Given Over to Death for Jesus’ Sake
Acts 7:1-8:2
If you have your bibles, I’d like to just jump into the text in Acts this morning. We have
a significant amount of ground to cover. I’m going to begin reading in Acts 6, verse
8…Acts 6, verse 8, some verses that Justin covered last week.
8 And
Stephen, (now Stephen was one of the seven men the apostles picked to meet the
needs of the Hellenist widows, one group of widows in the burgeoning church ) And
Stephen full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the
people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it
was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia
and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. (Jewish men from the synagogue or
synagogues in Jerusalem-- there is some question about how many synagogues there
were in Jerusalem based on the wording of verse 9—Jewish men began confronting and
disputing with Stephen.) 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit
with which he was speaking. When I read verse 10, a picture came to mind. You know
how you at the beach go out in the water and are bowled over by the tide? Well I
imagined the wisdom of Stephen like a tide. The Jewish leaders shared their wisdom.
And then Stephen shared his wisdom and overwhelmed them like a wave in the ocean.
They fall back. They stand back up again and share their wisdom. And then Stephen then
shares his wisdom and they are bowled over again. ….they could not withstand the
wisdom and the Spirit with which (Stephen) was speaking.
(This idea—that Stephen was ‘irrefutable’ in this his passion—is one of twelve ideas that
tie Stephen’s suffering and death, with Jesus’suffering and death. At the bottom of your
sermon notes1 you’ll see a chart that compares Jesus’ passion with Stephen’s passion.
The term passion of course has many definitions; one of those definitions is ‘the suffering
and death of Jesus’ and so we’re saying that Stephen’s passion, his suffering and death
echoed Jesus’ passion in at least 12 ways. And a clear theme in Acts is that just as Jesus
suffered, we His people will suffer. Just as Jesus went through persecution, we His
people will go through persecution.)
Continuing in the text….
they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and
the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him
before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never
ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, (make a mental note of the
phrase ‘this holy place’, there in verse 13, for a key theme in Stephen’s sermon is that
Old Testament history is full of Holy places outside of the temple and outside of
Jerusalem. Our great God is not constrained by a building. Stephen’s sermon will clearly
11 Then
1
See page 16 of sermon notes.
1
drive home the fact that Jesus has superseded the temple )14 for we have heard him say
that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that
Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his
face was like the face of an angel. 1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2
And Stephen said:
Let me once again put up the artist’s rendition of the Hall of Hewn Stone
POWERPOINT
The Hall of Hewn Stone
So Stephen is here in this famous room located literally in the walls of the Temple. As he
stands here, he is like Jesus who stood here before him, and like Peter and John who
stood here before him also (we saw that in Acts 4), and like all the apostles at one time
who stood here before him (we saw that in Acts 5). He is before the council, the
Sanhedrin, the highest ruling body in Judaism. And as I imagine him being brought
before this august group of Jewish leaders, I can’t help but hear and envision God’s
compassion for His chosen people.
34 O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jesus lamented, the city that kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to it! (The Jewish people were always resisting God and the Ones He
appointed to speak to and lead them; we’ll see that theme in Stephen’s speech over and
over) How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her
brood under her wings, and you would not!
So as Stephen is about to preach to the religious leadership of Israel, God like a hen is
once again calling his disobedient brood to gather under His wings. The leaders of
Judaism were not without witness.
Well what was the charge against Stephen?
Verse 11…the false witnesses said that they heard Stephen speak blasphemous words
against Moses and God. In verse 13, the charges appear to be a little bit different…the
false witnesses said that Stephen never ceases to speak words against this holy place,
the temple, and the law.
As I said at first glance these false accusations in verse 11 and 13 and 14 appear to be
different, but in fact they’re the same: to speak blasphemous words against Moses was to
speak against the law and to speak blasphemous words aganst the temple was to speak
against God’s house (and therefore God).
But for our purposes this morning I’d like to center in on the false charges that Stephen
was speaking against Moses and speaking against the temple.
2
And Chapter 7 begins then with the question from Caiaphus the high priest: “Are these
things so?”2
Now Stephen’s sermon, that we come to here in Acts 7, is the longest sermon or speech
in the book of Acts. It’s more than twice as long as the next longest speech in Acts.3
And that raises the question about what special function it may serve in the argument of
the book of Acts.
