Introduction

“Then the high priest asked him, “Are these charges true?” Acts 7:1

This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter. Despite Stephen’s appearance, Acts 6:15, the high priest asked him if the accusations of blasphemy, which had been brought against him, were true, Acts 6:11-14. Caiaphas was probably the high priest at the time; he is the same person who tried Jesus, Matthew 26:57.

He tries to discredit Stephen in legal terms. Jesus was quiet at His trial, and Stephen was the opposite. And so, in response, Stephen is about to give a history lesson about God’s dealings with His people. Stephen is putting them in the position of being accused.

When they rejected the Messiah, they were doing what their ancestors had always done. If we want to understand the New Testament, we need to understand what God was doing in the Old Testament.

These people are accusing Stephen of blasphemy, an offence which is punishable by being stoned to death, Leviticus 24:10-23, and so, he gives those standing in the Sanhedrin a Jewish history lesson.

Bruce, in his commentary, gives the following useful outline of Stephen’s speech.

‘Stephen’s historical survey reviews the history of the nation from the call of Abraham to the building of Solomon’s temple. It concentrates on three main topics: (i) the patriarchal period, Acts 7:2-16; (ii) Moses and the law, Acts 7:17-43; (iii) the tabernacle and the temple, Acts 7:44-50. The first of the three sections of this speech is an introduction to the central themes; the second deals with the charge of blasphemy against Moses, the third with the charge of blasphemy against God.’

STEPHEN’S SPEECH TO THE SANHEDRIN

‘To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you. So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.’ Acts 7:2-4

Stephen begins his history lesson with God’s dealings with Abraham and his children, Genesis 12:1-9. He reminds the council of Abraham’s call to leave the country of his people, which was first received in Ur of the Chaldees and renewed in Haran after his father’s death.

Mesopotamia, Acts 7:2, means the land between the rivers Tigris and the Euphrates and at the bottom, there was Ur. Genesis tells us that Abraham was called out of Haran, Genesis 12:5. God called Abraham, who was a nobody, and he was a Gentile.

According to Genesis 11:26 and Genesis 11:32, Terah was seventy years old when Abraham was born, and he died at the age of two hundred and five years old in Haran. In Genesis 12:4, we read that Abraham was seventy five years old when he left Haran.

This would mean that Abraham left when Terah was one hundred and seventy five years old, which would be sixty years ‘before’ he died and not ‘after, as Stephen tells us.

Since Philo of Alexandria, who was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, agrees with Stephen that Abraham left Haran ‘after’ Terah’s death and since the Samaritan version of Genesis gives the age of Terah as one hundred and forty-five years old when he died, it is clear that Stephen is following a variant tradition of the text of Genesis. Luke usually follows the LXX. This may tell us that Luke was following a source and not the one composing the speech.

Some people believe because of Genesis 11:31-12:1, that God’s command to Abraham was given to him at Haran, not Ur. But Genesis 12:1 can also suggest that what he told him in Haran was actually a confirmation of what he had already said to him in Ur. So Abraham left Ur and settled in Haran.

The point that Stephen is trying to make here is that Abraham moved, under God’s direction, to the land of Canaan, Acts 7:3-4. In other words, this wasn’t Abraham’s own idea to get up and go; this was God’s plan for the future of the Jews, and God was going to direct them.

‘He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later, Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.’ Acts 7:5-8

Stephen continues to speak about what God said to Abraham.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning Acts 7:5.

‘The gift was not to Abraham personally, but to him as the founder and representative of the nation.’ The only part of Palestine that Abraham ever owned was the cave of Machpelah, which he purchased for a grave.’

Note the actual length of their stay in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, but Stephen rounded it off to four hundred, Acts 7:7, just as God had in Genesis 15:13-14.

Again, Stephen wanted to let them know that the time the Jews were slaves in Egypt was set to the exact date by God, Exodus 12:40-42. Problems come from the four-hundred-year statement, as Exodus 12:40, and Galatians 3:17, tell us it was actually four hundred and thirty years, but Stephen is following what it says in Genesis 15:13.

