Stephen’s Address to the Council, Acts 7

Stephen’s Address to the Council, Acts 7:2-53[1]

Though he is not an apostle or an elder, the speech of Stephen in Acts 7 is the longest sermon recorded in the book of Acts. Stephen summarizes God’s dealings in the history of Israel in four major points.[2] He teaches the work of God through Abraham, the patriarchs, and Moses. He does not array Jesus against Moses, but identifies Jesus as the prophet of whom Moses spake (Deuteronomy 18). Afterward, Stephen applies his historical summation to the present circumstances (vs. 51-53).[3] 

1. God appeared to Abraham and gave him promises, vs. 2-8a
2. God providentially brought Joseph into Egypt, vs. 8b-16
3. God appeared to Moses and sent him to deliver the people from Egypt, vs. 17-38
4. God blessed Israel in spite of their backslidings, vs. 39-50
5. Stephen applies his historical summation to the present circumstances, vs, 51-53

Stephen applies his historical summation to the present circumstances (verses 51-53)

Verse 51: The application of the message begins. They have a sinful habit in their very nature. It is they, not Stephen, who are guilty of rejecting Moses. Moses prophesied of Jesus Christ. They rejected Jesus, thereby also rejected the testimony of Moses. “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” Stiffnecked (σκληροτραχηλοι) means stubborn, headstrong, inflexibly obstinate. For “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart” compare Deuteronomy 10:16 (“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked”) and Romans 2:5 (“thy hardness and impenitent heart”). For the true circumcision, compare Romans 2:28-29; Philippians 3:3. For “stiffnecked,” see also Exodus 32:9; Deuteronomy 31:27; II Chronicles 30:8; Jeremiah 17:23. “resist the Holy Ghost,” compare Isaiah 63:10 “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”

Verse 52: They reflect the nature of their fathers. They reflect their nature in their sinful deeds. Stephen portrays the consistency of the history of these people – persecution of the prophets. He marks their trait of persecuting and slaying the prophets who foretold “the coming of the Just One” culminating in being his “betrayers and murderers.”

Verse 53: “through the disposition of angels” see Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2; Cf. also Acts 7:30, 35; Deuteronomy 33:2; Exodus 14:19; Judges 2:1; Psalm 68:17. “disposition” (διαταγας, a disposition, arrangement, ordinance, distribution, a giving away or over to another; cf. also Romans 13:2). “of angels” – this perhaps was a cutting remark to the Sadducees present, a sect that did not believe in angels (Cf. Acts 5:17; 23:8).

Stephen’s accusers were concerned about “this holy place” (6:13), “this place” (6:14) – probably meaning the temple and Jerusalem. Stephen asserts that God would bring his people into “this place” (7:7) to serve him (meaning the land promised to Abraham). Yet Stephen emphasizes many places. Mesopotamia is the place where Abraham was called. Charran is the intermediate place Abraham lived between his time in the land of the Chaldæans and the place God would show him. Egypt is the place where God sent Joseph, then Jacob and his family, and where God birthed the nation of Israel. Chanaan is the place that God promised to Abraham and his seed. Sychem is the place where the patriarchs are buried. Madian is the place where Moses fled, found a wife, and had children. The wilderness of mount Sina is the place where Moses saw the burning bush. The Red sea is the place where God by a great sign and wonder separated the people from the Egyptians. The wilderness is the place where God’s people wandered forty years, and bore the tabernacle of witness. Babylon is the place where they were carried in captivity. In Madian in the wilderness of mount Sina, “the place where thou standest is holy ground” (7:33). God shows “the place of my rest” (7:49) transcends the “this place” of the unbelieving Jews. He is the God of all places! See John 4:21-24.

The crowd responds to Stephen’s message

Verse 54a: The convicting message of Stephen, “they were cut to the heart” – the Spirit of God, whom they resisted, drove the message into their hearts, cutting them with his sharp two-edged sword (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).

Notes:

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[1] Contra all complainers and naysayers, J. Vernon McGee accurately assesses Stephen’s speech to the council: “The address of Stephen is a master stroke.” McGee, Thru the Bible, Volume IV, p. 537.
[2] The figures introduced share a common history – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon. The common thread of the common history of this diverse group is the one God of glory (v. 2).
[3] All the Sermons, J. W. Griffith, pp. 57-59.