Moses. They murdered Jesus, just as their ancestors had murdered the prophets God sent throughout history. Stephen isn't advocating for the temple's destruction, but he asserts that anyone who prioritizes the temple over the Messiah is an idolater (Acts 7:51-53).
Stephen’s message home: You stiff-necked people! . . . You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. It wasn’t that the Holy Spirit had not spoken to them. The problem was that, just like their ancestors, they had uncircumcised hearts and ears that refused to listen.
Don’t miss that the Holy Spirit can be resisted. Though the Spirit brings the truth to bear on a heart and mind, a person can be stubborn and unwilling to respond. Don’t be obstinate to what God says through his Word and by his Spirit. The consequences can be disastrous.
The ancestors of those to whom Stephen was speaking had persecuted the prophets, even killing those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, the Messiah. And Stephen’s listeners had followed in their footsteps, betraying and murdering Jesus Christ when he came (7:52)! Though they professed to treasure God’s law as law keepers, they demonstrated by their actions that their hearts were actually lawless (7:53).
Stephen's Martyrdom and the Vision of Glory
Stephen's opponents react violently, dragging him out of the city and stoning him. As he dies, he sees Jesus standing at God's right hand (Acts 7:54-56). Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit and spoke by means of the Spirit’s power (7:55; see also 6:5, 10). So when his listeners were enraged at him (7:54), they actually were enraged at God himself and the truth that was spoken about them.
As their animosity reached a fever pitch, Stephen looked into heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (7:55-56). His Lord and Savior, about whom he had faithfully testified, was ready to receive him into glory with a standing ovation! This is the way our Lord wants to receive all of his faithful servants. He received a glimpse of heaven before he died, one of the glorious privileges God gives to faithful believers as they transition from earth to heaven.
In the crowd stands a young Pharisee named Saul. Soon, Saul will become the most zealous persecutor of Christians in Jerusalem. However, not long after, he will transform into the greatest Christian missionary in history (Acts 7:54-60).
The Jewish leaders couldn’t stand to listen to him any longer. They covered their ears and dragged him out of the city, and stoned Stephen to death (7:57-58). And it’s at this point in the narrative that Luke introduces us to the man who would become one of the most significant persons in the book of Acts and who would write more New Testament Letters than any other: Saul (eventually known as Paul) (7:58). At this moment, however, Saul was united with those putting Stephen to death. Stephen became the first martyr of the church.
Before he died, Stephen followed in Jesus’s footsteps, commending his spirit to the Lord and praying that God would forgive his attackers (see Luke 23:34, 46). That kind of response is impossible without supernatural enabling.
Reflections and Applications
Acts 7 reminds us that God's presence is not limited to specific places or structures. Our relationship with Him is paramount, transcending adherence to rituals or laws. Stephen's unwavering faith in the face of death serves as a powerful example of commitment to Christ. His prayer for his persecutors echoes Jesus' own words on the cross, demonstrating the transformative power of forgiveness.
Furthermore, Stephen's sermon highlights the danger of resisting the Holy Spirit. We must be open to God's leading and willing to examine our own hearts, lest we repeat the mistakes of those who rejected the Messiah. This chapter serves as a potent call to prioritize our relationship with God, embrace the truth of the Gospel, and live lives of unwavering faith and forgiveness.
Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:
And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
But Solomon built him an house.
Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Hath not my hand made all these things?
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 7 marks a crucial turning point in the narrative of the early church. Up until this chapter, the church had experienced favor with the general public, while facing indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, tensions escalate. The Sanhedrin has already punished the apostles and forbidden them to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the public is beginning to understand the radical differences of Christianity. In Jerusalem, Stephen, a Hellenistic Jewish follower of Jesus, finds himself in a heated debate with other foreign Jews. These opponents falsely accuse him of speaking against the temple, Moses, and the Law, echoing the accusations leveled against Jesus (Acts 6:8-15). Acts 7 records Stephen's powerful defense, a speech that ultimately leads to his martyrdom and the introduction of Saul, who would later become the Apostle Paul.