The statement of four hundred years is just a round figure. Even though God did not give Abraham an inheritance in the Promised Land, Acts 7:5, he did promise to give him a son, Genesis 17:15-17, and to give the land of Canaan to his descendants, Genesis 17:9-14.

And so what Stephen is doing here is showing how God told Abraham He would judge the nation of Egypt and bring His people out to serve Him in the land of promise at the end of the appointed time, Acts 7:6-7.

It was after making those significant promises to Abraham that God instituted circumcision as a part sign of the covenant between Abraham and his descendants, Acts 7:8. Abraham was circumcised after he received the promises, Genesis 17.

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. “As the time drew near for God to fulfil his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.’ Acts 7:9-19

Two main themes run through this speech.

1. As a nation, the Jews were always unfaithful to God.

Joseph saved the Jews; he provided the Jews with their needs. The heads of the twelve tribes of Israel were moved by jealousy to act against the one whom God sent and was going to use to save them, Acts 7:9.

Stephen tells them that they are rebelling against God. He then takes them through the events of Genesis 37-Exodus 1. He tells them about Abraham’s great-grandson, Joseph, who was sold into Egypt because of the jealousy of his own brothers, Acts 7:9 / Genesis 37:12-36. But God, in His providence, noted Joseph’s mistreatment and delivered him, Acts 7:10.

He went on to make him governor over the land of Egypt, Acts 7:10 / Genesis 41:37-44. A great famine left Jacob and his household without food to sustain them, Acts 7:11 / Genesis 47:13-50:26.

So, having heard of the plentiful food in Egypt, he sent his sons to purchase grain on two separate occasions, Acts 7:12-13. On the second occasion, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers and let Pharaoh know who they were, Acts 7:13 / Genesis 45:3.

Joseph, with the approval of Pharaoh, sent wagons to bring his aged father to Egypt, Acts 7:14 / Genesis 45:19. Seventy-five souls left Canaan for the land of Egypt, Acts 7:14. The figure of seventy-five persons is based on the LXX of Genesis 46:27, and Exodus 1:5, while the Hebrew text has seventy.

The figure seventy-five comes from leaving out Jacob and Joseph and including the remaining seven of Joseph’s sons. In both cases, the number is the total of Jacob’s descendants who went to Egypt or were born there. Jacob’s body was carried back to Shechem to be laid in the cave of Machpelah alongside those of Abraham and Sarah, Acts 7:15-16 / Joshua 24:32-33.

According to Genesis 49:29-32 and Genesis 50:13, Jacob was buried in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron, which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite, Genesis 23.

Joseph was buried at Shechem, Joshua 24:32, in the land which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, Genesis 33:18-20. Josephus states that Jacob’s other sons were buried at Hebron.

There was a local tradition at Shechem that the twelve sons of Jacob were buried there. So, because of these texts, it looks like Stephen is telling them something different from the Old Testament Scriptures.

It seems that Stephen has followed a tradition, according to which not only Joseph but also his brothers were buried at Shechem, and that he has attributed the purchase of the grave there to Abraham by including an allusion to the story in Genesis 23.

God had not forgotten his promise to Abraham, and as days passed, the children of Israel multiplied from the original seventy-five until they appeared to be a menace to the Egyptians, Acts 7:16.

Additionally, a king ascended to the throne who did not recall the salvation of Egypt by the hand of Joseph, Acts 7:18 / Exodus 1:8. The king mistreated them by placing them in bondage and slaying their babies, Acts 7:19 / Exodus 1:15-22.

‘At that time, Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months, he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defence and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realise that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day, Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.’ Acts 7:20-29

2. As a nation, they continually rejected God’s Leaders.

Stephen now talks about how Moses was rejected by God’s own people, as we find in Exodus 2. It was during those hard and difficult years in Egypt when all these babies were being murdered that Moses was born, Exodus 1:15-22 / Exodus 3.

We know from Exodus that Moses was hidden by his parents for three months, Exodus 2:2, and afterwards, God caused him to be found by Pharaoh’s daughter and reared as if he were her own son, Acts 7:20-21 / Exodus 2:5 / Hebrews 11:23-29. He was taught everything the Egyptians of his day knew, Acts 7:22.