George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, playwright, essayist, and novelist, in the preface to
one of his plays that had Christian themes4 wrote that Stephen was a ‘tactless and
conceited bore…inflicting on (the religious leaders of Israel) a tedious sketch of the
history of Israel, with which they were presumably as well acquainted as he.”5
Well we’ll take a different tact than Shaw regarding Stephen’s speech. Yes Stephen does
give an extensive review of Israel’s history but the points he makes are not random
points. In fact we’ll argue that Stephen’s speech is a masterful attempt to turn the tables
on the members of the Sanhedrin.6
In other words it wasn’t he who was guilty of speaking against Moses (and again in the
phrase ‘speaking against Moses’ is included the idea of ‘speaking against the law’). It
was they who were guilty of ignoring the One to whom Moses spoke about and the One
to whom Moses’ life ultimately pointed. {In Stephen’s sermon, Moses gets the most
time: Abraham gets 7 verses (vs. 2b-8); Joseph gets 8 verses (vs. 9-16); Moses gets 27
verses (vs. 17-43); the tabernacle and the temple get 7 verses (vs. 44-50)}
And furthermore we’ll see that Stephen wasn’t guilty of speaking against the temple.
They were the guilty ones for not seeing that the temple found it’s true fulfillment in
Jesus. They were the guilty ones for in a sense idolizing the temple. Yes the temple and
the law served very special and important functions in their time, but it was God’s
purpose all along that the temple and the Law would point to Jesus and ultimately be
superseded by Jesus.
So we’re going to read Stephen’s sermon through the lens of two themes. Let me put
those two themes on the screen.
Bruce, page 129 “It was necessary in Jewish court procedure that the accused person should know what the charges against him
were, and have an opportunity of replying to them.”
3
Schnabel, page 355, Stephen’s speech has 1014 words in the Greek text; Paul’s speech in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16-41) had 470
words.
4
Androcles and the Lion
5
As quoted by Stott, page 129
6
Peterson, page 244
2
3
Two Primary
Themes in
Stephen’s sermon
1. God has always taken initiative to be
present with His people wherever
they are and in His plan the Temple
has been superseded by Jesus!
2. Israel has continually rejected
God’s messengers (Moses and
others) as they are now rejecting
His final messenger,Jesus
Those are the two themes that it seems that Stephen really hammers home in his sermon
and we’ll read the sermon through those themes.
It’s often argued that Stephen doesn’t directly address the charges against him—the
charges that he spoke words against Moses (the law) and that he spoke words against the
temple (God). And I would agree that he doesn’t speak directly to those charges but He
sure does speak about the presence of God and the temple (#1 on the screen) and he sure
does speak a lot about Moses (#2 on the screen).
So we’ll follow those themes primarily as we read his sermon and we’ll forgo discussing
some of the other issues. One my favorite lines these days is, “I’m so busy chasing
skinny rabbits that I miss the fat ones.” Typically I think of that line when I’m talking
about how I use my time. Well, applying it to the sermon today, we’re not going to
chase the skinny rabbits today; we’ll chase the two big fat ones on the screen.
_____________
One last thought before we dive into Stephen’s sermon. Not many people, when asked,
“What’s your favorite bible story?” pick Acts 7 and this story about Stephen. I can
understand that; I’m sure you can too. As Americans, our Declaration of Independence
has convinced us that we have the ‘right to pursue happiness’ (among other rights). And
martyr stories, quite honestly, don’t seem to fit into ‘the pursuit of happiness’
“Why does God allow his beloved ones to be martyred? Why does God allow his loved
ones to suffer?” I know you’re familiar with Hebrews 11. It begins this way. Now
faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, that’s
Hebrews 11:1. After verse 1, there is a kind of triumphant march through a list of biblical
characters, all who lived by faith…Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham… We read each verse
and we think to ourselves, “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Listen as I read a few
verses from the chapter beginning in verse 32:
32 And
what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak,
Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith
conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of
lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made
4
strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. That’s
the kind of life I’m talking about! 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection.
But then the stories turn for the worse… Some were tortured, refusing to accept
release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and
flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in
two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats,
destitute, afflicted, mistreated—Why?
Why does a God who is love personified, deliver over his beloved ones to death? Well
there are a host of reasons I’m sure but a straitforward and simple answer is that God has
purposes for our lives that go beyond us. Having purchased us, God has purposes for
our lives that go beyond our happiness on this earth. In other words it’s not about us, it’s
about Him. He gives us over to death for Jesus’ sake. (Now we’ll read that phrase at the
end of our time in a passage in 2 Corinthians). God gives us over to death for Jesus’
sake, for Jesus’ purposes, for Jesus’ glory.
