Acts 6:8-7:60 (October 15, 2023)

Stephen’s Defense Before the Council and the New Cycle in Acts

If you have your Bible, you can turn to Acts chapter 6. Acts chapter 6, last week we looked at just 7 verses, which was a little bit shorter passage than we normally do. This week we're going to go a little bit longer than we normally do.

We're going to go all the way from chapter 6 verse 8 through the end of chapter 7. That's 60 verses of chapter 7, and so I'd tell you to get comfortable. One thing to point out here at the beginning, and I promise you don't have to get too comfortable, we won't be too long.

One thing to point out at the beginning of chapter 6 is that we're starting a new cycle in the book of Acts. There's a new cycle going on, so at the beginning of the book of Acts, we see that the gospel goes to the Jews in Jerusalem and those from the Diaspora who have come to Jerusalem, and now we're going to see a shift in the book of Acts towards ministry to the Gentiles.

Before we get into reading the scripture, I just want to set the stage for us about this transition in the book of Acts. I'll show you how the structure of chapters 6 through 9 mirrors the early chapters of Acts, and it shows us the beginning of a new cycle.

You might remember, back in chapter 1, God chose a man, Matthias, to take Judas' place among the apostles, and then in chapter 6 we saw last week that it's, again, men are chosen for an office, but this time it's the congregation choosing not one, but seven men to fill the office of administrating the distribution of food to the widows.

In chapter 2, when the Jews from the dispersion all heard the mighty acts of God in their own language, there arose a dispute there in Jerusalem, and some began mocking the Christians. In chapter 6, Jews from the dispersion begin disputing with Stephen.

In chapter 2, Peter stands up and preaches from various Old Testament passages, charging Israel with crucifying this Jesus, who is both Lord and Christ. In chapter 6, Stephen preaches the entire Old Testament storyline, charging Israel with always rejecting God's anointed Deliverer.

In chapter 2, Peter's hearers, it says, were cut to the heart, and 3 ,000 repent and are saved. In chapter 7, Stephen's hearers are also said to be cut to the heart, but instead of repenting, they gnash their teeth and are not saved.

In the early chapters of Acts, we see the coming of the Holy Spirit, persecution of believers, continued preaching, signs and wonders, and the number of disciples are added.

To.

In chapters 6 -9 of Acts, we see the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans, we see persecution of believers, specifically Stephen who is murdered, we see continued preaching, signs and wonders, and again, the disciples are added.

And so can you see how Luke, the way in which he tells the story, he's doing it in such a way as to show that this is a new cycle happening in the book of Acts. The Gospel, having gone to the Jews first, is now going to the Gentiles.

And it's following that pattern that Jesus said, you'll be my witnesses first in Jerusalem, then in Samaria, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We're following that pattern, and having gone to the Jews first, the Gospel is shifting towards the Gentiles, and this prompts a confrontation with the Jewish leaders that we read about in our passage today.

Stephen’s Arrest and the False Witnesses

So let's read, beginning by reading chapter 6, verses 8 -15, and God's word says this,. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.

And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.

They also set up false witnesses who said, This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against the holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.

And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. Amen, this is God's word to us. What we see here is that the Jews from the diaspora were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which Stephen spoke.

And so what do they do?

Since they can't resist with wisdom, they lie about it. They resort to lies and false witness, false charges. They break the ninth commandment by stirring up those who bear false witness against him. And much like Jesus and the apostles before him, Stephen now finds himself standing before the council and his face shines like the face of an angel.

That might remind you of Moses when he came down from the mountain of God and his face.

Shone.

It might remind you of Jesus coming down from the mount of transfiguration. It might remind you of the apostles in chapter 3, whom it was obvious that they had been with Jesus. And so Stephen here, by the spirit who filled him, we see that earlier in chapter 6 verse 5, he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

By the spirit who filled him, we see that he had been with Jesus and his face shone like that of an angel. And then the high priest asked him in chapter 7 verse 1, says, are these things so? Are these things so?

And so Stephen and the rest of chapter 7 gives his defense. Now chapter 7 is a really long chapter. It's 60 verses. And so I could have broken this down into several weeks and taken one or two of these Old Testament stories at a time.

But that would have broken up Stephen's sermon, which was a unified whole, and so I didn't think that was desirable. Also thought about maybe just reading portions of this passage so as not to overwhelm us with a really long reading.

But then that would have the effect of prioritizing my words about God's word over God's word.

Itself.

That also did not seem desirable. So what I want to do this morning is I just want to go through chapter 7 and read a section at a time, making brief comment about each one. But I want to do so in such a way, I just want to make one point today.

