7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Update: “At this point Luke interrupts his narrative with a brief report of progress. Six such reports appear at intervals throughout Acts and serve to punctuate the history. (C. H. Turner (“Chronology of the New testament,” HDBI, pp. 421-23) points out that Acts is thus cut into six ‘panels’ covering on average five years each.)” (Bruce, 123)
“It has been estimated that there were eight thousand Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and ‘a great company’ of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior!” (Wiersbe, 334)
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
“There are two words for ‘crown’ in the New Testament: diadema, which means ‘a royal crown’ and gives us the English word diadem; and stephanos, the ‘victor’s crown,’ which gives us the popular name Stephen. You can inherit a diadema, but the only way to get a stephanos is to earn it.” (Wiersbe, 344)
“Stephen was ‘full of grace’ (cf. cf. 4:33; Luke 4:22) ‘and power’ (cf. 2:22; 4:33), as well as the Holy Spirit (vv. 3, 5), wisdom (v. 3), and faith (v. 5). His ability to perform miracles seems unrelated to his having been appointed as one of the Seven (v. 5; cf. 21:8). Jesus and the Twelve were not the only ones who had the ability to perform miracles (cf. 2:22, 43; 5:12).” (Constable)
“The [laying on] of the hands is mentioned in a variety of contexts in the Old Testament for the bestowal of a blessing (cf. Gen. 48:13-20), for expressing identification, as when the sacrificer laid his hands on the head of the sacrificial victim (Lev. 1:4; 3:2; 4:4; 16:21, etc.), for commissioning a successor (cf. Num. 27:23), and so forth. According to the Mishnah, members of the Sanhedrin were admitted by the imposition of hands [Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:4)]." (Bruce, 122)
9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Met serious resistance from the synagogues
The Freedman: “Many families, that had experienced liberation from some kind of slavery or servitude, evidently populated the "Synagogue of the Freedmen.” (Constable)
“of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia”
These groups were no match for Stephen’s wisdom that flowed from the Spirit.
11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
"When the Emperor Valens threatened Eusebuis with confiscation of all his goods, torture, banishment, or even death, the courageous Christian replied, “He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose; nor banishment, to whom heaven is his country; nor torments, when his body can be destroyed at one blow; nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.” (Eusebuis)
Today, the world has a gospel …
15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
“It was not even necessary for Stephen to speak in order to give witness, for the very glow on his face told everybody that he was a servant of God. Certainly the members of the Sanhedrin would recall Moses’ shining face (Ex. 34:29–30). It was as though God was saying, ‘This man is not against Moses! He is like Moses—he is My faithful servant!’” (Wiersbe, 344)
“‘On the surface it appears to be a rather tedious recital of Jewish history [cf. 13:16-33] which has little relevance to the charges on which Stephen has been brought to trial; on closer study, however, it reveals itself as a subtle and skilful [sic] proclamation of the Gospel which, in its criticism of Jewish institutions, marks the beginning of the break between Judaism and Christianity, and points forward to the more trenchant [or sharp] exposition of the difference between the old faith and the new … .’” (Neil, 107-08 as quoted in Constable)
“In this discourse three ideas run like cords through its fabric:
“This is the longest address in the book of Acts and one of the most important. In it, Stephen reviewed the history of Israel and the contributions made by their revered leaders: … But this address was more than a recitation of familiar facts; it was also a refutation of their indictments against Stephen and a revelation of their own national sins (emphasis added).
“The Holy Spirit did not …instruct Stephen … to enter upon a defense against the charges brought against him,” [but] Stephen instead uses his defense time to ‘expound the faith for which he stood condemned.’" (Packer, 56)
(this section’s notes are from Wiersbe, 344 unless otherwise noted)
7: 1-8
"… They misunderstood their own spiritual roots (vv.1-8).
… Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew nation, and his relationship to God was one of grace and faith. God had graciously appeared to him and called him out of heathen darkness into the light of salvation, and Abraham had responded by faith. Abraham was saved by grace, through faith, and not because he was circumcised, kept a law, or worshipped in a temple. All of those things came afterward (see Rom. 4; Gal. 3). He believed the promises of God and it was this faith that saved him.
… The Jews greatly revered Abraham and prided themselves in being his ‘children.’ But they confused physical descent with spiritual experience and depended on their national heritage rather than their personal faith. John the Baptist had warned them about this sin (Matt. 3:7–12) and so had Jesus (John 8:33–59).
