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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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STEPHEN’S CONCLUSION AND STONING (Ac 7:51-60) 12/01/13 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. STEPHEN’S POWERFUL CONCLUSION (51-53) A. They Always Resisted the Holy Spirit (51) 1. Though Stephen finished acquitting
himself of the charges of blaspheme against God, Moses, Law, and the Temple;
he began to indict the Sanhedrin with the truth about Israel and about
Christ. 2. [51] Stephen’s first application was that
Israel (and the Sanhedrin) always resisted the Holy Spirit. 3. They were “stiff-necked” (sklērotrachēlos - sklēros-
hard or stiff & trachēlos - neck, Eng.
trachea; metaphorically it means refusal
to change one’s behavior)
because they would not conform to God’s commands. They were “uncircumcised in
heart” (aperitmētos - to not cut
around, i.e. circumcision; metaphorically, removal of fleshly living (Col
2:11), unspiritual) in that they were carnal and unspiritual toward God
and His revelation (Le 26:41; Je 4:4; 6:10; Eze 44:7). Being associated with
pagans, it was perhaps the latter term that evoked their emotions (cf. Ac
7:8). 4. In essence, they “always” (aei - unceasing) “resisted” (antipiptō - rush against, oppose) the
Holy Spirit’s instructions, prohibitions, and direction toward Christ. Though
the fathers had a history of such resistance, Stephen emphatically repeats
the pronoun “you yourselves (humeis - 2nd
pesron plural). They were about to forcibly
resist Stephen, who was “full of the Holy Spirit (Ac 6:5; 7:55), as well as
his message of truth. B. They Persecuted the Prophets (52a) 1. [52a] Now that the Sanhedrin was on the
stand, Stephen asked them to declare which one of the prophets their fathers
did not persecute. 2. The history of Israel persecuting her own
prophets bears testimony in Scripture (Lk 11:47-51, “Abel to Zechariah,”
first and last of OT martyrs not including John the Baptist) as well as
Stephen’s sermon (Ac 7:9, 28, 35, 39). C. They Crucified the Righteous One (52b) 1. [52b] These were the prophets who
prophesied the “coming” (eleusis fr. erchomai - coming or Advent) of the Righteous One, a reference to
the Messiah (Is 53:11; Ac 3:14; 7:52; 22:14 cf. Mt 27:19; Lk 23:47). Because
of crucifying the Christ, Stephen identified the Sanhedrin as “betrayers” and
murderers.” 2. They were betrayers because they rejected
God’s ultimate Prophet and Messenger. They were murderers because the Messiah
was put to death through them. Stephen’s message was
no different from that of the apostles (Ac 2:23, 36; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30). D. They Did not Keep the Law (53) 1. [53] The final application was that
Israel was the privileged chosen people to have received God’s words
“ordained” (diatagē - decree or
ordinance - Ro 3:2; directed or arranged - may be sense here) by heavenly
messengers (angels, including the Angel of the Lord, Ac 7:38). 2. Israel received God’s words (Dt 4:10; Ro
3:2; 1Pe 4:11); commandments (Ex 15:26; Dt 4:2), and prophecies (Je 1:9; Is
53:1-5; Jer 31:31). 3. However Stephen accused them of not
“keeping” (phulassō - guard or keep,
i.e obey) God’s words (Je 13:10; 29:19; 35:15;
Eze 2:7), commandments (1Ki 18:18; 2Ki 17:19; Eze 9:10; Is 48:18), and
prophecies (Je 5:31; Eze 13:17) II. SANHEDRIN’S VISCERAL REACTION (54) A. They were “Cut to the Quick” 1. The reaction of the Sanhedrin was observed before when Peter was before the Sanhedrin,
but now it was unstoppable. “Cut to the quick” is the Greek word diapriō and literally means to cut (prizō) through (dia)
and in two (same word in Ac 5:33). 2. Figuratively it meant to be infuriated and enraged.
It was the Sanhedrin’s negative reaction to the conviction of the Holy Spirit
and truth. B. They were “Gnashing their Teeth” 1. Added to this description was the
“gnashing of teeth” which literally meant “grinding
(bruchō) the teeth (odontes).”
It could mean excruciating pain (Mt 8:12; Lk 13:28), but is also idiomatic
for being uncontrollably furious. A person is so angry that they cannot keep
from grinding their teeth, outwardly and inwardly (cf. Ps 37:12; Lam 2:16).
