Acts 7
7
Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin
1Then the high priest asked Stephen, ‘Are these charges true?’
2To this he replied: ‘Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3“Leave your country and your people,” God said, “and go to the land I will show you.”#7:3 Gen. 12:1
4‘So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6God spoke to him in this way: “For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and ill-treated. 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,” God said, “and afterwards they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.”#7:7 Gen. 15:13,14 8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9‘Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
11‘Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
17‘As the time drew near for God to fulfil his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18Then “a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt”.#7:18 Exodus 1:8 19He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20‘At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.#7:20 Or was fair in the sight of God For three months he was cared for by his family. 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23‘When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24He saw one of them being ill-treated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defence and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25Moses thought that his own people would realise that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?”
27‘But the man who was ill-treating the other pushed Moses aside and said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”#7:28 Exodus 2:14 29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
30‘After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32“I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”#7:32 Exodus 3:6 Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.”#7:34 Exodus 3:5,7,8,10
35‘This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, “Who made you ruler and judge?” He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.
37‘This is the Moses who told the Israelites, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.”#7:37 Deut. 18:15 38He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.
39‘But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, “Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt – we don’t know what has happened to him!”#7:40 Exodus 32:1 41That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and revelled in what their own hands had made. 42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:
‘ “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
for forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
43You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile”#7:43 Amos 5:25-27 (see Septuagint) beyond Babylon.
44‘Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46who enjoyed God’s favour and asked that he might provide a dwelling-place for the God of Jacob.#7:46 Some early manuscripts the house of Jacob 47But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
48‘However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human 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 where will my resting-place be?
50Has not my hand made all these things?”#7:50 Isaiah 66:1,2
51‘You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: you always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him – 53you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.’
The stoning of Stephen
54When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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Acts 7
7
Stephen’s Sermon
1The high priest asked, “Are these accusations true?”
2Stephen replied, “My fellow Jews and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared # 7:2 The entire Hebrew family, and consequently the life of believers today, all began with a divine encounter as the God of glory appeared before Abraham. It is this same glory that calls people to faith in Christ. We, like Abraham, have been captured by the God of glory. See 2 Peter 1:3. to our ancestor Abraham while he was living in Iraq # 7:2 Or “Mesopotamia,” or “the land between two rivers” (Euphrates and Tigris). and before he moved to Haran # 7:2 This is the city to which Abraham migrated on his way to the promised land. Haran was also the son of Caleb who claimed a mountain. Haran means “mountain climber.” in Syria. 3God said to him, ‘Go! Leave behind your country and your relatives. Begin your journey and come to the land that I will show you.’ # 7:3 See Gen. 12:1.
4“So Abraham left southeastern Iraq # 7:4 Or “the land of Chaldeans.” and began his journey. He settled in Haran and stayed there until his father passed away. Then God had him move to the land of Israel with only a promise. 5Although God gave him no parcel of land he could call his own, not even a footprint, # 7:5 See Deut. 2:5. yet he promised Abraham that he and his descendants would one day have it all. And even though as yet Abraham had no child, 6God spoke with him and gave him this promise:
‘Your descendants will live in a foreign land with a people
who will make slaves of them
and oppress them for four hundred years. # 7:6 See Gen. 15:13–14; Ex. 2:22; 12:40.
7But I will judge the nation that enslaves them,
and your descendants will be set free
to return to this land to serve and worship me.’ # 7:7 See Ex. 3:12.
8“Then God entered into covenant with Abraham, which included the requirement of circumcision. So when he became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him eight days after his birth.
9“Isaac then became the father of Jacob, who was the father of our twelve patriarchs. Jacob’s sons became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God’s favor and blessing rested upon Joseph, and in time, 10God rescued him from all his oppression and granted him extraordinary favor before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh appointed him as the overseer of his nation and even of his own palace. # 7:10 See Gen. 41:37–44.
11“Then a devastating famine came over all of Egypt and Canaan, bringing great misery to the people, including our ancestors, who couldn’t find food. # 7:11 See Gen. 41:54; 42:5. 12But when Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, on their first trip to purchase grain for their family. 13On their second trip to Egypt, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, # 7:13 See Gen. 45:1. and because of this, Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family and where he came from.
14“Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and his entire family, a total of seventy-five people, to come and reside in Egypt. 15Eventually, Jacob died there, along with all of his sons, our forefathers. 16Their bones # 7:16 The Aramaic is “his [Jacob’s] bones,” while every Greek manuscript is “their bones.” Jacob was buried in Abraham’s tomb according to Gen. 50:1–14. Joseph was buried in a plot purchased in Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver (Gen. 33:18–20; Josh. 24:32). were later carried back to the promised land and buried in Shechem, in the tomb Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor.
