Acts 7
1 And the high priest said, "Are these things so?"
The High Priest wanted to know if Stephen was guilty of these accusations. This question gave Stephen the opportunity to preach the longest sermon in the Bible.
2 And he said, "Brethren and fathers, hearken, the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran."
Stephen began his sermon by calling the Sanhedrin his brothers and his fathers, as a sign of deep respect. The Sanhedrin were his Jewish brothers of the nation of Israel. They were also his elders, as they were the leaders of Israel.
Stephen reminded the Sanhedrin that the Shekinah Glory first appeared to Abraham when he was out of the land of Israel. Abraham was living in Ur, which was on the fork of the Tigris-Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. The purpose of this sermon introduction was to show that the Shekinah Glory was not restricted to the land of Israel or to the Jewish Temple.
3 And said unto him, "Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee."
Stephen began his sermon with the promise of God via the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant was an unconditional promise that would bless the descendants of Abraham with an eternal land possession. This covenant would also bless the Gentiles by bringing them a Messianic Savior through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
4 "Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell."
Some skeptics point out that Stephen was disagreeing with the text in Genesis 11:32. The solution is quite simple, but unless God opens the eyes of the skeptics, the skeptics will be too blinded to understand the truth of the Scriptures. One possibility is that Stephen received two calls from God, one in Mesopotamia and another in Haran. The other possibility is that Stephen was under extreme pressure at a kangaroo trial where they were trying to kill him, so he made a verbal factual mistake. The Bible is inspired in that Luke even recorded the speaking mistakes of Stephen during his speech under extreme duress.
5 And he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on, and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Abraham died without receiving this land. Therefore, God must raise him from the dead to keep his promise. This type of message did not set well with the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection.
6 And God spoke to him in this way, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should bring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years.
Instead of giving the land to Abraham, God promised that Abraham's descendants would be enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. The Book of Genesis, and later on the Apostle Paul, gave the time period as the exact detailed 430 years. Skeptics like to point this out as a Bible discrepancy. However, in his speech, Stephen chose just to give the round number. Again, this is not a discrepancy. Luke is recording exactly what Stephen said under pressure to a kangaroo court that wanted to kill him.
7 "And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge," said God, "and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place."
God promised Abraham that he would one day judge Egypt, and he did, with ten plagues that destroyed the polytheism of Egypt. God also promised that Abraham's seed would return to that place and worship God. That place was Mount Sinai and Israel did fulfill this promise.
8 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 the twelve patriarchs.
Stephen mentioned the covenant of circumcision, which was a covenant for Jews only, not for Gentiles. Stephen quickly moved past Isaac and Jacob to drive home an important theological concept about Joseph.
9 And the patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt, and God was with him.
The rejected Joseph became the exalted Joseph, just as the rejected Jesus will become the exalted Jesus.
10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh King of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
The point is that God's revelation came to Joseph outside of the land of Israel.
11 Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no sustenance.
The famine was part of God's sovereign plan to move the tribe of Jacob into Egypt.
12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the first time.
The first time that the brothers visited Joseph, they failed to recognize their savior. This is a typology of Israel rejecting their Messiah at his first coming.
13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pharaoh.
The brothers did recognize their savior the second time, just as Israel will recognize their Savior at his Second Coming.
14 And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
The tribes of Israel were called into Egypt, 75 in number.
15 And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, himself and our fathers.
God promised Jacob that he would inherit the land of Israel forever. This means that God must raise him from the dead in order to keep his promise. Again, this did not set well with the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection.
16 And they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
Stephen was under extreme pressure, so he made two verbal factual mistakes. According to Genesis, Joseph was buried in Shechem, but Abraham was buried in Hebron. In haste, Stephen merged the two sites. According to Genesis, Abraham bought the cave from the Hittites, and it was Jacob who bought the field from Hamor. Again, Stephen merged the two. This could have been done intentionally to get to the point, or it could have been done in error under great pressure. Either way, the Holy Spirit moved Luke to record the exact words of Stephen.
17 But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.
The time of the promise was the divine appointment of the sovereign God. The population of Israel flourished under Egypt's protection.
18 Till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.
A Hyksos king conquered from outside of Egypt. This new Pharaoh did not think that he owed any obligations to the Jews.
19 The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that they should cast out their babes to the end they might not live.
This infanticide was part of God's divine purpose to bring baby Moses into the royal court.
20 At which season Moses was born, and was exceeding fair; and he was nourished three months in his father's house.
The parents of Moses recognized that God was going to use their son for a special purpose, so they risked their lives and hid him for three months.
21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
By God's sovereignty, Moses entered the royal house of Egypt.
22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and works.
