Why is It Important to Know the Old Testament?
Acts 7 -The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But 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 Manstanding at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged 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. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen is the first Christian martyr. He was one of the seven deacons appointed to make sure the Greek speaking Jewish widows got their share of the food distribution. His name suggests he is a Greek-speaking Jew, or what we call a "Hellenistic" Jew. What is amazing about this chapter is it is a synopsis of the whole Old Testament, starting with God's covenant with Abraham.
Then he goes on to tell the story of Moses delivering the Jews from Egypt, and his prophecy, "And God will raise up a prophet from among your own people." He remembers kings David and Solomon who built the temple in the land God had promised to Abraham. Finally, he mentions the prophets who were rejected and killed which led to the rejection and murder of Jesus.
He ends his speech dramatically when he says,"You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was 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— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Well, as you might imagine that speech went over like a "lead balloon". The leaders were furious and dragged Stephen out to city gate and stoned him. As an added detail Luke mentions that they laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. We know later Saul becomes the apostle Paul. Quite an irony.
As Stephen receives his fate he cries out with words much like His Lord and Savior used when he was crucified, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit, and do not hold this sin against them."
Stephen is the first man to die for his witness of Jesus Christ. He has taken up his cross to follow Jesus, and died proclaiming Him to the very people Jesus had come to save. But importantly as Stephen said the men were, "You are just like your ancestors, You resist the Holy Spirit."
Though God did everything to save these men and their ancestors, they rejected His covenant love for them by resisting the Holy Spirit. It reminds us that it is only by the Holy Spirit we can come to faith and recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Savior of the World. The men were jealous of Stephen and felt threatened by him. He convicted them of their sin and yet they resisted and murdered him instead. Their hearts were hardened beyond redemption.
The story of Stephen inspires us to be bold about our faith. Stephen's final words were remarkably similar to Jesus' own last words. He is an example of man who had given up "everything" to follow Jesus. He also knew his bible and was able to explain the whole story of the Old Testament in a simple easy flowing manner and how it connected to the Gospel. His example reminds us what being a biblically literate Christian matters and why the Old Testament matters. May we have the same courage to stand up to a world that often gets furious at the mention of Jesus' name.
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But 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 Manstanding at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged 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. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen is the first Christian martyr. He was one of the seven deacons appointed to make sure the Greek speaking Jewish widows got their share of the food distribution. His name suggests he is a Greek-speaking Jew, or what we call a "Hellenistic" Jew. What is amazing about this chapter is it is a synopsis of the whole Old Testament, starting with God's covenant with Abraham.
Then he goes on to tell the story of Moses delivering the Jews from Egypt, and his prophecy, "And God will raise up a prophet from among your own people." He remembers kings David and Solomon who built the temple in the land God had promised to Abraham. Finally, he mentions the prophets who were rejected and killed which led to the rejection and murder of Jesus.
He ends his speech dramatically when he says,"You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was 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— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Well, as you might imagine that speech went over like a "lead balloon". The leaders were furious and dragged Stephen out to city gate and stoned him. As an added detail Luke mentions that they laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. We know later Saul becomes the apostle Paul. Quite an irony.
As Stephen receives his fate he cries out with words much like His Lord and Savior used when he was crucified, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit, and do not hold this sin against them."
Stephen is the first man to die for his witness of Jesus Christ. He has taken up his cross to follow Jesus, and died proclaiming Him to the very people Jesus had come to save. But importantly as Stephen said the men were, "You are just like your ancestors, You resist the Holy Spirit."
Though God did everything to save these men and their ancestors, they rejected His covenant love for them by resisting the Holy Spirit. It reminds us that it is only by the Holy Spirit we can come to faith and recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Savior of the World. The men were jealous of Stephen and felt threatened by him. He convicted them of their sin and yet they resisted and murdered him instead. Their hearts were hardened beyond redemption.
The story of Stephen inspires us to be bold about our faith. Stephen's final words were remarkably similar to Jesus' own last words. He is an example of man who had given up "everything" to follow Jesus. He also knew his bible and was able to explain the whole story of the Old Testament in a simple easy flowing manner and how it connected to the Gospel. His example reminds us what being a biblically literate Christian matters and why the Old Testament matters. May we have the same courage to stand up to a world that often gets furious at the mention of Jesus' name.
Comments
Post a Comment