17“The time drew near for God to fulfill the prophetic promise he had made to Abraham. Our Jewish people had increased greatly in number, multiplying many times over while in Egypt.
18“Another # 7:18 The Greek is “another of a different kind [or ‘character’].” king, who had forgotten how Joseph had made their nation great, arose to rule over Egypt. # 7:18 See Ex. 1:7–8. 19He was an abusive king who exploited our people with his smooth talk. With cruelty he forced our ancestors to give up their little boys as he committed infanticide! # 7:19 The Aramaic can also be translated “forced them to abort their children.”
20“Then Moses came on the scene—a child of divine beauty. # 7:20 Or “beautiful [well pleasing] in the eyes of God.” The Aramaic is “He was loved by God.” Ancient Hebrew scholars believed Moses may have had a shining of glory on his countenance when he was born, distinguishing him as a special servant of the Lord God. This shining face would later mark him as one who dwelt in the presence of the Lord (Ex. 34:29). Moses was a type or picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one was fairer than he; but no one was more extraordinary than our Lord. We learn from Ex. 6:20 that Moses’ father was Amram and his mother was Jochebed. Amram means “family of the lofty One” and Jochebed means “Yah makes great.” The sister of Moses was Miriam (the Hebrew name for Mary), which comes from the root word for “myrrh,” meaning “aromatic,” “fragrant,” or “bitter.” The name Moses means “rescued out of the water.” His parents hid him from Pharaoh as long as they could to spare his life. # 7:20 See Heb. 11:23. After three months they could conceal him no longer, 21so they had to abandon him to his fate. But God arranged that Pharaoh’s daughter would find him, take him home, and raise him as her own son. 22So Moses was fully trained in the royal courts and educated in the highest wisdom Egypt had to offer, until he arose as a powerful prince and an eloquent orator. # 7:22 Jewish tradition is that Pharaoh’s daughter had no child of her own and she herself was an only child. Moses stood in line to receive the throne of Egypt, the great world power. God was going to prepare a servant who would do his pleasure. All the education and culture of this world dynasty with its unlimited resources was placed before Moses. See Ps. 113:7–8.
23“When Moses turned forty, his heart was stirred for his people, the Israelites. 24One day he saw one of our people being violently mistreated, so he came to his rescue, and with his own hands Moses murdered the abusive Egyptian. 25Moses hoped that when the people realized how he had rescued one of their own, they would recognize him as their deliverer. How wrong he was! 26The next day he came upon two of our people engaged in a fist fight, and he tried to break it up by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers! Why would you want to hurt each other?’
27“But the perpetrator pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who do you think you are? Who appointed you to be our ruler and judge? 28Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ # 7:28 See Ex. 2:14. Moses missed God’s timing. To know God’s will doesn’t mean you know God’s timing. God made Moses a ruler and a judge, but it took forty years to prepare him. Moses wanted the position forty years before he was ready. No one can make himself ruler and judge—only God has authority to set leaders in place. We cannot raise ourselves up with ministry responsibilities until God releases us. See also Prov. 8:16.
29“Shaken by this, Moses fled Egypt # 7:29 See Heb. 11:24–27. and lived as an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30After forty years had passed, while he was in the desert near Mount Sinai, the Messenger of Yahweh # 7:30 As translated from the Aramaic. appeared to him in the midst of a flaming thorn bush. # 7:30 See Ex. 3:2. 31Moses was astonished and stunned by what he was seeing, so he drew closer to observe this marvel. Then the Lord Yahweh spoke to him out of the flames:
32‘I am the living God, # 7:32 As translated from the Aramaic. the God of your ancestors.
I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
“Trembling in God’s presence and overwhelmed with awe, Moses didn’t even dare to look into the fire.
33“Out of the flames the Lord Yahweh said to him:
‘Take the sandals off your feet, # 7:33 Removing one’s shoes indicated the highest reverence. It is symbolic of removing earthly matters from our minds and hearts in readiness to accept spiritual realities.
for you are standing in the realm of holiness. # 7:33 Or “you are standing on ground that is set apart” (sacred).
34I have watched and seen how my people
have been mistreated # 7:34 The Aramaic is “I have seen their torment.” in Egypt.
I have heard their painful groaning,
and now I have come down to set them free.
So come to me, Moses,
for I am sending you to Egypt to represent me.’ # 7:34 See Ex. 3:6–10.