7:9-36
… They rejected their God-sent deliverers (vv. 9-36).
… Joseph and Moses … were both rejected as deliverers the first time, but were accepted the second time. Joseph’s brethren hated their brother and sold him into servitude, yet later he became their deliverer. They recognized Joseph “at the second time” (Acts 7:13) when they returned to Egypt for more food. Israel rejected Moses when he first tried to deliver them from Egyptian bondage, and he had to flee for his life (Ex. 2:11–22). But when Moses came to them the second time, the nation accepted him and he set them free (Acts 7:35). These two events illustrate how Israel treated Jesus Christ. Israel rejected their Messiah when He came to them the first time (John 1:11), but when He comes again, they will recognize Him and receive Him (Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7).
7: 37-43
… They disobeyed their law (vv. 37-43).
Stephen’s opponents had accused him of speaking against the sacred law of Moses, but the history of Israel revealed that the nation had repeatedly broken that law.
7:44-50
… They despised their temple (vv. 44-50).
The witnesses accused Stephen of seeking to destroy the temple, but that was exactly what the Jewish nation did! Moses built the tabernacle and God’s glory graciously dwelt in the Holy of Holies (Ex. 40:34–38). Solomon built the temple, and once again God’s glory came in (1 Kings 8:10–11). But over the years, the worship at the temple degenerated into mere religious formality, and eventually there were idols placed in the temple (2 Kings 21:1–9; Ezek. 8:7–12). Jeremiah warned people against their superstitious faith in the temple and told them that they had turned God’s house into a den of thieves (Jer. 7:1–16)."
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
"… They stubbornly resisted their God and His truth (vv. 51–53)” (emphasis omitted).
Their repudiation of Jesus kept in step with their record of rejection. The types in Stephen’s speech were all chosen by God. “In one way or another they symbolized or ‘prefigured’ the Messiah.” (Packer, 56, 57)
“52. Which of," &c.–Deadly hostility to the messengers of God, whose high office it was to tell of “the Righteous One,” that well-known prophetic title of Messiah (Isa 53:11; Jer 23:6, &c.), and this consummated by the betrayal and murder of Messiah Himself, on the part of those now sitting in judgment on the speaker, are the still darker features of the national character depicted in these withering words.” (emphasis omitted) (Brown, 23)
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.”
54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
“The execution is hardly a decision of the court. It is rather mob violence.” (Packer, 60)
“The disciple imitated his master to the end.” (Packer, 61)
“Stephen’s speech marks the end of this period of co-existence. Henceforth it was ’ a time of violent persecution for the church in Jerusalem’ … .” (Packer, 57)
“Verses 54-56 give us a rare vision of both hell and heaven at the same time. Hell burst open in the reaction of the members of the Sanhedrin and heaven opened before Stephen’s eyes. This dear servant of God saw Jesus rise from His throne and stand up to welcome and embrace him. It appears that several of God’s saints are allowed such a vision at the point of death. Death is the ugliest and fiercest foe we face in this life. God hates it even more than we do, but Stephen’s vision at the moment of his home going is meant for our comfort. God wants us to look forward to the moment when we will walk through the veil into the reality of His glory.” (Schultz)
“You who can transfer to canvas such scenes as these, in which the rage of hell grins horribly from men, as they sit condemned by a frail prisoner of their own, and see heaven beaming from his countenance and opening full upon his view–I envy you, for I find no words to paint what, in the majesty of the divine text, is here so simply told.” (Brown, 23)
“In the second place, Jesus Christ will not be wanted to his servants under those sufferings which they endure for his sake. He is too much pleased with their zeal in offering themselves as a sacrifice to his glory, to leave them unpitied and unfriended in distress. Does any man afflict a poor helpless saint, who passes for a mere cipher in the world’s arithmetic? He says, “Thou hast touched the apple of mine eye. I feel the pain, and will avenge the injury.” Are his disciples reproached, tortured, and put to death, by the wanton cruelty of the wicked? A voice cries to them from heaven. “Why persecute you me?” Our exalted Redeemer has a fellow-feeling with his people; and his hand is always ready to obey the suggestion of his sympathizing heart. Invisible to mortal eyes, he stands in the heavenly sanctuary, praying for grace to help them in time of need. Hence human nature has often been so powerfully supported as to astonish the spectators. It has not startled at the sight of death in its most horrible forms; it has shed no tears, and uttered no groans, when it was slowly consumed by fire, and torn in pieces by instruments of iron. Delicate women and children have tired their persecutors by their patience under tortures; and it was only when nature could hold out no longer against the approaches of death, that they yielded with a smile. “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (Dick, 98)
