SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

OPEN BOOK – HINTS FROM THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS: STEPHEN’S STORY OF GOD’S CHOSEN ONE, PART I

BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the start of Stephen’s trial in Acts, chapter 7…

(The trial proceeded with) the high priest (addressing Stephen who) asked, “Is this (accusation) right?” And he replied: “Fellows, brothers and fathers, hear me out. The God of All Honour made Himself known to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he went to dwell in Haran, and He said to him, ‘Depart from your land and from your extended family so that you can come to the land which I will disclose to you.’ And so, departing out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran. And after his own father died, (God) moved him on from there and into this land in which you now dwell. And yet He gave him nothing (immediate), not so much as a stepping-stone’s inheritance in it, promising (instead) to give it as a possession to him and to his descendents after him, even while he had no child of his own. And God thereby spoke that, in effect, his descendents would live as sojourners in a land belonging to others, being enslaved to them and ill-treated by them for (a full) 400 years. ‘And the people whom they serve I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come forth and serve me in [that is] this place.’ (Acts 7:1-7/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne)

 

ON TRIAL: In the first part of his defence, Stephen recalled the story of Abraham. PICTURE: Jason Morrison/www.freeimages.com


IN A NUTSHELL

This seems to be the transcript of Stephen’s defence before the Sanhedrin. He starts with Abram the Aramean in Ur.

Luke has already told us that the accusations against Stephen were lies: “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God” and, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” On the face of it, they appear carefully constructed accusations.

The perceived threat ran deep. Stephen, and the apostles, would also know that these were similar to the lying accusations brought against Jesus, and they would also recall that Jesus had indeed spoken about the destruction of the temple. Once it was by allusion to his own body (Mark 14:58; John 2:19) in the face of the murderous schemes being hatched by those who opposed to Him. The other time was in relation to a disciple’s observations about the beauty of the temple. In both cases Jesus replied to such comments by revealing how God’s ongoing care for His people, and their task in His creation, continues despite the evil that is thrown at them.

Those who believed God would only relate to His people through a man-made building had become thoroughly confused. It was to that deep-seated spiritual confusion that Stephen directed his comments. What is written here of his defence before the Sanhedrin shows Stephen had a thorough understanding of God’s purposes, of God’s covenant promises.

Stephen was chosen and commissioned by the apostles to ensure that the gentile widows would receive their share of the food distribution. He understood that Hebrew widows had no priority or preference within the new community. And so, as we read elsewhere in the New Testament, the story of how Abram became Abraham is given to remind those tempted by a sense of their superiority that God Almighty is no respecter of persons. When God called Abraham he was, as a descendent of Eber (Genesis 11:16 from whom the term “Hebrew” is derived), known as Abram – the exalted ancestor. The custom of circumcision came when Hagar’s son Ishmael was thirteen, a while before Isaac, the child of Sarah, was born. There were no specially called out descendents of Eber before God called Abram, and that was even sometime before Abram “the exalted ancestor” became, by God’s covenant promise to him, Abraham, “the father of a multitude”. That was even before Isaac, and a long time before Israel and a further long time before Moses.

But the turning point in that covenantal history, as Stephen emphasises it, comes when God Himself decisively intervenes in the life of this ancient ancestor of Israel, turning him from a way of life anticipating, on the basis of God’s promises that his descendents would ascribe him great retrospective respect, to a life, like his own, in which he looked forward to the multitude who would receives the Almighty’s blessings also because He had been blessing him, Abraham, as part of His ongoing work.

Stephen’s account of this momentous world-changing turn is also a clear call to pause and ponder the momentous love, grace, mercy and power of Our Heavenly Father.

By as we read his defence before the council and hearing him speaking about “this place”, we realise that He is on the cusp of saying something new about the dwelling of God among His children. We anticipate that a profound turning point in the story of the Lord Almighty’s fulfilment of His promises is to be disclosed. Stephen is seeking to draw attention to the work of the One who, God’s right-hand, now reaches out to all the earth.

Got a verse or a short passage you’d like us to look at? Just send an email to [email protected].

Donate



sight plus logo

Sight+ is a new benefits program we’ve launched to reward people who have supported us with annual donations of $26 or more. To find out more about Sight+ and how you can support the work of Sight, head to our Sight+ page.

Musings

TAKE PART IN THE SIGHT READER SURVEY!

We’re interested to find out more about you, our readers, as we improve and expand our coverage and so we’re asking all of our readers to take this survey (it’ll only take a couple of minutes).

To take part in the survey, simply follow this link…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.