Stephen has been dragged before the Sanhedrin on charges of blasphemy against the laws of Moses and against God and of making threats against the temple. False witnesses have been bribed to tell lies about what Stephen has been teaching and doing. After listening to these accusations, the high priest invites Stephen to speak up for himself, "Then the high priest asked Stephen, 'Are these charges true?'" (Acts 7:1)
Stephen treats his religious persecution as an opportunity to preach the gospel to these men. Beginning all the way back at Abraham, he will demonstrate that the things happening now are the fulfillment of the Scriptures. "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.'" (Acts 7:2-3) Stephen's defense is clearly going to show that he understands and upholds the Scriptures. He has never spoken against the law or the prophets; he simply wants to show the world that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets.
He uses Abraham as an example of someone who was determined to go wherever God led him, even when he wasn't sure where he was going. Stephen too is determined to go wherever God leads him. So far God has led him to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, now risen from the dead, is Messiah and Lord and King of all kings. Stephen doesn't know where this path is going to lead him, but he intends to keep putting one foot in front of the other even if the path leads to death. Abraham also kept putting one foot in front of the other, trusting in the promises of a God who never lies. "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. He gave him no inheritance there, 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 Abraham had no child." (Acts 7:4-5) Abraham believed God was going to give him descendants even though he and his wife Sarah were too old to have children without the miraculous help of the Lord. Abraham believed God was going to cause those descendants to inherit the land in which Stephen and the Sanhedrin are now living in today's passage. Both those promises came true, as Stephen's listeners well know.
"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 7:6-8) These things also happened just as God said they would. It wasn't until after He rescued the Israelites from Egypt that He gave them the Promised Land. But it was before any of these things took place that God gave Abraham a sign of His covenant with him and with his descendants. Abraham obeyed the Lord on faith, knowing he would not in his own lifetime see the fulfillment of any of these promises except the gift of a son. If only the men of the Sanhedrin had faith like Abraham! If they did, they would recognize Jesus for who He is and would be worshiping Him just like Stephen.
"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." (Acts 7:9-10) Just like Jesus, Joseph was rejected by his own people. Just like Jesus, Joseph was betrayed in exchange for money. Just like Jesus, Joseph was despised because others were envious of him. The brothers of Joseph thought they were well rid of him, but in a stunning turnabout he is going to become the only man who can save them. The religious leaders of Stephen's day thought they were well rid of Jesus, the only Man capable of saving them.
"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." (Acts 7:11-16) Stephen wants his accusers to understand that the bad things that happen in this world are not always a result of a person's sin. Joseph wasn't sold into slavery because he was a wicked person but because he was the person God chose to save His people Israel from death by famine. The same is true of Jesus of Nazareth. He wasn't crucified because He was a wicked person but because He was the person God chose to save His people Israel from their sins, along with all the Gentiles who would believe on Him.
The religious leaders consider Jesus of Nazareth a blasphemer, a fraud, a man worthy of death, and a man upon whom the judgment of God fell. As they testified before Pilate about Him, "If He were not a criminal we would not have handed Him over to you." (John 18:30) They believe Jesus went to His death because their suspicions about Him were true and that God was punishing Him for His wrongdoing. Isaiah predicted their attitude, "We considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:4b) Yet the Sanhedrin can clearly see from the example of Joseph that not all bad things happen because of sin. Joseph was a good man. He is one of the few men in the Bible about whom nothing negative is said because, although he wasn't perfect, his heart was fully devoted to the Lord. If the Sanhedrin want to claim Jesus suffered because He was a sinner, how do they explain the suffering of Joseph who was hated and betrayed by his own brothers and who ended up being falsely accused in Egypt and imprisoned for many years before he rose to a position of prominence?
Stephen wants his listeners to understand that the death of Jesus was a part of God's plan, just as the selling of Joseph into slavery was a part of God's plan. It wasn't for His own sins that Jesus died on the cross, but for the sins of mankind. Jesus was nailed to a cross not because He was a sinner, but because He wasn't, for only a perfect and spotless lamb without blemish could be an acceptable sacrifice for sins. As Isaiah predicted, "It was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer." (Isaiah 53:10a) The suffering of Jesus brought spiritual salvation to the world, just as the suffering of Joseph brought physical salvation to the people of Israel. Jesus could say to the Sanhedrin the same thing Joseph said to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20)
No comments:
Post a Comment