November 19, Acts 7
“You’re just like your father!” Has anyone ever said that at your house? Maybe it’s a compliment about physical resemblance. But it’s usually a negative statement about some undesirable behavior in a child. Quarreling husbands and wives sometimes employ the phrase like a goad, implying that their mate’s annoying character trait was inherited from the previous generation.
On trial before the Jewish council, a group composed mostly of Christ-rejecting hypocrites, Stephen told them they were just like their fathers. It was true, but they killed him for saying it.
Stephen had become a powerful influence through the miracles he performed and the wisdom with which he spoke as the Holy Spirit worked through him. His enemies attacked him with the same plan they had used against Jesus. They lied about Stephen, saying he spoke against Moses and God. They arrested him and brought him before the council, where false witnesses said he spoke against the temple and Moses. The high priest asked Stephen if these things were so, which opened the door for Stephen’s amazing defense. His speech is a sweeping panorama of the nation’s history and a succinct indictment of the Jews’ rejection of the Holy Spirit.
Stephen expressed kinship and respect with his first words: “Brothers and fathers.” Beginning with Abraham, he recited Israel’s history, compressing decades and centuries into phrases. Over half the message is about Moses’ life, including his Messianic prophecy that God would one day raise up a prophet like himself. He chronicled Israel’s idolatry and rebellion. He talked about David, Solomon and the temple, but quoted Psalms and Isaiah to show that no physical building could be God’s dwelling. Then he said they rejected Jesus just like their fathers rejected the prophets.
Enraged, the Jewish leaders stoned Stephen to death, after Stephen said he saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand in heaven. As Jesus had done, Stephen prayed the Lord would not hold his murderers’ sin against them, and asked the Lord to receive his spirit as he died. At the end of this sad account, Luke introduced a character we’ll see again in this story—a young man named Saul who guarded the coats of Stephen’s executioners.
What can we take away from this chapter besides a heavy heart over the first Christian martyr? Let’s remember that religious people did this terrible thing. They stopped up their ears as they rushed to kill Stephen, but their minds and hearts were closed before they made the physical gesture. Let’s beware the temptation to do ungodly things under the guise of being loyal to God.
Stephen is one of our great heroes. His courage was unflinching in the face of hostile opposition. His heart was unblemished by bitterness, even toward his killers. His faith was unshaken as he died. Ah, that you and I might live, and if necessary, die like Stephen did!
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament,
Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—November 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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