Moses was trained in the royal house in Egyptian science, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and possibly the occult rituals of Egyptian polytheism.
23 But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
The Greek word for visit is ἀναβαίνω (anabaino), meaning that Moses went to the deepest depths of his heart and then he rose up to visit his brothers. The purpose of this visit was to identify himself with the Jews, and no longer with the Egyptians.
24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian.
Like Jesus, Moses came to save his Israelite brothers from bondage. Moss saved Israel from the bondage of Egypt. Jesus saved Israel from the bondage of Satan. Pharaoh is a type of Satan.
25 And he supposed that his brethren understood that God by his hand was giving them deliverance; but they understood not.
Like Jesus, Moses was rejected at his first coming.
26 And the day following he appeared 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?"
Like Jesus, Moses gave the nation of Israel a sermon about fellowship.
27 But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?"
Like Jesus, Moses was rejected as the deliverer of Israel.
28 "Would thou kill me, as thou killed the Egyptian yesterday?"
Moses had killed an Egyptian task master. The murder had been discovered.
29 And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.
The Midianites were the descendants of Abraham and his third wife, Keturah. They lived in Arabia.
30 And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
The Shekinah Glory appeared to Moses at the burning bush.
31 And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord.
The curiosity of Moses was a divine appointment to meet the one true God.
32 I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
The Shekinah Glory revealed his identity to Moses. Every human who met God in the Scriptures met him with fear and trembling. Paul went to the third heaven and was commanded not to speak about it. Whenever a modern charismatic claims that he died and went to heaven and then he writes a book for profit about his experience, then this is either a demonic lie or a human delusion. We get all of our divine information from only the Bible.
33 And the Lord said unto him, "Loose the shoes from thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand is holy ground."
God is holy and we can only approach him in the same manner. We become holy, or set apart, by believing in Christ.
34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I am come down to deliver them, and now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
God heard the cries of his children, but waited 430 years to deliver them. God may be slow, but he is never late.
35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge?" He hath God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush.
Like Jesus, Moses was rejected at his first coming, but he will become ruler and savior at his second coming.
36 This man led them forth, having wrought wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
Just as Moses led Israel to the Promised Land at his second coming, so will Jesus lead the Jews into the Promised Land during his Second Coming.
37 This is that Moses, who said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me.
Moses predicted that another prophet similar to himself would be raised up to deliver Israel once again. This prophet was Jesus. Jesus was a prophet on earth. He is currently priest in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father. He will return as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
38 This is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living oracles to give unto us.
God gave Moses the written Law, which were living oracles to Israel.
39 To whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt.
Moses had the word of God, but Israel rejected him.
40 Saying unto Aaron, "Make us gods that shall go before us, for as for this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him."
Moses had the word of God, but Israel chose to worship the demonic gods of Egypt.
41 And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.
Moses had the word of God, but Israel chose to worship the calf god.
42 But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?'
Moses had the word of God, but Israel chose to worship the stars of heaven. Israel began idolatry early in their history as a nation. They began as soon as Israel exited Egypt and entered the wilderness.
43 And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, the figures which ye made to worship them. And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
Israel had the word of God, but they chose to worship Moloch and Rephan. Moloch was a Canaanite deity who demanded human sacrifice. Rephan was the name of a pagan god connected with Saturn. The idolatry of Israel caused God to give them up to the Babylonians.
44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he appointed who spoke unto Moses that he should make it according to the figure that he had seen.
Israel had the tabernacle of the testimony where the one true living God met with and spoke with Moses, yet Israel rejected Moses. Notice that Stephen again mentioned that the tabernacle was in the wilderness, meaning that it was out of the land. Moses built the tabernacle after the pattern in heaven, yet Israel rejected this tabernacle.
45 Which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered on the possession of the nations, that God thrust out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David.
Joshua brought in this tabernacle to the seven nations of Canaan. God vomited out the Canaanites, because of their idolatry, and placed Israel in the land. Yet, Israel had been seduced by the same idolatrous gods of Canaan. The tabernacle stayed in the land of Israel until the time of King David.
46 Who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.
King David replaced the flimsy-curtained tabernacle tent with a stone and limber temple.
47 But Solomon built him a house.
David's hands were too bloody, so God allowed Solomon to build his temple.
48 Howbeit the Most High dwelled not in houses made with hands; as said the prophet.
Stephen pointed out that God is omnipresent. He was not only residing in the tabernacle and temple, but at the same time, he was omnipresent, or present everywhere. Stephen quoted from Isaiah 66:1-2 to prove his point.
49 'The heaven is my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. What manner of house will ye build me? said the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?'
