Acts 7

1. The high priest said to Stephen, “Are these things true?”

The Romans did not allow the Jews to kill anyone unless they it could be proven that they had done something to make the temple unclean. This is what they were trying to prove during the trial. John 18:31

2 – 8

Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor. Abraham was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran.

God said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country and your relatives. Go to the land I will show you.’ So Abraham left the country of Chaldea and went to live in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God sent him to this place where you now live.

God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that he would give him and his descendants this land. (This was before Abraham had any descendants.)

This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves. And they will do cruel things to them for 400 years.

But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land. Then they will worship me in this place.’

God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign for this agreement was circumcision. And so when Abraham had his son Isaac, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob. And Jacob did the same for his sons, the twelve ancestors of our people.

The Jews are very proud of their history. Stephen started explaining himself by reminding them that Abraham did not own the land of Israel. Abraham only bought a small piece of land to bury his wife.

9 – 19

These sons became jealous of Joseph. They sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him.

Joseph had many troubles there, but God saved him from all those troubles. The king of Egypt liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom that God gave him. The king made him governor of Egypt. He put Joseph in charge of all the people in his palace.

Then all the land of Egypt and of Canaan became so dry that nothing would grow there. This made the people suffer very much. The sons could not find anything to eat.

But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, there. This was their first trip to Egypt. Then they went there a second time. This time, Joseph told his brothers who he was. And the king learned about Joseph’s family. Then Joseph sent some men to invite Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt. He also invited all his relatives (75 persons altogether).

So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and his sons died. 16 Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave that Abraham had bought in Shechem from the sons of Hamor for a sum of money.)

The number of people in Egypt grew large. There were more and more of our people there. (The promise that God made to Abraham was soon to come true.)

Then a new king began to rule Egypt. He did not know who Joseph was. This king tricked our people and was cruel to our ancestors. He forced them to put their babies outside to die.

Stephen reminded them that their history was not as glorious as they thought. Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt. God raised up Joseph to be a strong leader in Egypt. Stephen is showing them that this is not the first time that the Jews have refused to follow the leaders that God gave them.

20 – 22

This was the time when Moses was born. He was a beautiful child. For three months Moses was cared for in his father’s house. When they put Moses outside, the king’s daughter took him. She raised him as if he were her own son.

The Egyptians taught Moses all the things they knew. He was a powerful man in the things he said and did.

History books tell us that Moses was a general in the Egyptian army. He conquered the Ethiopians and they surrendered to him. Moses could have become an important man in world history if he would not have followed God’s calling.

23 – 25

When Moses was about 40 years old, he thought it would be good to visit his brothers, the people of Israel. Moses saw an Egyptian doing wrong to a Jew. So he defended the Jew and punished the Egyptian for hurting him. Moses killed the Egyptian. Moses thought that his fellow Jews would understand that God was using him to save them. But they did not understand.

Again Stephen shows them that the Jews have been blind to the leaders God has sent to them.

26 – 37

The next day, Moses saw two Jewish men fighting. He tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers! Why are you hurting each other?’

The man who was hurting the other man pushed Moses away. He said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt. He went to live in the land of Midian where he was a stranger. While Moses lived in Midian, he had two sons.
After 40 years Moses was in the desert near Mount Sinai. An angel appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush.

When Moses saw this, he was amazed. He went near to look closer at it. Moses heard the Lord’s voice.

The Lord said, ‘I am the God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground.

I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries. I have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’
This Moses was the same man the Jews said they did not want.

They had said to him, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ Moses is the same man God sent to be a ruler and savior, with the help of an angel. This was the angel Moses saw in the burning bush.

So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for forty years. This is the same Moses that said to the Jewish people: ‘God will give you a Prophet like me. He will be one of your own people.’

Stephen reminds them that Moses promised that the Messiah would come and would be a prophet like Moses. So if Moses was rejected by the people then the Messiah would be rejected also. Peter had just reminded them of this (Acts 3:22).

38. This is the same Moses who was with the gathering of the Jews in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.

Stephen tells them that they have a history of not listening to God’s Words.

39 – 43

But our fathers did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him. They wanted to go back to Egypt again. They said to Aaron, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.’

So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it. The people were proud of what they had made with their own hands! But God turned against them. He did not try to stop them from worshiping the sun, moon and stars. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says, ‘People of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings while you traveled in the desert for forty years.

But now you will have to carry with you the tent to worship the false god Molech and the idols of the star god Rephan that you made to worship. This is because I will send you away beyond Babylon.’

Stephen reminds them that they have even worshiped false gods in their history.
See Amos 5:25-27

44 – 45

The Holy Tent where God spoke to our fathers was with the Jews in the desert. God told Moses how to make this Tent. He made it like the plan God showed him.

Later, Joshua led our fathers to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in, and God drove the other people out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same Tent. They received this Tent from their fathers and kept it until the time of David.

The name Joshua is like our English name Jesus. The Jews who were listening would see that Stephen was saying Joshua was like Jesus by bringing the people into the Promised Land.

46 – 48

God was very pleased with David. He asked God to let him build a house for him, the God of Jacob. But Solomon was the one who built the Temple. But the Most High does not live in houses that men build with their hands. This is what the prophet says:

Stephen knows that he is being accused of saying things against the temple. He wants to show them that now God wants to live inside of men as His temple.

49 – 50

Heaven is my throne. The earth is my footstool. So do you think you can build a house for me? says the Lord. There is no place where I need to rest. Remember, I made all these things!’”

Stephen is quoting Isaiah. The Jews would know the rest of the chapter, which speaks about their fake sacrifices which were brought into the temple. The Holy Spirit was showing them that they have done worse things than anything they could accuse Stephen of. Isaiah 66:1–2

51 – 52

Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You have not given your hearts to God! You won’t listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you. Your ancestors were like this, and you are just like them!

Your fathers tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the Righteous One would come. But your fathers killed them. And now you have turned against the Righteous One and killed him.

Stephen is saying that they are worse than their fathers because they killed the promised Messiah. Jesus also reminded them of this:

Then you say, “If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.”

But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.

As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. Matthew 23:30–35

53. You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through His messengers. But you do not obey it!”

He is saying, “You are accusing me of breaking the law of Moses, but you are the ones who have broken the law of Moses!”

54 – 55

When the leaders heard Stephen saying all these things, they became very angry. They were so mad that they were grinding their teeth at Stephen.

But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God. He saw Jesus standing at God’s right side.

Stephen was not looking at their angry faces, but he kept his eyes on the Lord.

56. He said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side!”

Jesus stood up to welcome Stephen into heaven. Hebrews 1:3

57 – 58

Then they all shouted loudly. They covered their ears with their hands and all ran at Stephen. They took him out of the city and threw stones at him until he was dead. The men who told lies against Stephen left their coats with a young man named Saul.

The Jewish traditions said that when they were stoning someone they had to leave their coats at least six feet away. We see how blind they are, that they follow their own laws, but they will not listen to God’s laws. This also shows us how blind Paul (we see here his old name: Saul) was and what a miracle God did to change even the most confused of the Pharisees and make a powerful man of God out of him.

59 – 60

While they kept on throwing stones, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” After Stephen said this, he died.

The leaders of the church, who lived after the days of the apostles, said that James (the writer of the Book of James) also asked God to forgive the ones who killed him, just as Jesus did on the cross.