The greek word for wisdom is used only four times in acts, twice of stephen 6. Stephens sermon is twice as long as peters sermon delivered at pentecost acts 2. Acts 7 niv bible then the high priest asked stephen. When our lord jesus called his apostles out to be employed in services and sufferings for him, he told them that yet the last should be first, and the first last, which was remarkably fulfilled in st. Stephen, being permitted to answer for himself relative to the charge of blasphemy brought against him by his accusers, gives a circumstantial relation of the call of abraham, when he dwelt in mesopotamia, in charran, etc. His stoning by the nonbelieving jews and his bold proclamation of the gospel of jesus christ. In this long defense stephen takes a much wider range, and goes less directly into the. Stephens sermon is twice as long as peters sermon delivered at. It records the address of stephen before the sanhedrin and his execution outside jerusalem, and introduces saul who later became paul the apostle. Did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices. How does it feel to be accused of something you havent done. Acts 7 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. The high priest asked stephen whether the charges were true. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in jesus christ.
Stephens speech to the sanhedrin then the high priest asked stephen, are these charges true. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days. David guzik commentary on acts 7 describes the martyr death of stephen who has. When a dispute arose within the church regarding the daily distribution of food, the twelve realized that they needed help administering the day to day operation of the church. The holy spirit was always present, and israel had a history of rejecting it. In the book of exodus the golden calf incident intervenes between the giving of. The existence of the jewish nation was no coincidence or human contrivance. Mar 09, 2016 in this sharefaithkids sunday school lesson we learn about stephen. In acts, jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry. Apr 29, 2012 stephen is stoned acts 7 commentary stephen presents to the sanhedrin their history according to the scriptures. Acts 7 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on the. A chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 12 7. Turn in your bibles to the 7th chapter of the book of acts. Oct 04, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
Acts 7, new international version niv the bible app. Study the bible online using commentary on acts 7 and more. But the book of genesis says that abraham was seventyfive years old. In chapter 7 we have stephens response to these charges. A survey of israels history during the time of the patriarchs.
Then sent joseph, and called his father jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. Look through stephens sermon and you will see clearly what he wanted the people to know. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to egypt. Acts 7 is the seventh chapter of the acts of the apostles in the new testament of the christian bible. Stephen acts 67 sunday school lesson resource youtube. Stephen became the first martyr for the cause of christ and his gospel leaving a. Then god turned upon this, god, being most righteously provoked, turned away from them in anger, and, as in many other instances, punished one sin by letting them fall into another. Acts 7 esv stephens speech and the high bible gateway. They did not heed and even killed the prophets of god. The god of glory appeared to our father abraham when he was in mesopotamia. Jan 02, 2020 acts 7 is the record of stephens testimony, which is perhaps the most detailed and concise history of israel and their relationship to god of any in scripture. Chapter 7 of acts tells us his supposed defence, but portrays stephen as making no attempt to defend himself or even talk about his christian faith as later martyrs are said to have done.
The word of god was enough to take up all the thoughts, cares, and time of the. Acts 7 english standard version esv stephens speech. Acts 7 english standard version esv stephen s speech. When his last sermon, delivered in prison, was published, a friend commented to samuel johnson that the effort was far better than he had thought the man capable of. Sapphira, choosing leaders, stephen martyred, persecution begins, scattering. Aug 31, 2015 the very length of stephens speech in acts 7, the longest in a book full of speeches, probably indicates something of the importance luke assigned to this episode in the history of early. More than just speaking well because of the threat of death, stephen spoke powerfully because he was filled with the holy spirit 7. I wrote out the following observations that i gathered from reading stephens speech in acts 7. Acts 7 new international version niv stephens speech to the sanhedrin. In this sharefaithkids sunday school lesson we learn about stephen. If we make this passage only about stephen, we might neglect to notice the stones littering the ground around us, which either implicate us or cause us to cry out for deliverance from cycles of violence.
This sermon is the longest recorded sermon in the book of acts. The god of glory appeared to our father abraham when he was in mesopotamia, before he lived in haran, 3 and said to him, go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that i will show you. This morning i have a rather difficult duty, and that is that the sermon in chapter 7 is 53 verses long. May 25, 2016 here is a bible study, commentary, and summary of acts chapter seven. So stephen is on trial for opposing moses and his customs and god and his temple. If we make this passage only about stephen, we might neglect to notice the stones littering the ground around us, which either implicate us or cause us. But despite all of this history, god offers them restoration with himself, through jesus. Paul, who were both of them late converts, in comparison of the apostles, and yet got the start of them both in services and sufferings. It is the longest sermon in acts, and so the holy spirit thought it to be important enough for luke to record it to the extent that he did. Do you think its important that the holy spirit is a gift from godnot a. Acts 7 is the longest speechsermon in the book of acts. What feelings spurred the men to lie about stephen.
Here is a bible study, commentary, and summary of acts chapter seven. Acts 7 and the high priest said, are these things so. The holy spirit was always present, and israel had a. Leave your country and your people, god said, and go to the land i will show you. Stephen wanted the people to remember their heritage vss. Stephens speech is often called a defense, or apology, but it is obviously not a speech for the defense in the forensic sense of the term. Stephen, under attack and facing likely death, spoke the truth recorded by luke, acts 7.
Acts 7 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. An integrated digital bible study library including complete notes from the believers bible commentary and the cultural backgrounds study bible niv and nrsv is just a step away. The god of glory appeared to our father abraham while he was still in mesopotamia, before he lived in harran. It is not calculated to receive exoneration before the sanhedrin. Stephen presents to the sanhedrin their history according to the scriptures.
Stephens enemies hired witnesses to testify falsely against him, accusing him of saying that jesus would destroy the temple and change the customs based on the law of moses. He reminds the sanhedrin that god appeared to abraham while he was still in mesopotamia and told him to go to haran. If you are interested in these, you can consult the best commentaries. Stephen was not concerned about his earthly existence, determining instead to stand firmly on the side of jesus christ, no matter the consequences.
Observations from reading stephens speech in acts 7. The high priest mentioned here was probably still caiaphas, the same one who presided over the trial of jesus. Commentary on acts 67 stephen martyred july 17, 2017 bill pratt leave a comment a few years after pentecost, the apostles are continuing to grow the church in jerusalem, but they have not yet left jerusalem to proclaim the gospel anywhere else. Most of the sermon focuses on three major characters. This commentary on acts 7 summarizes stephens selfdefense before. The defense of stephen before the sanhedrin is hardly a defense in the sense of an explanation or apology calculated to win an acquittal.
The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early christian tradition uniformly affirmed that luke composed this book as. Acts 7 is the record of stephens testimony, which is perhaps the most detailed and concise history of israel and their relationship to god of any in scripture. David guzik commentary on acts 7 describes the martyr death of stephen who has a glorious vision of jesus before he is executed by stoning. Stephen, full of the holy ghost, speaking now not of himself at all acts 7. Acts 7 bible commentary matthew henry concise christianity. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives.
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