Stephen’s Testimony and Sentence
“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7:54-55
Continuing from yesterday’s blog, Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin under false charges of blasphemy because he had been preaching Jesus to the people. The religious leaders had stirred up the people against Stephen, but he remained calm and trusted in the Lord for His will to be done. He had been accused of declaring that Jesus would destroy Jerusalem and change the customs which Moses had instituted. Standing before the council, Stephen was asked by the high priest if the things of which they were accusing him were true. He was now given the right to speak to defend himself.
I find it amazing as he began to lay out the history of Israel before these religious leaders. God must have been speaking through him because it almost seems impossible for him to remember such details dating all the way back to Abraham, but he didn’t skip a beat. He chose to start at the beginning, that is, the historical origins of the Jewish nation in an effort to show God’s plan from the beginning to raise up a people to Himself and to give His only Son the throne of His kingdom. The Jews expected the Messiah to come, but their idea of a Savior was worlds apart from what God intended. Once Stephen began speaking of their forefathers, the council surely began listening intently because their ancestry was very important to them.
Since Stephen’s testimony was lengthy, I will only mention the highlights. He began with the call by God to Abraham to leave his home and journey to the promised land intended for the possession of Abraham and all those who would descend from him. At that time, he had no children. God foretold that Abraham’s descendants would end up in a strange land (Egypt) for 400 years. God then gave Abraham the rite of circumcision, and a son named Isaac, who became the father of Jacob. The twelve patriarchs of Israel were the twelve sons born to Jacob, but they sold their brother, Joseph, who ended up in Egypt, but became one of Pharaoh’s leaders. A famine came causing Jacob and his eleven sons to relocate to Egypt where there was food. Joseph identified himself to his brothers on their first visit. Jacob, whose name had been changed to Israel, died in Egypt.
The descendants of Jacob, the Hebrew people, began to multiply, and Pharaoh had their baby boys killed for fear of their large numbers. But there was one who was rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses, who was reared in the wisdom of the Egyptians. He had been nursed by his own mother and taught the history of God’s people. When he was 40 years old, he killed an Egyptian who attacked a Hebrew man. Moses fled to Midian, married, and had two sons. When he was 80 years old, the LORD appeared to him in a burning bush and told Moses that he would deliver his people from bondage in Egypt. After God made the way clear for His people to escape through the Red Sea, He called Moses up on Mt. Sinai to deliver him the law. While he was there, the people worshipped a golden calf, and many died because of their idolatry.
The first charge against Stephen, that of blasphemy against Moses and the law, Stephen successfully denied by praising Moses for his commitment to honor God and follow him regardless of what the people did. As the religious leaders to whom he was speaking were very possessive of the temple, Stephen pointed out that God does not dwell in temples made with hands. He then called them stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, resisting the Holy Ghost, persecuting the prophets, and murdering the Just One whom God had sent. Stephen’s defense was not only a condemnation of the nation of Israel but was also an illustration of just how weak and incapable of righteousness that all men and women are without Christ. How did the council respond?
The scripture says that they were “cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth”. To gnash with the teeth means to grind the teeth together in anger. It doesn’t mean they bit him, although they probably wanted to bite him and tear him to pieces like a dog with an old rag doll. They had accused him of blasphemy, and he had accused them of killing God’s Son. Rather than cowering in fear, Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, saying, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” That made the religious leaders even angrier. They shouted, clasped their hands over their ears so they couldn’t hear him, and ran toward him. The took hold of him, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him to death. There was a young man standing nearby as the evildoers laid down their clothes at his feet. His name was Saul.
As Stephen felt the pain of the stones hitting his body, he called upon God and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. He even asked God to forgive his accusers. He then passed away into the arms of Jesus in heaven. We know that this Saul later was called Paul and was of the same mind as Stephen’s accusers until one day when he met Christ on the road to Damascus. It seems that Stephen’s prayer was answered, at least for Paul.