“This was a strange way for a court to break up; the whole body of seventy grave rabbis, whose official duty it was to watch for the faithful and regular proceedings of law, leaving their seats, and rushing with the wild mob, amid hideous outcries and tumultuous rage, to the sudden execution of a prisoner absolutely untried and uncondemned. But the maddest pranks ever played upon this mad earth are witnessed when wicked men set themselves in uncompromising opposition to God and his holy truth. So uniformly has this been true in history, that, at the present day, when such opposition is to be sustained, whether on great or insignificant occasion, no well-informed man expects aught else than disregard of all the rules of justice and propriety. If the infuriated scenes which have been enacted under such circumstances, in the history of Christianity, could be dramatically represented, the performance might be appropriately styled, The Madman’s Drama.” (McGarvey, 95)
“Why ‘standing,’ and not sitting, the posture in which the glorified Saviour is elsewhere represented? Clearly, to express the eager interest with which He watched from the skies the scene in that council chamber, and the full tide of His Spirit which He was at that moment engaged in pouring into the heart of His heroical witness, till it beamed in radiance from his very countenance.” (Brown, 23)
“Their treatment of Stephen parallels the way the Jewish leaders treated Jesus. First, they hired false witnesses to testify against him. Then, they stirred up the people who accused him of attacking the law of Moses and the temple. Finally, after listening to his witness, they executed him (see Matt. 26:59–62; John 2:19–22).” (Wiersbe, 344)
“The church faced the opposition of Jewish tradition for many years to come, from within its own ranks (Acts 15) and from false teachers coming in from the outside (Gal. 2:4).” (Wiersbe, 344)
“A heckler once shouted to a street preacher, “Why didn’t God do something for Stephen when they were stoning him?” The preacher replied, “God did do something for Stephen. He gave him the grace to forgive his murderers and to pray for them!” A perfect answer!” (Wiersbe, 346)
“For the church in Jerusalem, the death of Stephen meant liberation. They had been witnessing ‘to the Jew first’ ever since Pentecost, but now they would be directed to take the message out of Jerusalem to the Samaritans (Acts 8) and even to the Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26). The opposition of the enemy helped prevent the church from becoming a Jewish ‘sect’ and encouraged them to fulfill the commission of Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18–20.” (Wiersbe, 346)
“God does not call all of us to be martyrs, but He does call us to be ‘living sacrifices’ (Rom. 12:1–2). In some respects, it may be harder to live for Christ than to die for Him, but if we are living for Him, we will be prepared to die for Him if that is what God calls us to do.” (Wiersbe, 346-47)
In 1948, Auca martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, ‘I seek not a long life, but a full one, like You, Lord Jesus.’ Two years later, he wrote: ‘I must not think it strange if God takes in youth those whom I would have kept on earth till they were older. God is peopling Eternity, and I must not restrict Him to old men and women.’
Like Stephen, Jim Elliot and his four comrades were called on January 8, 1956, to ‘people Eternity’ as they were slain by the people they were seeking to reach. What has happened to the Aucas since then is proof that the blood of the martyrs is indeed the seed of the church. Many Aucas are now Christians.
‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life’ (Rev. 2:10).” (Wiersbe, 347)
SAUL
“Finally, as far as Saul (Acts 7:58) was concerned, the death of Stephen eventually meant salvation. He never forgot the event (Acts 22:17–21), and no doubt Stephen’s message, prayers, and glorious death were used of the Spirit to prepare Saul for his own meeting with the Lord (Acts 9). God never wastes the blood of His saints. Saul would one day see the same glory that Stephen saw and would behold the Son of God and hear Him speak!” (Wiersbe, 346)
“The very climax and apex of the Christian imitation of Christ may be that we shall bear the image of His death, and be like Him then.