Follow along as we do what one author has called a “theological geography.”7 Stephen
first will go to Abraham’s story…
“Brothers and fathers, hear me. (You couldn’t get more respectful than that) 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.
Now here’s a map of Abraham’s travels.
POWERPOINT
Abram’s Travels
Abraham initially lived in Ur or Mesopotamia. His family moved to Haran and then God
called him to the Promised Land. So that’s the geography that Stephen is talking about
and he includes the members of the Sanhedrin in the story when he says at the end of
verse 4… God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.
And who is this God? Verse 2 The God of glory. Now we normally associate ‘glory’
with the temple don’t we? But the God of glory met Abraham in Mesopotamia and
Stephen right off the bat wants to remind the members of the Sanhedrin that God is not
constrained by a building. Stephen is driving home the fact that the God of glory is not
constrained by the temple.
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
5 Yet
7
Thompson, page 168
5
belonging to others, that would be Egypt, who would enslave them and afflict them
four hundred years. Why Stephen uses 400 years instead of the 430 years mentioned in
Exodus 12:40 is a skinny rabbit and we won’t take the time to chase it.8 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.’ Make note of the phrase ‘worship me in this place’ ….it’s
actually an allusion to Exodus 3:12 and the place? In Exodus 3:12 it would be Mt. Sinai.
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.
Now let’s think about our two themes. Is there any emphasis on opposition to the leaders
that God sends? No, not really. It appears that Stephen is using Abraham’s story to lay a
foundation for what he will share later.
How about God’s presence with his people? Well that’s all over these verses and you
can’t miss Stephen’s emphasis on God initiative in being with his people in Abraham’s
story. God is the actor for every verb. It was God “who appeared, spoke, sent, promised,
punished and rescued.”9 It was the God of glory, verse 2, who was with Abraham every
where he went—from Ur to Haran, from Haran to Canaan, from Canaan to Egypt, and
from Egypt back to Canaan again.
Why was the God of glory with Abraham and his family wherever they went? Verse 8
because He had a covenant with His special people.
So, long before there was a holy place, there was a holy people to whom God pledged
Himself10 and with whom he was present.
Before we leave Stephen’s comments about Abraham, look over near the end of
Stephen’s sermon, verse 55 and let’s see a reference to the God of glory and who is with
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.
The glory of God is clearly associated with Jesus.
Well let’s turn to Joseph’s story—or those aspects of Joseph’s story that Stephen chooses
to emphasize in his sermon, verse 9 thru 16.
9 “And
the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him
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
10 and
Genesis 15:13-14 says 400 years; Exodus 12:40 says 430. “The figure in Acts is simply a rounded number, reflecting a
simplification” (Bock, page 284)
9
Stott, page 133
10
Stott, page 132
8
6
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-five11 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.
There’s a skinny rabbit we could chase in verse 16 but we won’t take the time to do it12
Again let’s chase the two fat rabbits…
Is there any emphasis on God’s presence with his people? Yes, God was present with
Joseph in Egypt, verse 9. He was present and delivered Joseph out of all his afflictions.
Furthermore He was present with Joseph when Joseph met opposition from his brothers.
Isn’t it interesting that Stephen would pick up the story of Joseph right at the point of
conflict with his brothers?
Joseph was rejected by his brothers and yet God was with him. Isn’t that the story of
Jesus? Both Jesus and Joseph were rejected, both Jesus and Joseph did suffer and in the
end both Jesus and Joseph were vindicated. One author writing of both Jesus and Joseph
says this…
POWERPOINT
About Joseph and Jesus
“The one who saves is the one who has been rejected, he saves those who rejected him
precisely through their having rejected him.”13
Well we turn to Moses’ story in verse 17 which gets the lion’s share of Stephen’s sermon:
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
Bock, page 288, “The number 75 reflects the LXX in Genesis and Exodus (Gen. 46:27; Ex. 1:5). But Deut. 10:22 has seventy, as
does the MT of these passages in Genesis and Exodus. Marshall says that the seven remaining of Joseph’s nine sons are counted along
with the 66 listed in Gen. 46 to make the number 75”
12
There were two patriarchal burial grounds in Canaan. The first was the field and cave of Machpelah near Hebron, which Abraham
bought from Ephron the Hittite in Genesis 23. The second was a plot ground near Shechem, which Jacob bought from the sons of
Hamor in Genesis 33:18-20. Stott argues: ‘It is better to conclude either than Jacob bought the Shechem burial ground in Abraham’s
name, sine he was still alive at the time, or that, in giving an omnibus account of the burial of all the patriarchs, Stephen deliberately
conflated the two sites, since Jacob was buried at his own request in the field of Machpelah (Gen. 47:29-30; 49:29-33; 50:12-14)
whereas Joseph’s bones were buried many years later at Shechem. (Gen 50:26; Jos. 24:32)
13
Kilgallen, as quoted by Schnabel, page 370
11
7
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. (Don’t miss that….holy
ground is where God is and this holy ground was at Mt. Sinai) 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. Make a note of that…the golden calf that the
Israelites made was a ‘work of their hands’ In just a few verses, verse 48, Stephen will
refer to the temple as a ‘house made by hands’ and we wonder out loud if Stephen is
subtly charging the Jewish leaders with idolatry.14 42 But God turned away and gave
them over to worship the host of heaven (doesn’t that sound like Romans 1?) , as it is
written in the book of the prophets: And this is Amos 5:25-27…
“ ‘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.’
