The Book of Acts

Stephen Addresses the Council

Acts 7:1-59 _NLT

“Then the high priest asked Stephen, ‘Are these accusations true?’ This was Stephen’s reply....” - Acts 7:1-2a

            As you will recall from yesterday’s post, freed Jewish slaves turned agitators lied to the Sanhedrin regarding the Stephen’s message stating he was blaspheming Moses and the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament, aka, the written law). As you can see by the text above, the high priest, very likely Caiaphas, the same high priest who questioned and condemned Jesus, questioned Stephen as well. 

Stephen’s response was a long speech regarding Israel’s relationship with God. In his discourse he raised three main points: 1) Israel’s history was a history of God’s acts in the world; 2) the people worshipped God way before there was a Temple built, for God doesn’t live in a Temple; and 3) the death of Jesus was just another example of Israel’s rebellious nature and rejection of their God. It should be noted that Stephen didn’t defend himself, but rather took the offensive. In the end he did as Jesus had done; he accused the religious leaders of disobeying God’s laws. This was a major slap in the face to them since they all prided themselves in meticulously followed those same laws. 

When Stephen had finished, the members of the council were so enraged that they rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Even though he was being killed for his beliefs, Stephen prayed for those who were murdering him by saying, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin!” Their actions were done in ignorance, in that they couldn’t see who Jesus truly was and being reminded of their misplaced anger caused them to be spiritually blind once again. It was this stoning that took Stephen’s life. A witness to this event was Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who was hellbent on blotting out Christ’s followers. What happens to Saul in the not too distant future would surely be most shocking to him and the local believers. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.