This prophecy concerns the Tribulation Temple, which will be built by the Antichrist. However, Stephen applied this passage to the Second Temple, or the Herodian Temple. His point was that neither the Second Temple nor the Tribulation temple can contain God's omnipresence. Israel had the temple, but they still rejected God.
50 'Did not my hand make all these things?'
God is the Creator of all things, but Israel rejected their Creator. Stephen saw that God was not only the God of the Jews, but he was also the God of all people everywhere, including Gentiles. Peter did not see this revelation until later in his ministry (Acts 10).
51 "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye."
Stephen claimed that the present generation of Israel was just as stubborn and evil as previous generations. Just as the previous generations had rejected God, the present generation had rejected their own Messiah.
Stephen called them stiff-necked, a term often used of previous generations (Ex. 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9; and Deut. 9:6).
Stephen also called them uncircumcised of heart, which was also a direct quotation by God in the Old Testament (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; 9:26; and Ezek. 44:7).
The Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to them as their Messiah, but they rejected him also. One can reject a general call from God, but no man can resist the efficacious call of God.
52 Which of the prophets did not your father’s persecute? And they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers.
The prophets of the Old Testament had predicted the birth, life, rejection, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. Their fathers had killed every single one of God's prophets. Now, they had betrayed and killed their own Messiah.
Notice that this is the first introduction of Jesus in this long sermon, but it does not mention him by name.
53 Ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
The Jews had no excuse. They had received the Mosaic Law, which was ordained by angels, but they rejected it.
Dr. Fruchtenbaum makes five valid points about Stephen's sermon:
First, there was both progress and change in God’s program; secondly, God’s blessing was not limited to the Land of Israel or to the Temple Compound; thirdly, Israel had consistently rejected God’s plan and His messengers throughout Jewish history; fourthly, the rejected one often became the savior of the rejecters; and fifth, his implication was that the same was true of the Messiah; He was rejected by Israel, but He is yet to become the Savior of His rejecters.
The Stoning of Stephen
54 Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
The Greek phrase "cut to the heart" is the Greek word διεπρίοντο (dieprionto), meaning to saw in half. The Sanhedrin was cut in half with anger.
The Greek word for "gnashed their teeth" is βρύχω (brucho), meaning to bite for rage or pain. They were attempting to bite him in rage.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
While the Pharisees were biting in rage, Stephen was looking calmly and peacefully up to heaven. He saw the Shechinah Glory. He also saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. There are many verses which record Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, but this is the only verse where Jesus is seen as standing. Jesus stood to sustain Stephen through his suffering. Jesus stood to welcome Stephen into heaven.
56 And said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."
Stephen made the very same claim that Jesus made at His trial in Matthew 26:64.
Stephen referred to Jesus as the Son of Man. This was the last time in the New Testament that this Messianic title was used. It was used frequently throughout the Gospels, but it will not be used again. From now on, Jesus is referred to only as the “Son of God.” Also, this is the only time the term Son of Man was used of Jesus by someone other than Himself. Jesus will be known in following scriptures as the Son of God.
57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord.
The Greek word of "rushed" is ὁρμάω (ormao), meaning to rush rapidly. This is the same Greek word that is used when the swine rushed off of the cliff after being demon possessed. Notice that the pigs would rather die than be demon possessed. Man is not as smart as the pigs.
58 And they cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
The witnesses were false witnesses. Stephen was the link to the introduction of Paul. The Greek word for "young man" is νεανίας, meaning a young man in his prime, even up to the age of 40. Paul could have lost a debate to Stephen in Cicilia. Paul had now witnessed the martyrdom of a powerful testimony. However, Paul was spiritually blinded, so he could not understand the message. God will have to blind him physically on the Road to Damascus in order to prepare him for service.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Stephen is calling Jesus Κύριε (kurie), meaning deity. Man is born with a dead spirit. It becomes alive at his conversion after hearing and believing the gospel. The body will become dust, but the spirit will enter into the presence of Jesus.
Should believers pray to Jesus? No, because in every case in Scripture, the prayers are always addressed to God the Father. In this case, Stephen is not praying. He instantly sees Jesus and he asks Jesus to receive his spirit. When a Christian dies, there is no soul sleep, as Jehovah Witnesses falsely claim. The spirit simply leaves the shell of the body and immediately enters into the presence of Jesus.
60 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.
The plea to not lay the sin against the Sanhedrin was similar to the plea of Jesus before his death. Stephen had learned how to die from the Conqueror of Death and the Master of Life.
When a Christian dies, God puts him to sleep. This is not soul sleep. It is simply a euphemism for death. Just as one sleeps and wakes up, God will put the Christian to sleep and the Christian will wake up via the resurrection.