There are probably a herd of skinny rabbits associated with Stephen’s use of Amos 5:2527.
Thompson argues this, page 169. “The fact that every occurrence of the term cheiropoietos (handmade) in the LXX refers to idols
strengthens the idea that Stephen is charging his audience with idolatry here. Thus Stephen indicates that the idolatry characteristic of
Israel’s history of rejecting God is still present in the generation of those who have rejected the Lord Jesus.”
14
8
But look at what Amos (and Stephen) is saying about the time in the wilderness when
Israel wandered for 40 years. It was a time of great idolatry, idolatry that surpassed the
golden calf. That was news to me.
Stephen uses the Amos text to make several points15:
1) The people of Israel offered sacrifices not to their God, who had rescued them from
Egypt, but to idols (other than the golden calf they had made);
2) What idols did they worship? Israel worshipped Moloch, verse 43, the CanannitePhoenician god of sky and sun to whom some people in Judah offered infants as
sacrifices. (They also worshipped Rephan which may have been) the Egyptian sun
god Repa.
And 3) They made ‘images’ in order to worship them. They worshipped what they
themselves had manufactured.
Well let’s look at our two themes. In what Stephen says about Moses, is there any
emphasis on God’s presence with his people? And is there any emphasis on the rejection
of God’s messengers? Yes to both questions.
But before we answer those questions, let’s highlight that Moses is a clear type of Christ.
Perhaps you sensed that as we read the passage.
Look at verse 35…
35 “This Moses, whom they rejected,…this word ‘rejected or denied’ is used of the
Israelites rejecting or denying Jesus back in Acts 3:13-14… 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. …the term ruler and redeemer, there in
verse 35, reflects the language of Peter in his description of Jesus back in Acts 5:31.
And look at verse 37… 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise
up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ Moses when he was close to the
end of his life said this line.
What does it mean to be ‘a prophet like Moses’? Wouldn’t it be one who ‘also would be
Israel’s ruler and redeemer and through whom God would intervene in the history of his
people performing ‘wonders and signs’16 Isn’t that a picture of Jesus?
Yes, Moses was a clear type of Christ. His life pointed to Christ. And that means that
Stephen wasn’t the one who spoke against Moses. It was Stephen’s audience who were
the ones being against Moses17 by not recognizing who Moses’ story ultimately pointed
to
15
Schnabel, page 382
Schnabel, page 379
17
Thompson, page 168
16
9
Well in the story of Moses, is there any emphasis on God’s presence with his people
apart from the temple? Yes, verse 20 and verses 30-33. We won’t take the time to look
at those verses.
And is there any emphasis on the rejection of God’s messengers? Again yes. Stephen
mentions Moses’ rejection three times--verse 27, verse 35, and verse 39.
Well having told the story of God and Abraham (verses 2-8), and the story of God and
Joseph (verses 9-16), and the story of God and Moses (verses 17-43), Stephen turns
finally to the story of God and the tabernacle and the temple (verses 44-50).
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. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does
not dwell in houses made by hands…there is that phrase ‘made by hands’ used back in
verse 41 and which is used, incidently exclusively of ‘idols’ in the Greek translation of
the Old Testament. Again could it be that Stephen is insinuating that the Jewish religious
leaders have made the temple an idol?
Stephen goes on in verse 48, as the prophet says, and this is Isaiah 66:1-2
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?’
