Stephen has been called before the Sanhedrin on false charges of blasphemy and of speaking against the law of Moses and against the word of God. Stephen stands before these men who had Jesus put to death and gives the only defense he has: the gospel of Jesus Christ. It isn't blasphemy to call Jesus "Lord" if He is Lord. It isn't disrespecting the law to say Jesus fulfills the law if He does indeed fulfill the law. It isn't a false religion to claim salvation can be found in Jesus if He really is the only way to the Father.
Stephen continues today with a history of Israel and of God's guiding hand on her. "As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then 'a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.' He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die." (Acts 7:17-18) Stephen quotes from the first chapter of Exodus. The Pharaoh of Exodus 1 was prejudiced against the foreigners in Egypt and was gripped with paranoia regarding their presence in his country, so he said to his people, "The Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." (Exodus 1:9-10)
Under this wicked Pharaoh the Israelites were forced into hard labor and they knew the bitter life of slavery. But God sent someone to deliver them from slavery in Egypt, just as God sent Jesus Christ to save the world from the slavery of sin. In yesterday's study we found Stephen using Joseph as an example of a type of Christ; today he uses Moses as a type of Christ. Joseph was a man rejected by his brothers, just like Jesus. Moses was a man often rejected and murmured against, just like Jesus. The point Stephen is making is that the deliverers God has sent haven't always looked the way the people expected them to look, and haven't always been who the people would have chosen to lead them, and haven't always been accepted. Why should Jesus be any different? The Messiah didn't look the way they expected Him to look: they were looking for a tall and handsome man like King Saul or a fierce warrior like King David or a man of power and wealth like King Solomon. The Messiah wasn't the type of person they would have chosen to lead them: He was a poor carpenter from the backwoods town of Nazareth. They wanted a Messiah who would reestablish Israel as a sovereign nation and Jesus had no interest in saving His people from Roman oppression but was instead concerned with saving them from their sins. He wasn't saying the things they wanted Him to say or doing the things they wanted Him to do, so they rejected Him.
"At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action." (Acts 7:20-22) In yesterday's study we found Stephen speaking of the patriarch Joseph as a deliverer. He was mistreated in his early life, but his mistreatment led to him being in a position to save the lives of his people. Moses too was mistreated in his early life. Pharaoh had commanded that all the baby boys of the Israelites be put to death, but Moses' family hid him as long as they could before putting him in a basket in the river hoping someone would have mercy on him. Pharaoh's very own daughter found him and raised him as her own as a prince of Egypt. This would allow him to have no trouble being granted audiences with the later Pharaoh who will refuse to let his people go. God orchestrated the events of Moses' life so he would be in a position to save the lives of his people.
God orchestrated the events of the life of Jesus of Nazareth so He would be in a position to save men and women from their sins. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah so that there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. Stephen wants his listeners to understand this and to come to faith in Christ. He's spending what is going to be the final hour of his life preaching the gospel of salvation to men who don't want to hear it and who won't accept it, but he does it anyway. He's not pleading for his own life; he's pleading for these men's souls. What an awesome example this is to us! We should never stop sharing the gospel, even when it seems like no one is listening and no one cares. Stephen felt that the gospel message was so important that he used the last moments of his time on earth to share it with others. That is how vital the truth of the gospel is. That is how much the world needs to hear it. Let's take the example of Stephen to heart and keep on telling the world about Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment