Christine: [upbeat music] They accused him of blaspheming God's chosen leader and the temple. And Stephen is very cleverly going to talk about God's dealings with his own people, sans Moses and sans temple.
David: Right.
Christine: Welcome to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel is a ministry that's dedicated to speaking the gospel out of every corner of scripture. In Luke 24, Jesus told his disciples that every part of the Bible is about him. In each episode, hosts David and Seth work through a passage of scripture to see how it's all about Jesus and his good news. Let's jump in. [upbeat music]
David: Well, welcome, everybody, to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We are continuing our time in the Book of Acts. This has been a really sweet time, and we're kind of lingering, and I like it, and we're having fun. And so with me, again, I have Christine, and Josh, who was with us at the beginning of these conversations, is out sick, and Seth is still-- We're having trouble syncing up with him right now in, in some new capacities we'll tell you about. But for now, I'm very excited that me and Christine have gotten to study Acts together and are getting to share with you what... I guess I, I might be going out on a limb here, but I don't think so, which is probably your favorite story in Acts or your favorite person that Acts talks about, uh, other than [chuckles] Jesus, obviously. But when you think about Stephen, Christine, I know we've had conversations, but why is Stephen so special to you?
Christine: He's been a hero of mine for as long as I can remember. The way his life maps so much onto Jesus is just truly beautiful, and he is the first person to give his life for Jesus, and in a very visceral way, and the martyrs have just always been very special to me. And so Stephen being the protomartyr, the first one to lay his life down for Jesus, like Jesus, is just a person I want to be like and think about, and I can never exhaust a conversation about Stephen.
David: Yeah.
Christine: He's very cool.
David: Well, we won't even be able to today, but we'll, we'll do our best to, to present him to you as, as we've been learning about his ministry and his sermon, and the charges brought against him, and the way he died like Jesus. It's gonna be, I think, a beautiful episode, but with some hard stuff in it. We're dealing with martyrdom here, which is heavy, and persecution, which is real and difficult, but beautiful. And so I think we just need to get into this episode here with some context because we've been talking, uh, in several of our episodes about the kind of table of contents that Acts is set up with, which is Acts 1:8, which, uh, says that Jesus is going to make his apostles, his witnesses, which is the word martyrion-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... which is the word where we get the word martyr. Stephen is witnessing to Christ, and he's going to make them his witnesses, his martyrons, to Jerusalem, and then to Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. And we've talked about how this follows this idea of a mountain garden temple where the rivers of living water flow off the mountain and water the mountainside, and then flow out for the healing and the blessing of the nations. And so that's the picture that we see as Acts begins. We see the Holy Spirit coming down on the people of God and, and going out to bless the world, and that happens in Jerusalem, which is this new center for the activity of God, but it doesn't stay there. It goes out. And we saw in the last couple of episodes how Samaria fit into that story. Syncretistic, divisive, divided Samaria is brought in to the family of God under the new Davidic king. And then we saw in, in the last episode how that rule and reign in the people of Jesus is going out, like Solomon's wisdom, to even the South, even to the remote parts of Ethiopia. And so that, that's kind of the structure that we're following, but there's a theme underneath that. There's lots of themes [chuckles] underneath this that Luke pulls out. One of the many that we'll focus on today, at least in part, is the theme of a temple. And when we say temple, we don't just mean the Jerusalem Temple. We mean the whole concept of temples as the abode of God, the place where God dwells. And as I've mentioned already, this is where Eden began. It was a place where God would dwell with man in a garden temple. And ever since we left that temple with God, he has been finding beautiful ways to dwell with us again, whether that's the tabernacle of Exodus, whether it's the ta-- the, the temple that Solomon built. One of his goals is to create us and this world into a space that he can dwell in with us again. And so Luke ends his gospel, his first volume that he wrote to, "O faithful, good Theophilus," he, he writes to him and ends with a story of the road to Emmaus. And Emmaus was this city that had a crucial battle fought in it that you can read about in 1 Maccabees, well before Jesus entered the scene. And it's the events after that battle that led to the rededication of the temple, which is celebrated in Hanukkah or the Feast of Dedication that you can read about in John 10. And so you have this kind of idea of the temple ending volume 1 of Luke, and then it opens Acts with, as we talked about in our Pentecost episode, the Holy Spirit coming and, and indwelling not just a place but a people, and consecrating them as a new temple of God. And so the, the glory cloud that would fill the tabernacle in Moses' day, that filled, uh, Solomon's temple, now fills the people of God as the temple of God.... that they are now able to go out and do the works of God that Jesus began to do in Luke Part One, they're going to continue to do in Luke Part Two, called Acts. And so you get this theme of this new temple that starts in Pentecost, of the people filled and consecrated by God going in Jerusalem out with the message of the new king, and they immediately run into some opposition in the temple. And so Peter is, is preaching the Messiah in, in the, in the temple area, and he comes across a cripple man.
Christine: Yeah.