It might seem that by quoting Isaiah 66:1-2, Stephen is saying that the temple was
illegitimate in the first place. But I don’t think that is what he means to do. I think he’s
just saying that God is bigger than the temple…and ultimately that Jesus supersedes the
temple and this prepares the way for what happens next in the book of Acts, Acts 8, as
persecution sends disciples with the gospel spiraling out from Jerusalem.
John Stott writes this: “It is evident from Scripture itself that God’s presence cannot be
localized, and that no building can confine him or inhibit his activity. If he has any home
on earth, it is with his people that he lives. He has pledged himself by a solemn covenant
to be their God. Therefore, according to his covenant promise, wherever they are, he is
also.”18
Well let’s put up the slide with the two themes that we have traced through Stephen’s
sermon.
18
Stott, page 139
10
Two Primary
Themes in
Stephen’s sermon
1. God has always taken initiative to be
present with His people wherever
they are and in His plan the Temple
has been superseded by Jesus!
2. Israel has continually rejected
God’s messengers (Moses and
others) as they are now rejecting
His final messenger,Jesus.
Haven’t we seen those themes expressed and illustrated over and over again in the stories
of Abraham, Joseph and Moses? Yes, Yes, and Yes.
Well every sermon must have a little application. And Stephen turns to that in verse
51…
51 “You
stiff-necked people (Moses and the prophets used that expression to describe the
Israelites19… Stephen is charging them with being stubborn)…he goes on…
uncircumcised in heart and ears, (again another phrase used by Moses and the prophets
to describe the Israelites20…Oh they may be physically circumcised but they were
‘heathen still at heart and deaf to the truth’ (NEB)… uncircumcised in heart and ears
You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Didn’t we see that
in his sermon? 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?21 And they
killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, (one of the
only references to Jesus in Stephen’s sermon) whom you have now betrayed and
murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels (there’s a skinny
rabbit22) and did not keep it.” (See how Stephen has turned the tables? They had
falsely accused him of speaking blasphemous words about the law and now he accuses
them of not keeping the law.)
when they heard these things they were enraged (literally “cut through to the
heart”), and they ground their teeth at him (snarling like wild animals23) 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.” The glory of God which Stephen said
had appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia (verse 2) is now associated with Jesus.
54 Now
Stephen’s vision of Jesus, exalted at the right hand of God, is the conclusion of his
sermon.
19
Ex. 32:9; 33:3,5; 34:9; Dt 9:6, 13; 10:16; 31:27; 2 Chron. 30:8; Jer. 17:23;
Lev. 26:41; Dt 10:16; 30:6; Je. 6:10; 9:26; Ez. 44:7
Luke 6:23; 11:49ff; 13:34
22
The law as delivered or mediated by angels? The tradition of angels being involved in the giving of the law derives from Deut.
33:2, whose last line was translated in the LXX as ‘from his right hand angels with him’
23
Stott, page 141
20
21
11
He sees the heavens opened—this is a divine revelation.
He sees the Son of Man—the exalted figure of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 7:13-14
He sees Jesus standing—that Jesus is standing suggests impending action.24 Is He
standing to welcome Stephen into heaven? Is He standing as Stephen’s heavenly
advocate, pleading his cause before God? Most suggest those two options.
57 But
they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together 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.
Since the Romans had taken away the Jews right to capital punishment25 it seems that
“Stephen’s death was more a mob lynching than an official execution.”26
as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
(Jesus prayed a similar prayer to that, Luke 23:46.) 60 And falling to his knees he cried
out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Again Jesus prayed
a prayer similar to that, Luke 23:34) And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
59 And
Who is this Jesus? “Not only is Jesus associated with the glory of God, the presence of
God and the rule of God (vs. 55-56), but in verses 59-60 Stephen also shows us that Jesus
is the one who receives prayer (Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus…), he is the one who
brings access into God’s presence (Stephen prayed, ‘Receive my spirit), and he is the
one who grants forgiveness of sins (Again Stephen prayed, ‘Do not hold this sin against
them.)
Stephen fell asleep. What an incredibly peaceful way to describe a horrible death…
We can be assured that when we die, we will experience God’s presence in that dark
valley. John Wesley’s final words were, “The best of all is, God is with us. The best of
all is, God is with us. The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell.” Adoniram Judson,
the great missionary to Burma, while suffering immensely at death, said, “I go with the
gladness of a boy bounding away from school, I feel so strong in Christ.”27 Psalm
116:15 says it this way… 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
1 And
Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great
persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout
the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen
and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and
entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to
prison.
______________
24
Schnabel, page 390
25
John 18:31
26
Stott, page 142
27
Hughes, page 102
12
Well earlier in the message we asked the question, “Why does God allow his beloved
saints to be martyred? Why does God allow his beloved saints to go through trials?”
Clearly He has things He wants to teach us. Clearly He wants us to grow through our
trials and tribulations. But more and more I’m convinced that our trials and tribulations
are for Jesus’ sake. In other words He’s the one who is to get the most out of our trials…
I’d like to take you to a place where we see that. As we close, turn with me to 2
Corinthians chapter 4…2 Corinthians 4... we’ll pick up in verse 7…
7 But
we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs
to God and not to us.
“treasure in jars of clay”… what a picture!
What’s the treasure? Look back at verse 6…the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ…in other words in Jesus, we experience God’s glory…essentially
that’s the gospel isn’t it?
What does Paul mean by ‘jars of clay’? In the first century, everyday normal see-themeverywhere pottery jars were used for storage. Often times valuable things were stored in
them to keep them from being found. The Dead Scrolls were found in pottery jars after
being hidden for nineteen centuries. The phrase ‘jars of clay’ is a metaphor for human
weakness.28
And Paul says we have this treasure, the gospel in humanly weak containers.
I pulled up to the drive thru windows at my bank to make a deposit on Friday. I opened
my window… and one of the tellers who I know goes to church… said “Hi Mr. Metz”
And I said “Lisa, is God still on His throne?” She said, “Of course!” I said, “How do
you know?” And I can’t remember what she said. Well we turned to the business at hand
and I told her I was going to make a deposit and I proceeded to put my deposit in the
canister and put it in the machine and went on to something else. I was thinking about
something… I might have been listening to Proverbs on my phone…I don’t remember.
About a minute later, Lisa came back on the intercom… “Mr. Metz…are you going to
send your deposit over?” I looked to my left… there was the canister…I never pushed
the button to send it over… ‘Wow…I said… that’s what happens when you get old’ I
said… I think every teller in the bank was laughing….
After a moment, I said… “Next time I come, Lisa, greet me this way, will you?”
“Geriatrics… may we help you?”
With each passing year, the skills, gifts, talents I bring to the table seem to be
overshadowed by the mistakes I make, the weaknesses I have…
28
13
I can see why some older people just back away…
The right answer is to not back away but pray that God might powerfully be displayed in
our weakness.
God’s power is best displayed in jars of clay.
8 We
are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
manifested in our bodies.
In our weaknesses and confusion and difficulty, it’s God’s design that the life of Jesus
may be manifested in our bodies.
11 For
we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake (that’s the
phrase from which the sermon title came…Given Over to Death for Jesus’ Sake, so that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in
us, but life in you.
One writer says this about that…
POWERPOINT
“It is the unconquerable life of the risen Jesus within that enables His servants willingly
and perpetually to be handed over to death for His sake, in order that the same life of
Christ may be kindled in the hearts of others, enabling them to win others. This is the
chain of faith…unbroken through the ages.”
Philip Hughes
Isn’t that what we’ve seen in our passage? Could it be that that’s what happened to Saul
who stood watching as Stephen was handed over to death for Jesus’ sake? Could it be
that in the handing over of Stephen to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Christ was
kindled in the heart of Saul who stood watching?
John 12:24 --24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Continuing…
we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I
believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he
who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into
his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more
people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
13 Since
vs. 13 faithful to share the good news with others
14
vs. 14 hopeful that we’ll be in His presence with those whom we ‘are given over to death
for’
And…
vs. 15 worshipful29 as glory redounds unto God.
I’ll stop there but there are some great verses that follow.
I’d like to sing all four verses of “How Firm A Foundation” acapella and then we’ll invite
Bobby up to lead in our benediction
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”
29
MacArthur, 2 Corinthians
15
Stephen’s Passion Echoed Jesus’ Passion
Action
Jesus in
Mark
12:34
Jesus in
Luke
20:40
Stephen
in Acts
6:10
22:52
6:12
Trial by Sanhedrin
14:43,
46
14:53
22:66
6:12; 7:1
False witnesses
14:56-57 --
6:13
Will destroy temple
14:58
--
6:14
Temple is manmade
14:58
--
7:48
Son of Man saying
14:62
22:69
7:56
Blasphemy
14:64
--
6:11
Question of high priest
14:61
--
7:1
“Commit my spirit”
--
23:46
7:59
Loud cry
15:34
23:46
7:60
Prayer for enemies
--
23:34
7:60
Refutation impossible
Seizure by officials
From Richard Prevo, Acts
16