Stephen

A growing church. “Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint” (6:1). Many people were trusting Jesus. Two groups. The Hellenists were Jewish believers who spoke Greek. The Hebrews were Jewish believers who spoke the language of Israel. All of them belonged to Jesus. Left out. The Hellenists’ widows “were neglected in the daily distribution” (6:1). Neglected means left out. The daily distribution was the food handed out each day. The apostles’ answer. “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables” (6:2). Serving food was not beneath them. God had given them the job of praying and teaching His Word, and they could not do both. Seven men. The whole church chose seven men to take care of the food (6:5). Greek names. All seven had Greek names, like Stephen and Philip. Most likely some of them came from the Greek-speaking group whose widows had been left out. The church put the care of those widows into the hands of men they would trust. A blessing. The apostles prayed and “laid hands on them” (6:6). That showed the church was sending them to this work with God’s blessing. What happened next. “Then the word of God spread” (6:7), and a great many priests believed in Jesus. What we learn. God cares about the people who get left out. When His family cares for them fairly, more people hear about Jesus.

Growth and trouble (6:1). As the disciples multiplied, a complaint arose: some widows “were neglected in the daily distribution.” The church shared food every day with widows who had no husband to provide for them. Hellenists. The Greek word Hellenistai (say: hel-leh-nis-TAI) means Greek-speakers. These were Jewish believers who had most likely grown up outside Israel and spoke Greek. The Hebrews spoke the language of Israel. Both groups were Jewish, and both belonged to Jesus. The Twelve (6:2-4). The apostles called the whole church together. They would not “leave the word of God and serve tables,” because they had to “give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” They were not calling the food work small. They were keeping the work God had given them. Seven Greek names (6:5). Every name in 6:5 is Greek, and Nicolas was “a proselyte from Antioch,” a Gentile who had become a Jew. Most likely the church chose men the overlooked widows would trust. The whole church (6:5-6). “The saying pleased the whole multitude,” and the believers chose the seven. Then the apostles prayed and laid hands on them. A problem that could have split the church brought it together instead. The result (6:7). “The word of God spread,” the number of disciples “multiplied greatly,” and “a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Fixing a food problem fairly helped the gospel move forward. Application. Look for the people who get left out at church or at school, and do something kind about it. Caring well for others is part of how the word of Jesus spreads.

The church in Jerusalem was growing fast. Some believers spoke Greek, and others spoke Hebrew. The widows who spoke Greek were not getting enough food. That was not fair, and the church cared about it. The apostles did not ignore the problem. But God had given them a job to pray and teach. So the church chose seven men to serve the food. Each of the seven had a Greek name. The apostles prayed for them. Then God’s Word spread to many more people. God cares about people who get left out. He wants His family to care for them too.

The church chose seven men to help. They made sure every widow got food. Helping others is a way to serve God.

Faith and power. “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people” (6:8). The man chosen to serve food was also used by God in big ways. An argument. Men from “the Synagogue of the Freedmen” came “disputing with Stephen” (6:9). A synagogue is a place where Jewish people met to pray and read God’s Word. The Freedmen were most likely Jews who had once been slaves, or whose families had been. Wisdom they could not beat. “They were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (6:10). The Holy Spirit gave Stephen the words. Lies. They “secretly induced men” to say that Stephen spoke “blasphemous words against Moses and God” (6:11). Induced means talked into it. Blasphemous words are words that dishonor God. False witnesses. They “set up false witnesses” who said Stephen spoke against “this holy place and the law” (6:13). The holy place was the temple in Jerusalem. Like Jesus. The same thing had happened to Jesus. At His trial, false witnesses spoke against Him too (Mark 14:56-58). An angel’s face. The council “saw his face as the face of an angel” (6:15). Most likely it was calm and bright with God’s peace, even while people lied about him. What we learn. When people say untrue things about you, you do not have to fight back with lies. God is with you, and He can give you His peace.