Context: Law, Temple, and Relationship with God
Stephen's defense can be challenging for modern readers. He weaves together truths about the Mosaic Law, the prophets of Israel, and the role of the temple throughout Old Testament Jewish history. Essentially, Stephen argues that God never explicitly demanded the temple, and the Israelites did not require one to follow Him. He also implies that Moses was not infallible, and that the Israelites consistently failed to adhere to Moses or the Law. Crucially, they even killed the very prophets who pointed them toward the coming Messiah.
The Jewish leaders of Stephen’s day had become so focused on their religion, encapsulated in the law, the land, and the temple, that they had forgotten the fact that God wanted relationship. While the land was a benefit received by Abraham’s descendants, the main idea here is that Abraham’s relationship with God was key.
Abraham: A Promise Before Law
Stephen begins by setting the stage, recounting God's call to Abraham to leave his homeland in Mesopotamia and journey to a land God would reveal (Acts 7:2-3). Abraham obeyed, eventually arriving in Canaan (Acts 7:4). God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land, though he himself would not. As a sign of this promise, God commanded Abraham to circumcise all males in his clan.
Stephen emphasizes that God called Abraham and established circumcision, the identifying mark of God's people, long before He gave the Mosaic Law or permitted the construction of the temple (Acts 7:1-8). This highlights that a relationship with God predates and supersedes adherence to specific laws and places.
From Egypt to Exodus: God's Presence Beyond a Place
Next, Stephen describes the Israelites' descent into Egypt and their subsequent enslavement for four centuries. They sought refuge in Egypt from famine, and their numbers grew into a nation while in bondage. For 400 years, the Israelites lacked the Law, the temple, and the freedom to worship God as they desired. Yet, they remained God's chosen people (Acts 7:9-19). God predicted that Abraham’s descendants would be enslaved in a foreign country for four hundred years (7:6). Yet he would deliver them so that they could worship him in this place—that is, in the land of Israel (7:7). The land was to be the geographical context for knowing and worshiping God. Being God’s people, however, was about more than living in the land.
From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob descended the twelve patriarchs, eleven of whom sold their brother Joseph into Egyptian slavery out of jealousy (7:8-9). Nevertheless, God was with Joseph (7:9)—even though he was no longer living in the promised land. Then God rescued Joseph, gave him favor with Pharaoh, and used him to deliver his relatives from a famine (7:10-15). This highlights another theme from Stephen’s sermon. Unbelieving Israelites often rejected those whom God chose. God exalted Joseph and used him, even though his brothers rejected and persecuted him. In a similar way, the Jewish leaders rejected and persecuted Jesus.
Stephen then turns to Moses. This great prophet, who spoke to God as a friend, delivered the Law, and led the Israelites from slavery to the threshold of the Promised Land, began as a murderer. Yet, God remained with him and His people (Acts 7:20-29).
Moses and the Wilderness: God's Call Outside the Promised Land
Stephen highlights that God's call to Moses mirrored His call to Abraham. Just as God called Abraham in Mesopotamia and Haran, He called Moses in Midian. God is not confined by geography (Acts 7:30-34). Fleeing to Midian, Moses encountered God, who appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai (7:29-32). Again, then, the Lord initiated a relationship outside the promised land. Moreover, the land where God appeared to Moses was holy ground because of God’s presence (7:33). Land is only holy if God is present; a church is only holy if Jesus is in its midst.
God empowered Moses to lead His people out of Egypt to Mount Sinai, where He gave them the Law. Stephen subtly points out that the Israelites didn't revere Moses; they rebelled against him. Again, God is not bound by place. He gave His people the Law in the wilderness, between Egypt and the Promised Land (Acts 7:35-43).
The Tabernacle and the Temple: Dwelling Place vs. God's Presence
Stephen shifts the focus from the Law to the temple. God didn't instruct Moses to build a temple but a tabernacle, a portable tent. This tabernacle and its successors served the Israelites throughout their journey to the Promised Land, during their campaigns, throughout the time of the judges, and during the reigns of King Saul and King David. In fact, the tabernacle didn't even reside in Jerusalem until David's reign (Acts 7:44-46). Their ancestors had the tabernacle that God commanded Moses to make (7:44). Then Joshua brought it into the promised land when God drove out their enemies before them (7:45). Then Solomon constructed God’s temple in Jerusalem (7:47). But, ultimately, God doesn’t dwell in a manmade structure because heaven is [his] throne and the earth [his] footstool (7:48-49). The Jewish leaders of Stephen’s day were devoted to the temple (see 6:13-14), but they had lost sight of the God to whom the temple pointed.