35“So God sent back to Egypt the man our people rejected and refused to recognize by saying, ‘Who appointed you to be our ruler and judge?’ God sent this man back to be their ruler and deliverer, commissioned with the power of the messenger who appeared to him in the flaming thorn bush. 36This man brought the people out from their Egyptian bondage with many astonishing wonders and miracle signs—miracles in Egypt, miracles at the Red Sea, and miracles during their forty-year journey through the wilderness. 37This is the same Moses who said to our ancestors, ‘The Lord God # 7:37 As translated from the Aramaic. will raise up one from among you who will be a prophet to you, like I have been. Listen to everything he will say!’ # 7:37 As translated from the Aramaic. See Deut. 18:15.
38“Moses led the congregation in the wilderness # 7:38 Or “Moses is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness.” and he spoke face-to-face with the angel who spoke with him on the top of Mount Sinai. Along with our ancestors, he received the living oracles of God that were passed down to us. 39But our forefathers refused to obey. They pushed him away, and their hearts longed to return to Egypt.
40“While Moses was on the mountain, our forefathers said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to lead us, because we don’t know what has become of this Moses who brought us out of Egypt.’ # 7:40 The Aramaic is “We don’t know who this Moses is.” See Ex. 32:1, 23.
41“So they made a god, an idol in the form of a bull calf. They offered sacrifices to it and celebrated with delight what their own hands had made. # 7:41 Or “They had a party in honor of what their own hands had made.”
42“When God saw what they had done, he turned away from them and handed them over to the worship of the stars of heaven, # 7:42 This was in violation of Deut. 4:19; 17:2–5. as recorded in the prophetic writings: # 7:42 See Amos 5:25–27.
‘People of Israel, you failed to worship me
when you offered animal sacrifices
for forty years in the wilderness.
43Instead you worshiped the god Moloch, # 7:43 This was the Canaanite god of the sun and sky.
and you carried his tabernacle, not mine.
You worshiped your star-god, Rephan. # 7:43 Or “Derphan,” or “Remphan.” This is the Assyrian deity also referred to as Saturn.
You made idols with your hands
and worshiped them instead of me.
So now I will cast you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44“God gave Moses the revelation of the pattern of the tabernacle of the testimony. By God’s command, he made it exactly according to the specifications given to him for our ancestors in the wilderness. 45The next generation received possession of it, and under Joshua’s # 7:45 In Aramaic-Hebrew, the spelling of Joshua and Jesus is the same: Yeshua. leadership they took possession of the land of the nations, which God drove out in front of them. The tabernacle was carried about until 46David found loving favor with God and prayed for a dwelling place for the God of Jacob, 47but it was Solomon who built him a house. # 7:47 See 2 Chron. 5.
48“However, the Most High God does not live in temples made by human hands, as the prophet said: # 7:48 See Isa. 66:1–2.
49‘Heaven is my throne room and the earth
is but a footstool for my feet.
How could you possibly build a house
that could contain me?’ says the Lord Yahweh.
‘And where could you find a place where I could live?
50Don’t you know that it is my hands
that have built my house, # 7:50 Or “all these things.” not yours?’
51“Why would you be so stubborn as to close your hearts and your ears to me? You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just like your forefathers! 52Which prophet was not persecuted and murdered by your ancestors? Name just one! They killed them all—even the ones who prophesied long ago of the coming of the Righteous One! Now you follow in their steps and have become his betrayers and murderers. 53You have been given the law by the visitation # 7:53 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is “by angelic decrees.” of angels, but you have not obeyed it.”
Stephen Is Stoned to Death
54When they heard these things, they were overtaken with violent rage filling their souls, and they gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, overtaken with great faith, # 7:55 As translated from the Aramaic. was full of the Holy Spirit. He fixed his gaze into the heavenly realm and saw the glory and splendor of God—and Jesus, who stood up at the right hand of God.
56“Look!” Stephen said. “I can see the heavens opening and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God to welcome me home!” # 7:56 Jesus sits at the right hand of God, but when he saw Stephen give his last breath for the gospel, he stood to welcome his martyr into his eternal reward.
57His accusers covered their ears with their hands and screamed at the top of their lungs to drown out his voice. 58Then they pounced on him and threw him outside the city walls to stone him. His accusers, one by one, placed their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus. # 7:58 That is, Saul, who would be converted and become Paul the apostle. Stephen’s graduation was Paul’s initiation.
59As they hurled stone after stone at him, Stephen prayed, “Our Lord Jesus, accept my spirit into your presence.” 60He crumpled to his knees and shouted in a loud voice, “Our Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” # 7:60 See Luke 23:34, 46. And then he died.
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