Full (6:8). Stephen was “full of faith and power.” He was already known as a man full of “the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (6:3) and full of “faith and the Holy Spirit” (6:5). The man who served food was filled with God. Wonders and signs. Until now God had done wonders through the apostles (2:43; 5:12). Now He did them through Stephen too. God’s power was not only for the Twelve. The Freedmen (6:9). This synagogue was most likely made up of Jews who had once been slaves, or whose families had been, along with Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They came “disputing with Stephen.” A promise kept (6:10). “They were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.” Jesus had promised His followers, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist” (Luke 21:15). Lies (6:11-14). When arguing failed, they turned to lies. They “secretly induced men” and “set up false witnesses.” The charge was that Stephen said “this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” The same charge. False witnesses had accused Jesus of saying, “I will destroy this temple made with hands” (Mark 14:58). Stephen was treated the way his Lord was treated, just as Jesus said His servants would be (John 15:20). An angel’s face (6:15). The whole council, “looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.” Most likely his face was calm and bright with a peace that came from God. When Moses came down from meeting with God, “the skin of his face shone” too (Exodus 34:29). Application. Stephen did not answer lies with lies. When you are treated unfairly, ask God for His wisdom and His peace, and keep speaking the truth kindly.

Stephen was chosen to help serve food. But God had even more work for him. God gave him power to do great miracles. Some men argued with Stephen about Jesus. The Holy Spirit helped Stephen speak with wisdom. The men could not answer him. So they paid other men to tell lies. Telling lies about someone is a sin. People told lies about Jesus too. Stephen was taken to a meeting of the leaders. Everyone in the room stared at him. His face looked like the face of an angel. God was with Stephen in that hard place.

God gave Stephen power and wisdom. Some men told lies about him. His face looked like the face of an angel.

The question. The high priest asked, “Are these things so?” (7:1). Stephen answered by telling the story of Israel. Abraham. “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia” (7:2). God spoke to Abraham far away, long before there was a temple. Joseph. “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him” (7:9). The patriarchs were Joseph’s brothers, the fathers of Israel’s families. Moses. His own people pushed him away and said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” (7:35). But God sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt. Turning back. In the desert, “in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (7:39). They made a calf idol and worshiped it. A picture. Many Christians see Joseph and Moses as pictures of Jesus: pushed away by their own people, yet sent by God to save them. Stubborn hearts. Then Stephen said, “You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (7:51). Resist means push against. The Just One. The prophets told about “the coming of the Just One,” and the leaders had become His “betrayers and murderers” (7:52). The Just One is Jesus. What we learn. God kept reaching out to His people. When God speaks to you through His Word, do not push Him away. Listen and obey.

Stephen’s answer (7:1-50). Accused of speaking against the temple and the law, Stephen told Israel’s story and taught two truths from it. God outside the land. “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia” (7:2). God was with Joseph in Egypt (7:9-10). He met Moses in the desert and said, “The place where you stand is holy ground” (7:33). God was never shut up in one place. Rejected deliverers. Joseph’s brothers sold him (7:9). Moses’ people asked, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?” (7:27). Yet “this Moses whom they rejected” was the one God sent “to be a ruler and a deliverer” (7:35). Many Christians see Joseph and Moses as pictures of Jesus, rejected by His own and sent by God to save. A Prophet like Moses (7:37). Moses promised, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.” Peter had already preached that this Prophet is Jesus (Acts 3:22). The temple (7:47-48). “Solomon built Him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands.” The temple was a gift, but God was never kept inside it. Stiff-necked (7:51). The Greek word sklerotrachelos (say: sklay-roh-TRAH-kheh-lohs) means hard-necked, like an ox that will not turn its neck when it is led. Stephen used words from Moses’ day: God had said to the people who made the golden calf, “You are a stiff-necked people” (Exodus 33:5). Stephen said it to the council that was refusing Jesus. “Uncircumcised in heart and ears” means hearts and ears closed to God. The Just One (7:52-53). Their fathers persecuted the prophets who “foretold the coming of the Just One,” and now they had betrayed and murdered Him. They had “received the law” but had “not kept it.” Having God’s law is not the same as obeying it. Application. Any heart can harden. When the Holy Spirit shows you something in God’s Word, turn toward Him instead of pushing back.

