Acts 7 - Stephen Gives the Jewish Leaders a History Lesson and They Kill Him for It!

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Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

When the high priest asked Stephen to respond to the charges of teaching against the customs and laws of Moses, Stephen proceeded to give them an Old Testament history lesson. He begins by recounting Abraham's journey from the Mesopotamia to Harran, where his father died. God then told Abram that his descendants would be enslaved for 400 years, which we now know was in Egypt. 

Then, he recounted the covenant of circumcision God made with Abraham, which was implemented when Abraham received the child of the promise, Issac. Issac was circumcised when he was eight days old, according to this new covenant God had made with Abraham. From Issac came Jacob, and from Jacob came the 12 sons, who would become the 12 tribes of Israel. 

Jacob's sons became jealous of his youngest son Joseph Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, mostly because he was born to his wife Rachel, who he loved more than his other wife Leah. Meanwhile, Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers into Egypt. But Joseph found favor with the Pharaoh through God's sovereign plan by interpreting several dreams Pharaoh had. When a famine hit the people of Israel, Joseph reunited with his brothers, forgave them, and they brought Jacob back to Egypt where Jacob died. 

Three hundred years later, the new Pharaoh did not remember Joseph. The Israelites multiplied greatly, so the new king tried to get rid of the Israelites by killing their newborn baby boys. Moses' parents hid him in a basket place him in the Nile river, and once again by God's sovereign hand, Pharaoh's daughter pulled him up of of the Nile River. Moses grew up in Pharaoh's household as the prince of Egypt.

Though Moses was raised in the household and luxury of Pharaoh, he never forgot he was an Israelite. When a fellow Israelites was being mistreated by an Egyptian, he murdered the Egyptian in anger. After Pharaoh found out he went out to get Moses. Moses escaped to Midian, where he led a humble life as a shepherd. He married and had two children. But Moses' life was far from over. 

God appeared to him in a burning bush out in the desert, and called him to be the leader who would save his people. Moses resisted and said, "Who should I say sent me?" God replied, "Tell them "I AM" snet you. This is where we get the term "Yahweh", which means the "LORD". The Jewish people so greatly revered God's name, that they would not even spell it out. 

God appointed Moses to be his mouthpiece and he did mighty signs and wonders in front of Pharaoh, so God's people could be led out of slavery and through the Red Sea. The Israelites, under Moses' leadership, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, while meanwhile the people made a golden calf to worship just like they worshipped in Egypt.

In the wilderness, God instructed the Israelites to build a tabernacle so they could worship him there. Joshua took the tabernacle into the promised land, and it stayed there until David found favor with God and desired to build a permanent place for God to reside.  Though it would be his son Solomon, who finally built the first temple in Jerusalem. 

But the reality was that the temple was only a foreshadowing of the day that God's temple would reside in people's hearts through the Holy Spirit. The sacrifice of an innocent lamb made in the temple once a year was foreshadowing of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world once and for all. 

Finally, Stephen ended his history lesson with these words, 

You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. 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

 One can imagine the angry whispering among the Sanhedrin as Stephen’s history lesson began to make sense. Stephen saw this and knew they were rejecting again the One God sent, just as before. - Guzik

The Sanhedrin erupted in anger and it says there were "gnashing their teeth at him."

The idea of gnashed at him with their teeth can’t help but remind us of the imagery of Hell. Seven different times, Jesus described Hell as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). These men were prominent, successful, and appeared to be religious; yet they were rejecting God and associating themselves with hell, not heaven. - Guzik

Meanwhile, Stephen received a vision straight from heaven and beheld God's glory. He also saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the God.  That was it. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. The members of the Sanhedrin all rushed at him and dragged him out of the city to stone him. Meanwhile, Luke adds that the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a man named Paul. We will learn a lot more about this man Paul later in Acts!

 Saul stood there as the supervisor of the operation. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he had also approved of Stephen’s execution. Young man literally means, “a man in his prime.” It certainly does not mean that Saul wasn’t old enough to be a member of the Sanhedrin. In Acts 26:10, Paul says I cast my vote against them, and the plain implication was that he had a vote as a member of the Sanhedrin. - Guzik

As Stephen was being stoned Luke says, 

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.

Who does that sound like? A lot like Jesus, as when Jesus died he forgave those who crucified him. 

Stephen became the first Christian martyr! 

Here is a fitting tribute to Stephen. 

The words of Colossians 3:2-3 could have been written about the life of Stephen, even though they are applicable to all believers: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Stephen’s life—and even more so his death—should be an example of how every believer should strive to live: committed to the Lord even in the face of death; faithful to preach the gospel boldly; knowledgeable of God’s truth; and willing to be used by God for His plan and purpose. Stephen’s testimony still stands as a beacon, a light to a lost and dying world, as well as an accurate history of the children of Abraham. - Got Questions.org