Stephen emphasizes a crucial perspective on the temple: God didn't request it; David desired to build it. David, Israel's most beloved king, didn't construct it; his son Solomon did. During its dedication, Solomon acknowledged that the temple could not contain God. The temple is sacred because God allowed and blessed it, not because it is inherently necessary (Acts 7:47-50).
Resistance to the Holy Spirit
Sensing the growing hostility and recognizing the urgency of the moment, Stephen swiftly connects his historical overview to his audience. He accuses them of rejecting Jesus, the prophet promised by Moses. They murdered Jesus, just as their ancestors had murdered the prophets God sent throughout history. Stephen isn't advocating for the temple's destruction, but he asserts that anyone who prioritizes the temple over the Messiah is an idolater (Acts 7:51-53).
Stephen’s message home: You stiff-necked people! . . . You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. It wasn’t that the Holy Spirit had not spoken to them. The problem was that, just like their ancestors, they had uncircumcised hearts and ears that refused to listen.
Don’t miss that the Holy Spirit can be resisted. Though the Spirit brings the truth to bear on a heart and mind, a person can be stubborn and unwilling to respond. Don’t be obstinate to what God says through his Word and by his Spirit. The consequences can be disastrous.
The ancestors of those to whom Stephen was speaking had persecuted the prophets, even killing those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, the Messiah. And Stephen’s listeners had followed in their footsteps, betraying and murdering Jesus Christ when he came (7:52)! Though they professed to treasure God’s law as law keepers, they demonstrated by their actions that their hearts were actually lawless (7:53).
Stephen's Martyrdom and the Vision of Glory
Stephen's opponents react violently, dragging him out of the city and stoning him. As he dies, he sees Jesus standing at God's right hand (Acts 7:54-56). Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit and spoke by means of the Spirit’s power (7:55; see also 6:5, 10). So when his listeners were enraged at him (7:54), they actually were enraged at God himself and the truth that was spoken about them.
As their animosity reached a fever pitch, Stephen looked into heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (7:55-56). His Lord and Savior, about whom he had faithfully testified, was ready to receive him into glory with a standing ovation! This is the way our Lord wants to receive all of his faithful servants. He received a glimpse of heaven before he died, one of the glorious privileges God gives to faithful believers as they transition from earth to heaven.
In the crowd stands a young Pharisee named Saul. Soon, Saul will become the most zealous persecutor of Christians in Jerusalem. However, not long after, he will transform into the greatest Christian missionary in history (Acts 7:54-60).
The Jewish leaders couldn’t stand to listen to him any longer. They covered their ears and dragged him out of the city, and stoned Stephen to death (7:57-58). And it’s at this point in the narrative that Luke introduces us to the man who would become one of the most significant persons in the book of Acts and who would write more New Testament Letters than any other: Saul (eventually known as Paul) (7:58). At this moment, however, Saul was united with those putting Stephen to death. Stephen became the first martyr of the church.
Before he died, Stephen followed in Jesus’s footsteps, commending his spirit to the Lord and praying that God would forgive his attackers (see Luke 23:34, 46). That kind of response is impossible without supernatural enabling.
Reflections and Applications
Acts 7 reminds us that God's presence is not limited to specific places or structures. Our relationship with Him is paramount, transcending adherence to rituals or laws. Stephen's unwavering faith in the face of death serves as a powerful example of commitment to Christ. His prayer for his persecutors echoes Jesus' own words on the cross, demonstrating the transformative power of forgiveness.
Furthermore, Stephen's sermon highlights the danger of resisting the Holy Spirit. We must be open to God's leading and willing to examine our own hearts, lest we repeat the mistakes of those who rejected the Messiah. This chapter serves as a potent call to prioritize our relationship with God, embrace the truth of the Gospel, and live lives of unwavering faith and forgiveness.