St.
Steven Is Put On Trial
[Acts
chapter 7, verses 1-19]
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When
we left off two weeks ago (and I thank you all profusely for your
patience while I took a personal week off to catch up on stuff), we
had just concluded chapter 6 of the Book of Acts, where Steven had
been detained by the same authorities who had handed Christ over to
Pontius Pilate. As with Christ, Steven was accused by the temple
ruling council of what amounted to blasphemy (by their definition)
and for incitement against those same authorities, charges Steven was
innocent of. So today as we begin a 4-part series on Acts chapter 7,
we find ourselves witnesses to these accusations, not to mention
Steven's spirited response to these charges. As we will see, Steven
responds by giving the court a history lesson based on their own
faith and what they believed in, which today we call the Old
Testament.
“Then
the high priest asked him, 'Are these charges true?' To this he
replied, 'Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory
revealed himself to our father Abraham while he was still in
Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 'Leave your country and your
people', God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.' So he left
the land of the Chaldean's and settled in Haran. After the death of
his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He
gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. 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: 'Your descendants be strangers in a country not their
own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But
I will punish the nation they serve as slaves', God said, 'and
afterward they will come out of that country and serve me in this
place.' Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And
Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him 8 days after
his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became
the father of the Twelve Patriarchs.'”
(Acts 7, verses 1-8)
'How
do you plead to these charges, young man?' Imagine a young man in his
thirties being brought under court order before a grand jury, or a
Congressional committee in Washington, D.C. The overall attitude of
sheer contempt these men had toward Steven was far greater than the
Biblical text belies, and you can all be sure Steven was being spoken
to in a very condescending manner. Steven, being the man he was, with
a seemingly soft exterior that concealed a rock-solid constitution
and an extremely sharp mind, listened patiently to the phony
'charges' made against him by the Sanhedrin. Only when it comes
Stephen's turn to respond does he open his mouth for the first time,
and he starts out by giving the court a history lesson on the very
same beliefs – that of Judaism – that he is accused of
blaspheming.
The
frame of reference Steven is referring to as he begins with the story
of the beginning of the Jewish nation comes from Genesis chapter 17
(as we know it today), although to acquire the full history of
Abraham one could begin reading from chapter 15. But everything
written in this portion of the Bible about the life and rich history
of Abraham is what Steven is relating to the court. To explain this
another way, Steven is giving the court a taste of their own medicine
by 'presuming to teach' the court, except that Steven is filled with
the Holy Spirit. For additional references on what Steven lectured
the court about, the story of the birth of Isaac can be found in
Genesis chapter 21, and the story of Jacob and his 12 sons can be
found in Genesis 29 starting at verse 31 all the way to Genesis 30,
verses 1-24. And so now let's keep going starting at verse 9 of Acts
chapter 7.
“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 him wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh, king
of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. Then a
famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our
fathers could not find food. When Jacob heard there was grain in
Egypt, he sent our fathers 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 fathers 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.”
(Acts 7, verses 9-16)
First
of all, you have undoubtedly noticed that Steven has still not
answered the high priest's original question, “Are you guilty of
these charges?”. Steven was pointedly refusing to even so much as
acknowledge the question. In a modern courtroom this would be
tantamount to refusing to enter a plea. The person doing so would be
overruled, assigned a court-appointed lawyer and jailed, with a bail
hearing “to be assigned”. There were no such provisions under the
law during the 1st
century, nor were there until the Magna Carta came along nearly a
century later. Steven instead continues to lecture those who had
presumed to lecture him due their abuse of the court's authority in
leveling the false charges Steven was bravely facing. In this
passage, the frame of reference for Joseph being put in charge of
Egypt and Pharaoh's palace begins at Genesis 41: 41, and the story of
the 2nd
journey to Egypt by Joseph's brothers begins at chapter 43. Later in
Genesis, Jacob goes to Egypt, never to return to his ancestral land
that comprises much of modern Israel today, starting in chapter 46.
And now let's conclude part 1 of this week's study of Acts 7,
beginning at verse 17.
“As
the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the
number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. Then another king,
who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. He dealt
treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by
forcing them to throw out our newborn babies so they would die.”
(Acts 7, verses 17-19)
So
Steven is comparing the great increase of Israeli slaves in the
Egyptian Empire of its day to the great increase in the number of
fervent believers in the faith that Steven was on trial for. He then
compares the next Pharaoh, who “dealt treacherously” with the
ancestors of Judaism – their own ancestors – as being like the
court at that present time because of their persecution of
Christianity in general, and himself in particular. But Steven
doesn't stop there. He's already on a roll, as you will see when we
move on to part 2 of chapter 7, the whole of which is Steven's
testimony and defense. To find out what gets said and what happens
next, I'll see you all next week for part 2 of Acts chapter 7.
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