He was a strong man in word and deed, Acts 7:22. At the age of forty, he visited God’s people, Acts 7:23. He killed an Egyptian who was mistreating one of his brethren, Acts 7:24 / Exodus 2:11-13.

Moses thought they would understand that God intended to deliver them by His hand, but had to flee when a Jew questioned his authority and revealed he knew of the Egyptian’s death, Acts 7:25-28 / Exodus 2:11-15. And so Moses fled to Midian, where he married and had two sons, Acts 7:29 / Exodus 2:11-25.

The people Stephen is talking to still didn’t understand. Every time God sends someone, they kill them. He tells them they didn’t understand Moses, as they didn’t understand Stephen.

‘After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’ “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.’ Acts 7:30-36

Stephen, still under the accusation of blasphemy, carries on with Israel’s history by reminding them of the events from Exodus 3 through to Numbers 13. He says that when Moses was eighty years old, God spoke to him from a burning bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, Acts 7:30 / Exodus 3:1-15.

God told him He had seen His people suffering in Egypt and heard their groaning. He told Moses that he would deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, Acts 7:34 / Exodus 3:7-12.

The angel that appeared to Moses was the Angel of the Lord, very possibly the preincarnate Christ, Acts 7:31-33 / Exodus 3:2 / Exodus 3:6 / Exodus 4:2 / John 12:41 / 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 / Hebrews 11:26.

What Stephen is doing here is reminding his listeners that God did deliver His people from Egyptian bondage, Exodus 5:22-6:12. God did deliver them at the Red Sea, Exodus 14:26-28, and looked after them for forty years in the wilderness, Acts 7:35-36 / Deuteronomy 8:2 / Deuteronomy 29:5.

But his point is that God delivered them by the hands of the very one whom the children of Israel had previously rejected, Acts 7:35. The God of Abraham.

‘This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and, in their hearts, turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and revelled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore, I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.’ Acts 7:37-43

Jewish history is our history, and we need to understand where we come from. God’s people didn’t have photo albums to look back on; they only had the Old Testament Scriptures, and they were important to them. So important that Stephen goes ahead and reminds them of Israel’s rebellion against God.

In Acts 7:37, he quotes Deuteronomy 18:15, as Peter did in Acts 3:22-23, to remind them about the prophet whom God was going to raise up, that is, the Christ. Stephen reminds them of their adventures from Numbers 14, right up until the Israelite’s captivity in Babylon, as we read about in 1 Chronicles 9.

He says that the very deliverer was the one who foresaw the day God would raise up another prophet like him. Moses faithfully worked with those Jews who had been called out of bondage.

Through him, they had heard God’s living message, Acts 7:38. Yet, while Moses was receiving God’s will on Mount Sinai, the people were rejecting that very will and turning back, at least in their hearts, toward Egypt.

When they got Aaron to make the golden calf for them to worship, Acts 7:41 / Exodus 32, the people were effectively rejecting the Almighty. He, in turn, gave them up to serve worthless idols, Acts 7:42-43 / Romans 1:24 and sent them into captivity, Acts 7:43 / Amos 5:25-27.

Kent, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Stephen’s quotation of Amos 5:27, ’I will carry you away beyond Babylon,’ differs from the OT. Both the Hebrew text and the LXX say ’Damascus.’ The prophet Amos was foretelling the exile of the northern kingdom under the Assyrians, which would take them beyond Damascus. More than a century later, the southern kingdom was captured because of her similar disobedience to God and was deported to Babylon. Stephen has merely substituted this phrase in order to use this Scripture to cover the judgment of God on the entire nation.’

Molech, Acts 7:43, was an Ammonite idol, and the Jews adopted him for themselves. It was made of brass, in the image of a bull sitting on its back legs with the front legs stretched out in front to make a shelf.

The worship of Molech was tied to the worship of the sun. The arms would be red hot, and they would sacrifice their children who were put inside the arms. The worship of Molech was forbidden, Leviticus 18:21 / Leviticus 20:2-5. Israel was filled with idols at one time, and the Jewish people sacrificed their children, 2 Kings 23:10 / Jeremiah 32:35.

The people in the Sanhedrin didn’t want to be reminded of their past, and so Stephen wanted to show them from the Scriptures that their rejection of God was the very reason they were led away into Babylonian captivity.

