Acts 7 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Acts 7

Stephen’s Speech

7:1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

  “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43   You took up the tent of Moloch
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the images that you made to worship;
  and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.¹ 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49   “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
  What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
    or what is the place of my rest?
50   Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together² at him. 58 Then 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. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Footnotes

[1] 7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob
[2] 7:57 Or rushed with one mind

Commentary

v1: Stephen is given the opportunity to answer the allegations. His theme is the repeated rejection of God's word by the Jewish people. His key text is v51, "you always resist the Holy Spirit."The accusation is that he speaks "against this holy place and against the law...will destroy this place and change the customs."Stephen, in answering, shows a respect for the OT, yet still points out the Jews' persistent disobedience. Stephen's style is typically Jewish, as in 13.16-41; taking his hearers through Israel's history in an appropriate way.

Stephen answers the accusation about "this place,"by referring to God's dealings with His people outside the promised land. He remains faithful to His people wherever they are. Although certain OT promises refer specifically to geographical location, His purposes are not limited by geography. Note the following;

God called Abraham in Mesopotamia, v2;
He had no inheritance in Canaan, v5;
God promised that Israel would remain in a foreign land, v6;
God blessed Joseph in Egypt, v9-10;
Jacob's family found no sustenance in Canaan, v11;
Jacob went to live in Egypt, v15;
The people grew and multiplied in Egypt, v17;
Moses was educated in Egypt for forty years, v22-23, and then lived in Midian for forty years, v29-30;
Moses met God at the burning bush in the desert, v30;
Moses met God on holy ground, v33;
God performed signs and wonders in Egypt and at the Red Sea, v36;
The tabernacle was erected in the wilderness, v44.

The Rabbis held that the land was holy, indeed the only holy ground anywere. Everywhere else was simply excluded, unclean. It was 'darkness and death.' Contact with the very dust of foreign land would defile. Stephen would have understood this; and known the tension between the OT scriptures and the Rabbis' teaching.

v2-8: God's dealings with Abraham. Stephen starts with Abraham, accepted by all parties as the family of the nation. God called Abraham to leave Mesopotamia, and he left, not knowing where he was going, Heb 11.8.

Abraham stayed for a time in Haran, where his father died, and then continued to Canaan. Although Abraham did not gain an inheritance in Canaan, Heb 11.9, God promised that his descendants would possess the land.

God spoke to Abraham regarding the people's captivity in Egypt, Gen 15.13-14.

v9-16: God's dealings with Jacob's family. Joseph was hated by his brothers, but God vindicated him; Moses was also rejected by his brothers, v23-28, but God vindicated him; and Jesus Christ too was rejected by the Jews, v52-53, and God has vindicated Him.

Here are the wicked vine-dressers, who mistreat the servants, Matt 21.34-36, and ultimately kill the owners' son; "he will destroy those wicked men,"Matt 21.41. The time of judgment is about to begin, with God rejecting the nation of Israel. There is a glorious promise, in v55-56; 3.20, of Christ coming again to His people, but they reject, and judgment falls, as Israel is cast off.

Joseph and Moses both became rulers over Israel, and one day Jesus Christ will be truly King of the Jews.

v17-38: God's dealings with Moses. He was born at a particular time, into a suffering nation, see Ex 1.8. Yet he missed much of that suffering, being brought up and educated in Pharaoh's household.

Three times, Stephen refers to "forty years"in relation to Moses, v23, 30, 36; times of trial for the people. But it was through Moses that the promises originally given to Abraham are fulfilled.

Moses provides a pattern of the Christ to follow; he is "ruler and deliverer,"v35; he is "a prophet,"v37. Stephen clearly links Moses with Christ. Yet just as the people refused to obey Moses, Stephen's hearers reject Christ.

v39-43: The disobedience of the children of Israel in the wilderness. Stephen addresses the accusation that "Jesus ... will ... change the customs Moses handed down to us."The problem is not so much with Moses' customs, but with the people's hearts. Stephen used the incident of the golden calf to illustrate the people's tendency to sin. He perceptively states that the children of Israel turned back to Egypt in their hearts.

In quoting from Amos, Stephen refers to the "book of the prophets,"or what we call the Minor Prophets, the collection of 12 shorter prophetic books.

v44-50: The tabernacle and the temple, built at god's direction, and by godly men, yet neither could contain God. Stephen does not despise either tabernacle nor temple, "a dwelling-place for the God of Jacob."He does not speak of Jesus destroying the temple. But he insists that God is more important than the tabernacle and the temple. Although Israel had these things, they did not guarantee their obedience.

Stephen repeatedly quotes Scriptures, which the Jews accept. However, as in Luke 4.16-30, there are some scriptures that they dislike. For us to be consistent, we must accept and believe all that God has written.

v51-53: Stephen's conclusion, entirely consistent with the OT, the history of Israel's disobedience. The Jewish people killed and persecuted the prophets, and ultimately became the murderers of the Son of God. They had persistently failed to keep the law of God, in spite of their claim to be the people of God, and believers in the law, Rom 2.17-24.

v54: There is conviction and anger, but not repentance; contrast 2.37.

v55-56: Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ready to receive the children of Israel if they will turn to Him. He is also ready to judge them and reject them.

v57-58: The Jews, blind to any truth, drown out Stephen's words, and cover their ears, so as not to hear him. And here is Saul of Tarsus, standing, giving approval (26.10). Yet this incident must have some impact upon him.

v59-60: Stephen's words, similar to the Lord's from the cross; but here Stephen is His mouthpiece and representative, for he has performed "great wonders and signs among the people"(6.8).