Acts 7 - The Reader's Digest of the Old Testament!
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 Man standing 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.
Many times people say they have a hard time reading the Old Testament and struggle to see how it fits with the New Testament. Let's listen to Stephen, the first deacon in the church, as he is called before the high priest and the Jewish leaders. He is being tried on "trumped up" charges that he was teaching against the Law of Moses. Stephen the proceeds to give the "Reader's Digest" version of the Old Testament, by detailing God's covenant relationship with Abraham through Moses, David, and Solomon.
Note, Abraham was originally from Mesopotamia, which is modern day Southern Iraq. This is also called the "cradle of civilization". He was also an ancestor of Noah through his son, Shem. Since Noah was born roughly around 3,000 B.C, we see a connection to Genesis 2. Adam and Eve were created in Genesis 1, so we can construct a timeline that is consistent with ancient history. I.e. The Paleo era, the early Sumerians, and the rise of civilization and culture.
A lot of people think the biblical worldview is not consistent with secular history, but there are plenty of reasons to think they are not mutually exclusive. Of course there are real problems when someone says we have evolved from apes. We see the bible never fails to be true when it interpreted correctly within the historical context when it is written.
So, here you have Stephen recounting Jewish history over 2,000 year period leading to the birth of Christ. This tells us that this Jewish history was widely taught and known by the Jewish people. Stephen was obviously well versed in it and could preach the sermon to the Jewish leaders assembled. And for this he was stoned! Why?
Because Jesus fulfilled every prophesy in the Old Testament and was the fulfillment of the covenants given to Abraham, Moses, and David. But the Jewish leaders' hearts were seared with unbelief. This is the same reason they killed Jesus. They were too concerned about their own power and authority.
They leaders gnashed their teeth in anger, as they knew Stephen's indictment was true. The only way to they could assuage their anger was to stone Stephen. Oftentimes when someone is confronting us with the truth, we lash out an anger because we know it is true. It is a defense mechanism. Meanwhile, Stephen was ushered in the Lord's presence and got a glimpse of His glory.
In the Apostle's Creed we say that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. How do we know this is true? From this passage. Here is what Stephen saw through the power of the Holy Spirit in verse 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."
As Stephen, the first martyr in the early Church meets his end, he says the same words Jesus said on the cross, "Into your hands I commit my Spirit! And do not hold their sin against them!"
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