There's one big point out of this sermon because there's one big point out of Stephen's sermon. And that is, Israel has always rejected the Lord's anointed deliverer. That's the point of Stephen's sermon.

And it's going to build as he goes. It's going to start kind of non-controversial enough when he talks about Abraham at the.

Beginning.

And then he's going to go through and steadily build his case that Israel is stiff-necked. They resist the Holy Spirit. They always resist God's anointed, God's appointed deliverer. That's the case that he's going to make.

And the application that I want to make for us is, do not resist the Lord's anointed. Do not resist the Holy Spirit. Do not resist the work of God in your lives. So let's read chapter 7, verses 2 through 8, just to get us started.

And he said, this is Stephen standing before the council, and he said, brethren and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran.

And said to him, get out of your country and from your relatives and come to a land that I will show you. Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, he moved him to this land in which you now.

Dwell.

And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But when Abraham had no child, he promised to give it to him for a possession and to his descendants after him. But God spoke in this way, that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, that they would bring, that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.

And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge, said God. And after that, they shall come out and serve me in this place. Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

So Stephen, he starts off in a very non-controversial way. He's building maybe a little bit of rapport by starting off with some common ground, going back to their father Abraham. He tells the story of Abraham, who left the land of his father to go to a land that God would show him.

That is, Abraham had to leave his inheritance, his earthly inheritance, and live by promise, to live by the promise of God. And this is the beginning of the nation of Israel. This is the beginning of the people.

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot the patriarchs, and it's with the patriarchs that we first start seeing Stephen's argument, where they reject God's anointed. And so let's read verses 9 -16 now.

Joseph Rejected by His Brothers, Yet God Was with Him

And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with them, and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

Now famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And the second time, Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

And then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. So Jacob went down to Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers. And they were carried back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Amor, the father of Shechem.

So what we see here is Stephen, he's going to go through the Old Testament storyline, hitting the high points, Abraham, and the patriarchs, Moses, and the people in Egypt, and into the wilderness. He's going to preach this storyline.

And what he does here, when he begins talking about the patriarchs, you'll notice he doesn't whitewash the patriarchs. A lot of times when we do history, we make people, we don't talk about the bad things that they did.

When he starts out, when he talks about them, they became envious. They sold Joseph into slavery. And here, we see that God was with Joseph in Egypt. It says that God was with him. This is a pattern that we see throughout the Bible.

The people reject God's anointing to deliver, but God is with him. And so Joseph prospered in Egypt, and he was sent over Pharaoh's house, and he was sent over, second command over all of Egypt. And what the brothers meant for evil against Joseph, because of their envy, God meant for good, Genesis 50, 20.

And he saved the people of Israel, and he saved and preserved the line of the Messiah through Joseph going down into Egypt first. This too is a pattern of the Bible. No one, not even God's chosen people, not even the patriarchs, no one can thwart God's.

Will.

So what we saw last week, or a couple weeks ago rather, what Gamaliel said, that the plan and the work of God cannot be overthrown. This is a pattern that we see. Let's continue with the story of Moses in verses 17 through 36.

Moses Rejected as Deliverer and Then Sent by God

But when the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till another king arose who did not know Joseph. This man dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies so that they might not live.

At this time, Moses was born and was well-pleasing to God, and he was brought up in his father's house for three months. But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own.

Son.

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and.

Deeds.

Now when he was 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 and avenged him who was oppressed and struck down the Egyptians.

For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them, saying, Men, you are brethren, why do you wrong one another?

But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptians yesterday? Then at this thing Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.

And when forty years had passed, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, and when Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. And as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.

And Moses trembled and dared not look. Then the Lord said to him, Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt.

I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now I will send you to Egypt. Now come, I will send you to Egypt. And then Moses, whom they rejected, saying, Who made you a ruler and judge, is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

He brought them out after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. I want to focus in on one of these stories about Moses. He tells one of those stories that you read in the Old Testament that is sometimes misunderstood.

You see, many people read the story back in Exodus about Moses killing the Egyptians and say something like, see, God can use anybody. Even Moses was a murderer. God forgave him and used him. And it's kind of like how people read the story in Genesis of Abraham telling the foreign king that Sarah was his sister.

And people will say, see, even Abraham was a liar. God used him. And while it's certainly true that Abraham and Moses both were sinners, I think a careful reading of the scriptures will cause us to notice that that's not the point the scriptures.

Are making.

See, in Abraham's case, when he told the foreign king that Sarah was his sister, it would be odd if the point of the story was that Abraham was a liar and God can use anybody because he even used Abraham.

Because in the end of that story, Abraham is richly blessed. God blesses him and God doesn't bless sin. And so there's something else going on there. That's not the point of this sermon today. If you're interested in my take on what's going on in that story, I'm happy to have that conversation.

