THE MADNESS OF CROWDS
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, for the great mercies that are mine in Christ Jesus. Help me to make my life a testimony of praise.
Read ACTS 7:44 – 8:3
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. 45 After 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, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[a] 47 But 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?
50 Has not my hand made all these things?’[b]
51 “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— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
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.
8 And Saul approved of their killing him.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
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Reflect
Acts accentuates God’s sovereignty in history (2:23; 3:13, 18). Reflect on that in your life and that of your church.The climax of Stephen’s speech sealed his fate. He questioned the Sanhedrin’s understanding of the temple and directly accused them of resisting the Holy Spirit and failing to obey the law. He demonstrated that ‘the relationship between God and his people predated the temple, the law and even the land of Israel.’* God appeared to people and was present with them, spoke and made promises to them, both within and outside the promised land—all before there was a moveable temple/tabernacle, far less the edifice in Jerusalem (vv. 2–43). He even implied surprise that David, ‘who enjoyed God’s favor’ (v. 46), wasn’t allowed to build the temple: Solomon got the job. Then verses 49 and 50 clinch it—God can’t be confined to any physical spot.
Stephen’s conclusion? ‘You are part of a long line of those who have missed the point and worst of all you’ve rejected Jesus.’ This was a crunch point, a parting of ways between those who saw Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel’s history and those who saw a blasphemer whose faction must be violently counteracted. Stephen’s death echoed his Lord’s, with Saul an approving bystander, and an organized massacre against Jewish believers in Jesus ensued (8:1–3).
Apply
Compare Stephen and members of the Sanhedrin. Who has most to teach us? Make a list of lessons we can learn from both and give thanks for all we have gained by Stephen’s courageous stand.
Closing prayer
Lord God, thank you for the ways your Word and your Spirit build my faith. Help me to stand against any opposition to Jesus, no matter how great or how small.
*Conrad Gempf, ‘Acts of the Apostles’, in The New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition (IVP,1994)
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