It is also a description of hell (Mt 8:12; 25:30). 2. Both words are in the imperfect tense
suggesting that it was not momentary but continuously building. III. CULMINATION IN STEPHEN’S STONING (55-60) A. Stephen Saw the Son of Man (55-56) 1. [55] Not because of a hallucination, but
being “full of the Holy Spirit,” Stephen saw the glory of God in heaven. The
report did not come by the author’s imagination, but from Stephen’s own mouth
(Ac 7:56). 2. [56] As the heavens were opening before
Stephen, he saw the “Son of a Man” (divine title frequently used by Jesus,
Da 7:13-14 cf. Mt 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 26:63-64) standing at the right hand
of God. In the presence of the Sanhedrin, Stephen observed and implied that
at the “right hand”, Jesus was raised from the dead (Ps 16:8; Ac 2:25;
5:30-31; Ro 8:34), was in the position of God’s power and authority (Ex
15:16; Dt 33:2; Ps 110:1; 1Pe 3:22; He 8:1), and was the source of salvation
(Ex 15:12; Ps 20:6; 60:5; Ac 5:31). All these truths were
rejected by the Sanhedrin. B. Sanhedrin Began to Stone Stephen (57-58) 1. [57] The Sanhedrin weathered all the
accusations hurled at them, but the declaration that Jesus had been raised
and had been exalted to the position of Lord was the heart of the matter. In
a self-revealing unanimous outburst, the Sanhedrin showed their hatred toward
Jesus and those who exalt Him. They unanimously “cried out” (krazō - shriek, cried out, scream, Mk 5:5)
with a “loud voice.” They “covered” (sunechō
- hold the ears shut) their ears with their hands because they could not
listen to one more Christological syllable. They could contain themselves no
longer and “rushed headlong with one intent or impulse” at Stephen. 2. [58] The one intent or impulse was to
stone Stephen and silence him forever. They were charging him with blasphemy,
which was punishable by stoning according to Le 24:16. They drove him out of
the city according to the Law (Le 24:14). Ironically, Stephen accused them of
not keeping the Law (53), but they would try to (semi) keep the Law in regard to his death. The “witnesses” (Sanhedrin), were
to begin the stoning followed by the people (Dt 17:7). 3. Through good literary narration, we are introduced to a person who would be a key figure in
the book of Acts. But more importantly this figure
would become the most important leader, apostle, church planter, missionary,
and author in Christianity. Here he is called by his
Jewish name, Saul. Later he would be called by his
Roman name, Paul (Ac 13:9). To hold the robes of the executioners, Saul gave
hearty approval to Stephen’s death (Ac 8:1). C. Stephen’s Final Words (59-60) 1. [59] While the Jews continued stoning
Stephen, he called on the Lord in a similar way as Jesus when He committed
His spirit to the Lord (Lk 23:46). The one great exception was that Stephen
called on “Jesus” to receive his spirit. Again, Stephen depicts the
Christological view of the early church. Not only did they believe that a
believer could pray to Jesus, but they whole-heartedly believed in His deity.
For only God can receive our prayers and our spirit. 2. [60] With Stephen’s end near, he fell on
his knees and cried out one more time to God. He did not cry out for
deliverance or vengeance, but like Jesus (Lk 23:34), he prayed that God would
not hold this sin against his executioners. In the most beautiful of
metaphoric terms for the believer’s death, Stephen “fell asleep.” V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. The Gospel will invoke hostility in some
but also some will embrace it. 1. The Sanhedrin illustrates hostility, but
many had already embraced Christ. 2. Saul had given hearty approval to
Stephen’s death, but not long after he himself would
come to Christ. Stephen no doubt became a long-life example for Paul. 3. The Gospel will bring hostility and
persecution to us. Jesus already foretold us in the Scriptures. But there will be some who embrace it and will be
motivated by our example. B. Lord still commissions believers to
witness in spite of persecution 1. Persecution or not, the believer has a
divine commission to share the Gospel. We are encouraged by the hope of the
results, but it does not change the fact of the believer’s duty to suffer. 2. We know the world will do what the world
does, that is to resist Christ. But the believer
must be obedient and fulfill his duty to God in this life, in spite of the
difficulties. C. Believer’s perspective on persecution 1. It does not cause shame (Ro 1:16) a) We don’t have to
be ashamed as if we did something wrong. In fact we
have done something right. b) Furthermore salvation is the power of God
to those who believe 2. It brings a spiritual blessedness (Mt
5:44) a) We receive a spiritual joy, not a worldly
happiness, when we are persecuted. We even
experience a divine love and forgiveness for the persecutors (ex. Jesus ,
Stephen) 3. It brings glorious encouragement and
strength (1Pe 4:14) a) Glory in OT represented God’s presence. In
those situation of severest persecution we
experience God’s presence and encouragement and strength. 4. It provides an opportunity to follow in
Christ’s footsteps (1Pe 2:21) a) We always pray, Lord make us like Jesus.
When we are persecuted, we are truly emulating
Christ and experience what He went through for us. D. Conclusion: If we take Stephen’s example,
if we are obedient believers sharing the Gospel and if we have a correct
perspective on persecution, then we will be gloriously blessed and
strengthened as we do God’s will and further His
kingdom. |
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