But now I want us to focus in on Moses and ask, is Moses a murderer? Is Moses a murderer? Well, no, that's not how Stephen presents Moses in that story about striking down the.

Egyptian.

He doesn't present him as a murderer. Let's read verses 24 and 25 again. It says, In seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed and struck down the Egyptian. And while we're reading, remember that Moses, he's grown up in Pharaoh's house.

So in some sense, he has some sort of civil authority that can help us here as well. Verse 25, For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver him by his hand, but they did not understand.

Moses was sent by God to deliver Israel, but they did not understand. You see, what we see here, when he defended the Israelite, when he defended his kinsmen, he was doing so as one sent by God to deliver the people.

But they said, they didn't understand, they said, who made you a ruler and judge over.

Us?

And when they did, they rejected the Lord's anointed deliverer. So Moses fled to Midian for 40 years, and that generation died in Egypt. And we see, when he's out, he goes to the burning bush, and we see his call specifically to go and deliver God's people out of Egypt, and he eventually did.

But it was the one they had rejected. And do we see the mercy of God here? The one they rejected came back and led them out of bondage, and led them out of Egypt. When they're led out of Egypt, we then see that they reject Moses still.

It's from verses 37 to 43. This is what Moses who said to the children of Israel, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren, him shall you hear. This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey but rejected, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, make us gods to go before us.

As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to 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. Did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your God, Rimphan, images which you made to worship, and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. We see here again stated specifically that it is this Moses that they rejected, but we also see that there is kind of a shift here.

Not only are they going to reject Moses, and reject those whom God sent, but they are also starting to reject God himself, because when they didn't know what had happened to Moses,.

What did they do?

Well, they fashioned a golden calf, and they worshiped that idol, the idol made with their own hands. They are giving themselves to false worship. And so what does God do? He gives them up to their desires.

He turned them over to the worship of the host of heaven, verse 42 says. That is, he gives them over to the worship of false gods. That is, he gives them over to the worship of demons. Israel had deserted the God who delivered them from Egypt, and they had rejected his prophet Moses.

Then in the next few verses we see that they had turned the temple into an idol. Reading in verses 44 through 50, our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, and as he appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern he had seen, which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor before God, and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon built him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says. Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me, says the Lord?

Or what is the place of my rest? Has my hand not made all these things? You see, the key verse here is verse 48, where it says,. The Most High does not dwell in temples made with human hands. Made with hands.

Made with hands is language associated with idols. We saw it back in the previous section, talking about the idols, the golden calf that they.

Made.

We saw in Mark, if you'll recall, when we went through the book of Mark, how Jesus' generation had turned the temple into an idol. They're trusting in the temple rather than trusting in God, who indwelled the temple.

They thought, as long as we have the temple, we can do whatever it is we want to do, the temple will protect us. They turned it in that way into a den of robbers. A safe house for those who do wickedness, superstitiously believing that the temple would protect them from wrath against their sin.

And again, this then is a rejection of the priesthood and the sacrifices and all that God had set up for them to live holy lives. It really is a rejection of God himself. Trusting in the temple rather than the God of the temple.

Turning it into an idol in that way. Then we see from here, the next few verses, Stephen turns up the volume in his argument. He's kind of been going along and he's been saying some things that could be controversial with the Jewish leaders, but beginning in verse 51, it's one of those situations where it's like, man, that kind of escalated really quickly.

Israel’s Rejection of the Holy Spirit and the Prophets

Let's read it, verse 51 through 53. You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. These verses are the point of the whole speech.

They're all leading up to this point, when he brings his charge against Israel, against Jerusalem. This is where he's reasoning to. You might remember Peter, back in the early sermons of Acts. He was very blunt in his sermons, right?

He was very blunt saying, you crucified this Jesus. You put to death the Prince of Life. We noticed how, when he did that, that he was very blunt. Stephen follows suit, and he actually ups the ante just a little bit in verse 51.

He tells them they are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. Circumcision of the flesh was always meant to point to circumcision of the heart, which is the whole point. Circumcision of the heart is faith.

Stephen is telling them that they are stiff-necked, stubborn people, hard-hearted, with no faith. He's telling them they're actually outside the people of God. Because as Galatians 3 .7 says, only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

And they do not have faith, and they resist the Holy Spirit. Their fathers have done that likewise. Their fathers have persecuted the prophets. You'll read Hebrews chapter 11, and you get to that point.

This is the hall of faith in Hebrews 11, and it's all the great things that the great saints of the Old Testament had done, and their triumphs, but then he gets to a point where he talks about those prophets who were sawn into, who were imprisoned, who were killed, who were.