By quoting Amos 5:25-27, Stephen is trying to explain that this is also part of God’s plan. Abraham’s leaving to go to the Promised Land could only be done if Abraham followed God’s instructions to the letter.

Joseph being taken to Egypt and Moses delivering them from Egypt could only be done if Joseph and Moses followed God’s instructions to the letter. When God’s people didn’t follow His instructions to the letter, they were punished; that’s why they ended up in Egypt and Babylon in the first place.

‘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. 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, who enjoyed God’s favour and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: “‘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? Has not my hand made all these things?’ Acts 7:44-50

Stephen reminds them that God has a pattern for His people’s lives which needs to be followed to the letter. In other words, if we want to live in God’s true house, we need to live by His rules.

Stephen says the pattern for making the tabernacle was one of the things that God revealed through Moses, which had to be followed exactly, Acts 7:44 / Hebrews 8:5. The tabernacle was so important that the Israelites brought it into the Promised Land when they conquered it under Joshua’s leadership, Acts 7:45 / Joshua 18.

Stephen says do remember David? Acts 7:45 / 1 Kings 8:17-18. Stephen says David wanted to build a temple for God to dwell in, but God wouldn’t let him, according to 1 Chronicles 28:3, because he was a man of war. Instead, Solomon, David’s son, was allowed to build a temple, 1 Kings 6. And then Stephen gets to the point. He says that the Creator of the universe does not dwell in temples made with men’s hands, Acts 7:48.

In Acts 7:49-50, Stephen quotes from Isaiah 66:1-2 and Psalm 102:25, which clearly show that God cannot be confined like the gods of the pagans. Instead, God, their God and our God today, who created the universe, has made the very universe He created to be His throne.

The Sanhedrin needed to ask themselves the very same question which Solomon asked many years before them: can they contain God? 1 Kings 8:27 / Isaiah 66:1-2. Stephen makes his point and goes through all of that history to get to this important truth.

Constable, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Stephen quoted Isaiah 66:1-2 for support. He referred to Isaiah as ‘the prophet.’ As a prophet, Isaiah was worthy of as much respect as Moses. Significantly, the last part of Isaiah 66:2 says that God esteems those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at His word. Stephen left this timely and powerful challenge unstated for his hearers.’

Neil, in his commentary, says the following.

‘It would seem that these verses form the real thrust of Stephen’s speech. In quoting with approval Isaiah’s words, Stephen would appear to imply that, as Christ is the new Moses, he is also the new Temple. In him and through him alone can men approach God,’ John 2:19 / John 2:21 / Ephesians 2:19-22 / Hebrews 9:1-10 / 1 Peter 2:5.’

“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him- you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” Acts 7:51-54

Notice the change of tone in Stephen’s words. Steven tells them that they continued to do the same things their fathers did, that is, disobeyed God, Acts 7:51-52 / Acts 7:2 / Acts 7:11-12 / Acts 7:15 / Acts 7:19 / Acts 7:39 / Acts 7:44-45.

These people ignored Jesus just as their fathers did. Stephen says, you’re just like your fathers before you, your necks are as hard as a rock, so hard that you won’t bow down to God, just like your relatives wouldn’t.

The people whom Stephen is addressing had the outward signs of religion, but their hearts were far from the truth. They had been circumcised in the flesh, but their hearts were still encased in sinful flesh.

God told them time and time again through His prophets, Acts 7:52, that the time was coming when He was going to send the Righteous One, whom we know as Jesus, Acts 7:52 / Acts 3:14 / 1 Kings 19:10 / 1 Kings 19:14 / Nehemiah 9:26 / Jeremiah 26:20-24 / Luke 6:23 / Luke 11:49 / Luke 13:34 / 1 Thessalonians 2:15 / Hebrews 11:36-38.

And again, just like their fathers before, they had persecuted and killed those prophets who foretold the coming of God’s Righteous One, 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 / Nehemiah 9:26 / Jeremiah 2:30. Stephen said they had betrayed and murdered the Righteous One, Matthew 21:33-39. He says you guys are just as bad as your ancestors were.

Despite the rebellion of God’s people, God had always acted for their benefit. They had God’s protection, Acts 7:5-7. God was with Joseph, Acts 7:9. They had the promise for Abraham, Acts 7:17. They had Moses as a ruler, and God gave them their deliverance, Acts 7:34, and God drove out people through Joshua, Acts 7:45.

Stephen is speaking of the goodness of God, and he says God has never been limited to one place, and God appeared to Abraham, Acts 7:2. God was in Egypt, Acts 7:9, God was in the wilderness, Acts 7:30. God is not limited to the temple, Acts 7:48.

Their guilt was all the greater because they had received God’s law, which angels had delivered, Deuteronomy 33:2 / Galatians 3:19 / Hebrews 2:2, but they had disobeyed it, Acts 7:53.

THE STONING OF STEPHEN

“When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 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. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this, they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul”. Acts 7:55-58

The Jews were not as righteous and holy and as good as they thought they were because their reaction was very similar to that of those who were listening to Stephen.

Just like Peter’s sermon, Acts 2:37, the truth hurts because the truth cuts to the heart and they were raging, Acts 7:54. And when we’re faced with a reaction like this one, there is only one place to look, and that’s heavenward, Acts 7:55.

It was the Lord’s Spirit who had inspired Stephen to speak, Acts 6:3 / Acts 6:5 / Acts 6:8 / Acts 6:15, and it’s the Lord’s Spirit who now caused him to look intently into heaven.

Stephen looked up, and he saw God’s glory and Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand, Acts 7:55-56. In the New Testament, Jesus is almost always described as sitting at the right hand of the Father, but not when one of His children is in trouble.

Stephen saw Him standing, which tells us that Jesus not only cares about us but He stands up for us, and we need to believe that He does that for us every time we’re in trouble. In other words, don’t look to the world for protection and all the answers; look to heaven for them.

Stephen told the council what he saw; they cried out, stopped their ears, rushed to him, threw him outside of the city and stoned him, Acts 7:57-58. And it’s here Luke tells us that those who stoned him laid their coats at the feet of a young Jewish Rabbi named Saul, Acts 7:58. This is the first mention of Saul, and he’s here standing and watching.

Bruce, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Stephen has been confessing Christ before men, and now he sees Christ confessing His servant before God. The proper posture for a witness is the standing posture. Stephen, condemned by an earthly court, appeals for vindication to a heavenly court, and his vindicator in that supreme court is Jesus, who stands at God’s right hand as Stephen’s advocate, his ’paraclete.’ When we are faced with words so wealthy in association as these words of Stephen, it is unwise to suppose that any single interpretation exhausts their significance. All the meaning that had attached to Psalms 110:1 and Daniel 7:13 is present here, including especially the meaning that springs from their combination on the lips of Jesus when He appeared before the Sanhedrin; but the replacement of ’sitting’ by ’standing’ probably makes its own contribution to the total meaning of the words in this context-a contribution distinctively appropriate to Stephen’s present role as martyr-witness.’

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 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.” Acts 7:59-60

Notice that Stephen prayed to Jesus, Acts 7:59. He asked Jesus to receive his spirit, Acts 7:59, and we know from Ecclesiastes 12:7 that the spirit goes back to God who gave it. This is important because this implies that Stephen recognised the deity of Christ. He identified Jesus as God.

I don’t know many people who would say those words with their dying breath after going through what Stephen went through, except Jesus Himself, of course, Luke 23:46.

Bock, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Here Jesus, functioning as Judge, welcomed Stephen into heaven, showing that despite earthly rejection, Stephen was honoured in heaven.’

We should thank God for people like Stephen, who was willing even unto death to hold onto the truth, and even with his dying words, ask God to forgive them, Acts 7:60. Stephen’s dying words echo the words of the Master He followed, who was dying on the cross of Calvary in Luke 23:34.

Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Between Stephen and Jesus there was communion of nature, there was communion of testimony, there was communion of suffering, and finally there was communion of triumph.’

We should note that Stephen’s body fell asleep, Acts 7:60, not his soul. The Scriptures nowhere speak about ‘soul sleep’, Acts 13:36 / John 11:11 / 1 Thessalonians 4:13 / 1 Thessalonians 4:15.

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