Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 4

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “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 that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:8-15 ESV).

Our reading today sets the stage for the fourth sermon recorded in Acts. It was delivered by Stephen and ultimately led to his death. The full text of the sermon is in chapter 7, though I’ll just mention parts of it here. But first let me remind you what is happening here. Stephen was a brilliant and spiritual man (v. 5); he was "full of grace and power" (v. 8); and, even his enemies "could not resist the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke" (v. 10). Even after he was arrested, it says that "his face was like the face of an angel" as he was accused in the court (v. 15). In spite of all this (or maybe because of all this) the response to him was vicious. Stephen is on trial for opposing Moses and his customs and God and his temple. The high priest gives Stephen a chance to defend himself, "Is this so?" he asks. And Stephen does a very strange thing. He tells a story (Acts 7); it is a condensed version of the history of Israel. He starts with Abraham at the beginning (in vv. 1–8). Then (in vv. 9–16) he dwells on Joseph and how the Israelites came to Egypt. Then he spends a long time on Moses (in vv. 17– 44). Then he closes with a brief reference to Joshua and David and Solomon (in vv. 45–50). Finally, he draws his conclusion from this history. It is a scathing condemnation: You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One [Jesus], whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. (Acts 7:51-53). This was his defense. He had been charged with speaking against Moses and the law, and against God and the temple. His defense is that history proves the opposite: it is Israel as a people that have stiffened their neck against God and resisted the Holy Spirit. They persecuted the prophets of God, and they killed Jesus the Son of God, and now they are about to kill a man "full of faith and the Holy Spirit." They are the ones who need to give an account, not Stephen. It ought to serve us as an encouragement to bold living and a warning against falling into stubborn traditionalism. Will you be encouraged? Will you heed the warning?