Beaten.

This is what Stephen is referring to. Their fathers have persecuted the prophets. Now they're walking in their footsteps. That's what he says in verse 52, and he calls them murderers. He says, which of the prophets did they not persecute?

And now, they persecuted Christ.

They killed Christ.

They crucified Christ. And now they're doing the same to Christ's people. They had imprisoned Peter and John and the apostles. Now they've seized Stephen. They've drug him before the council. And he says to them, and they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one.

Talking about the prophets who foretold Jesus, of whom, Christ, you have now become betrayers.

And murderers. He charges them with being murderers.

In verse 53, Stephen points out their general disobedience. They're the ones, they have the law. They had received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. They have the very words of God, and they did not keep them.

They did not obey. And when they heard these things, verse 54 says, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. Remember, Peter's ears were cut to the heart too. They repented.

Stephen's ears gnashed their teeth. They did not repent. They doubled down, and what did they do? They ratified the murder of Jesus by killing Stephen in like manner. It's read in verses 55 through 60.

Stephen Dies Like Jesus and Jerusalem Faces Judgment

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

And then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one.

Accord.

And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of the young man named Saul, and they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. I want you to see the similarities between the death of Jesus and the death of Stephen.

See there was a trial before the high priest for both of them. There were false witnesses and false charges against both of them. There was a charge of blasphemy against both of them. Mentions about Jesus destroying the temple in both of these cases.

In both times, the high priest asked him a question. He asked Jesus, Are you the Christ? He asked Stephen, Are these things so? Both are killed outside of the city. There are mentions of enemies receiving their garments and clothes in both stories.

In verse 59, Stephen says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Much like Jesus said on the cross, into thy hands I commit my spirit. Both cry out with a loud voice. Both pray for the forgiveness of their killers.

And if you keep on reading into chapter 8, you'll see that both were buried and mourned.

By the righteous.

Stephen followed Jesus all the way to the grave. Stephen died like Jesus. Israel had rejected and killed Jesus. And now they did it again. They were offered a second chance. They killed, they crucified Christ, but then the Holy Spirit had come on the apostles and the first believers, the early church, and began proclaiming the gospel.

God was offering Jerusalem a second chance. They proclaimed about Jesus and His death and His resurrection, telling them to repent and saying that times are refreshing will come if you do so. But they killed the spirit-filled messenger, Stephen.

And they gnashed their teeth. They always resist the Holy Spirit. Verse 51 says, they had charged Stephen with blasphemy, but they were the ones who had committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. By resisting the Spirit, by resisting His message, by killing the spirit-filled messenger.

And because of this, part of what they charged back in verse 14 of chapter 6 was actually.

True.

Jesus would destroy the temple and He would destroy Jerusalem. This happened in the year AD 70. We talked about this some back when we were going through the book of Mark. Jesus prophesied in Mark 11 and other places, like Matthew 24.

That happened in the year AD 70. Jerusalem was crushed. The Roman army came in. The temple was destroyed. And at that moment, that is when the old covenant era officially ended. Israel, as we knew it all throughout the scriptures, was done.

Jesus Christ is the true Israel of God. And those who are united to Christ as the church are the true Israel. Those who are like Stephen, full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. And so what we see here in context of the book of Acts is this story is coming at the transition point of the book of Acts where the gospel is shifting towards the Gentiles.

Why?

Because Israel had rejected Jesus again. Friends, do not reject the Lord's deliverer. Do not resist the Holy Spirit. Do not neglect God's word. You would do so at your own peril. You see, Stephen's heroes were cut to the heart and they gnashed their teeth.

And as a result, they would spend eternity where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. You see, God tends to give people what their hearts desire. If gnashing of teeth is what they wanted, gnashing of teeth was what they would get.

He gave them over. Peter's heroes were cut to the heart and they repented. And so my encouragement to you, my exhortation to you would be do not resist the Holy Spirit. Do not resist the call of God. Is the Spirit working in your heart right now?

Do not resist. Do you need to repent and believe the gospel right now? Do not resist. Are you a Christian? Maybe you've been a Christian for a long time, but you're walking in unrepentant sin. Do you need to confess that sin and be set free?

Do you feel that tug of conviction? Do not resist the Lord, but submit. And in submission to Christ, there you will find the mercy of Christ. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we come to you right now asking for your mercy.

And we come to you right now asking that whatever you're doing in our lives, that we would not resist you in any way. We would not be stiff-necked. We would not be hard-hearted. But we would be full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit.

We would submit to Christ and His Word and His Spirit. Show us that. Give us that grace, I pray. In the name of Jesus, amen.