Is it not a strange thing that generations of martyrs have gone to the stake with their hearts calm and their spirits made constant by the remembrance of that Calvary where Jesus died with more of trembling reluctance, shrinking, and apparent bewildered unmanning than many of the weakest of His followers? Is it not a strange thing that the death which has thus been the source of composure, and strength, and heroism to thousands, and has lost none of its power of being so to-day, was the death of a Man who shrank from the bitter cup, and that cried in that mysterious darkness, ‘My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ Dear brethren, unless with one explanation of the reason for His shrinking and agony, Christ’s death is less heroic than that of some other martyrs, who yet drew all their courage from Him.
How come there to be in Him, at one moment, calmness unmoved, and heroic self-oblivion, and at the next, agony, and all but despair? I know only one explanation, ‘The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ And when He died, shrinking and trembling, and feeling bewildered and forsaken, it was your sins and mine that weighed Him down. The servant whose death was conformed to his Master’s had none of these experiences because he was only a martyr.
The Lord had them, because He was the Sacrifice for the whole world.” (MacLaren, 43)
"One winter when the Roman emperor Licinius was persecuting the Christians, his Thundering Legion was stationed at Sebaste. Because 40 men in that company had declared themselves believers, they were sentenced to spend the night naked on a frozen pool. A large fire was kindled in a house nearby, and food and a warm bath were prepared for any who would renounce their faith.
As daylight faded, 40 warriors continued to resist in spite of the bitter cold’some walking quickly to and fro, some already sleeping that sleep which ends in death, and some standing lost in prayer. These words arose to Heaven, “O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee. Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!”
Finally, one of them could endure the suffering no longer. He left the others and went into the house where Sempronius and his men were on guard. But still the petition went up from those able to speak, “O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee. Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!” Their prayer was answered. Sempronius the centurion was touched by his comrades? bravery, and the Holy Spirit moved upon his heart. Declaring himself a Christian, he went to the frozen pond and took the place of the one defector. When the long night was over, 40 glorious spirits, Sempronius among them, had entered into the presence of Christ.
If severe testing or persecution arises, will you, will I, be faithful to Christ? By His grace may we be able to say, 'let God be glorified, “whether it be by life or by death"? (Phil. 1:20). - H.G.B.” (Defector Replaced)
Allen, Ronald J. Acts of the Apostles, Fortress Press, 2013.
Brown, David. “The Acts of the Apostles.” Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, 1871.
Bruce, F. F. The Book of Acts: The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Gordon D. Fee, William B. Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 1988.
Calvin, John. Commentary of Acts, trans., Christopher Fetherstone (1585), ed., Henry Beveridge, Vol. First, Baker Book House, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom36/calcom36/Page_Index.html.
Constable, Thomas. "Notes on Acts.” 2021 ed., https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/acts/acts.htm.
“Defector Replaced.” Our Daily Bread, Nov. 14, Bible.org, https://bible.org/illustration/defector-replaced.
Dick, John. Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, Second ed., Robert Carter and Brothers, 1857.
“Eusebuis” Source Unknown. Bible.org, https://bible.org/illustration/eusebuis.
Hart, David Bentley. The New Testament: A Translation, Yale University Press, 2017.
MacLaren, Alexander. “Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts.” 1826-1910, https://www.bestbiblecommentaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Acts-.-Alexander-MacLaren.pdf.
McGarvey, J.W. A Commentary on Acts of the Apostles, 7th ed., Transylvania Printing and Publishing Co. 1872.
Packer, J. W. Acts of the Apostles, University Press, 1966.
Schultz, John, “Commentary to the Book of Acts,” Bible-Commentaries.com, 2002, https://www.bible-commentaries.com/source/johnschultz/BC_Acts.pdf.
Utley, Bob. “Luke the Historian: Acts.” Bible Lessons International, 2012, http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/new_testament_studies/VOL03B/VOL03B_03.html.
Utley, Bob Utley, “Luke the Historian: Acts.” Bible Lessons International, 2012, https://bible.org/seriespage/acts-4.
Wiersbe, Warren. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: NT, David C. Cook, 2007.
Yarbrough, Mark and Darrell Bock, “Unit 2. Acts: The Ongoing Witness of Jesus Christ (Ch. 1-16);” “Video 5. Acts 5-7: The Witness Prospers and Persists,” transcript (Dallas Theological Seminary, 2021), https://media.dts.edu/player/?course=BE106v2&unit=2&video=5&language=en-US (log in required).
NOTE: All resources may not have been used in this particular document.