The high priest asked, “Are these things true?” Stephen answered by telling the story of God’s people. God spoke to Abraham and made him a promise. Joseph’s brothers sold him, but God was with him. God sent Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. But the people pushed Moses away. Later they made an idol shaped like a calf. Again and again, people would not listen to God. Many Christians see Joseph and Moses as pictures of Jesus. Stephen said the leaders were doing the same thing. They would not listen to the Holy Spirit. They had turned against Jesus, the Righteous One. When God speaks to your heart, listen to Him!

Stephen told God’s story. God helped Abraham, Joseph and Moses. God sent Jesus to save us.

Angry hearts. “They were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth” (7:54). Gnashed means ground their teeth in anger. Eyes on heaven. But Stephen, “being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (7:55). Jesus is alive. The Jesus whom the council had sent to the cross was alive, in the place of highest honor beside God. Stopped ears. The council “stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord” (7:57). They did not want to hear any more. Saul. The witnesses laid their clothes “at the feet of a young man named Saul” (7:58), and “Saul was consenting to his death” (8:1). Consenting means agreeing. Two prayers. Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt and cried out, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (7:59-60). Stephen prayed to Jesus as Lord. Like his Lord. On the cross, Jesus had prayed for the people who crucified Him and had given His spirit to His Father. Stephen followed Him. He fell asleep. “And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (7:60). For someone who belongs to Jesus, death is like falling asleep, because Jesus will raise him up. Sad and hopeful. “Devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him” (8:2). Devout means loving and honoring God. Lamentation means loud crying. That same day, trouble began for the church. What we learn. Jesus is alive at God’s right hand. Anyone who trusts Him can give Him their whole life, now and forever.

Cut to the heart (7:54). At Pentecost, people who were “cut to the heart” asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (2:37). Here the council was cut to the heart and “gnashed at him with their teeth.” The same truth that softens one heart can harden another. Full of the Spirit (7:55). Stephen “gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” The right hand is the place of honor and power. The Son of Man (7:56). “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Son of Man was the name Jesus used most often for Himself. Here Stephen uses it for the risen Lord in heaven. One accord (7:57-58). They “cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord.” The witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of “a young man named Saul,” and “Saul was consenting to his death” (8:1). Two prayers (7:59-60). “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” Stephen called on Jesus by name and trusted Him with his spirit. Only God can receive a person’s spirit, so Stephen’s prayer shows who he believed Jesus is. His Master’s way. Stephen’s two prayers sound like Jesus’ prayers on the cross (Luke 23:34, 46). He had learned from his Lord how to die trusting and how to forgive. He fell asleep (7:60). The New Testament speaks of a believer’s death as sleep, because it is not the end: “God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Devout men (8:2). They “made great lamentation over him.” Hope in Jesus does not cancel grief; believers weep, but not like people with no hope. That same day a great persecution began (8:1). Application. Settle now who your Lord is. A person who has given Jesus his life can trust Him with everything, and can pray even for people who are cruel to him.

The leaders were so angry that they ground their teeth. But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up and saw Jesus standing at God’s right side. Jesus is alive, and He rules from heaven! Some angry men threw stones at Stephen, and he died. Before he died, Stephen prayed two prayers. He asked Jesus to receive his spirit. He asked the Lord not to hold this sin against the men. Jesus prayed for the people who hurt Him too. Stephen trusted Jesus with his life. Men who loved God buried him and cried for him. Stephen is with Jesus now.

Stephen looked up and saw Jesus. Some angry men threw stones at Stephen, and he died. He went to be with Jesus.

🎉 All words found!