David: Yeah, and he, he heals him and brings him healing and salvation, which are things that the temple was supposed to do, but now they're happening outside the temple proper, and, and there's this kind of clash, in a sense, between where is the locus and power of God functioning? Is it inside the Holy of Holies, or is it inside his holy people? And there's this strange tension there. Is there anything you're seeing there, Christine?
Christine: Well, yeah, it, it sounds... I mean, you said a lot, [chuckles] so I'm trying to remember everything. But you mentioned how Luke's gospel ends, and just, I went there while you were talking, and it does talk about the temple, like, rededicated, which is right after the road to Emmaus walk, and we see God coming on the road again, which we kind of saw a little bit post-Pentecost in Philip. But the disciples, after the Ascension, the last two verses are, "Then they worshiped him," they, the disciples, him, Jesus, "and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God."
David: Yep.
Christine: So it sounds like, yeah, this temple rededication worked. But what I also heard you say was the temple doesn't seem to be performing its right function in, at the start of Acts, because with the Holy Spirit being poured out in a temple location, Jerusalem, it's not the structure that he fills-
David: Mm
Christine: ... but people, which you talked about, like, that's sort of the Edenic idea, that God and his people share the same space-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... and then do life like that. And so that is- that seems to be no longer tied to a locus, but to people. And so the gospel is proclaimed, and the kingdom is taken by these apostles, these spirit-filled mini temples walking around.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: And there seems to be a question you're begging there: Well, where is the temple, or where is God? Where are people encountering God?
David: Right.
Christine: And you seem to suggest that, well, in the story of the cripple, in Acts 3, it's not the temple structure-
David: Right
Christine: ... but in the apostles.
David: Yeah.
Christine: So-
David: I think that is the question I'm begging.
Christine: Okay.
David: Yeah, that's really helpful. Yeah, and so you do get this... I don't wanna over-catastrophize the, the drama here, but you do kind of have this bit of a, a showdown. And it's not like an us versus them thing, 'cause the, like, like you read at the end of Luke, the disciples continue to go to temple. They're not anti-temple, but they are pro what God is doing in the Spirit now. [chuckles]
Christine: Yeah, and they're doing the same miracles that we saw Jesus do-
David: Yes
Christine: ... as Luke recorded in his gospel, because they are healing cripples, and they're astonishing crowds with their teaching. We are used to Jesus doing that.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: And they also p- use scripture to show how these days were foretold long ago.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: So all that seems to jive with what the temple people should be fine with, but there still seems to be something that is, yeah, that's creating opposition, which again, is-
David: Yes
Christine: ... similar to Jesus's ministry.
David: Yes.
Christine: So-
David: Yeah, Jesus wasn't anti-temple, but he turned over the tables.
Christine: He did, and he also said, "Not a stone will remain on it."
David: Right.
Christine: So.
David: Yeah.
Christine: Yeah.
David: Which is why I'm, I'm like, the, the wrong dichotomy is temple bad, people good. You know, it, it's not exactly the, the idea. It's that the temple wasn't the telos. Like, a, a localized brick-and-mortar temple in one place was not the Edenic picture.
Christine: No.
David: It was, "Go and be fruitful and multiply. Spread it out."
Christine: Expand the temple.
David: Expand the temple, and so that's why the first one was mobile Eden. It was a mobile tabernacle, one that had tent pegs you could pick up and put on the backs of human beings and carry. [chuckles]
Christine: I love that meditation.
David: [chuckles] And so, uh, the temple was always meant to be on legs, and walk around. And, uh-
Christine: Yep.
David: Yeah, it's so cool.
Christine: Yep.
David: And so this is what we see as not a replacement of temple, but a fulfillment of its good and holy purpose. So the- again, there is a bit of a showdown here, just to show where is God operating, where has the glory cloud of, of confirmation that I will dwell here, where has it come? It came on the tabernacle. It did come in Eden, too. [chuckles] It came in Eden, it came in the tabernacle, it came in the temple, and now it's come on His people, and now that people is going and bringing healing and salvation to the needy in the temple courts.
Christine: Yeah, and just to s- like, kind of nuance what you were saying, when you say, "God's glory- glorious presence filled the temple," it wasn't the temple that's standing in Jerusalem at this time.
David: Absolutely not.
Christine: It was the temple that Solomon had built.
David: Yes.
Christine: And so-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... that temple was destroyed after God's presence left it-
David: Mm-hmm
Christine: ... and-
David: After the chariot rode out.
Christine: After the chariot rode to Babylon.
David: [chuckles] See last episode.
Christine: Yes, or Ezekiel episodes. So there is a very noticeable difference that wasn't lost on the religious elite at the time.
David: No.
Christine: They were-
David: Yeah, they-
Christine: And a lot of Jews, like, rejected the temple that Herod built for those very reasons.
David: That's right.
Christine: Because we know who's supposed to build the temple, it's the Messiah.
David: Mm-hmm. Kings build temples.
Christine: Kings build temples, and God fills them.
David: Mm.
Christine: And it- Herod is not a messiah, he's not from David's line, and he built a temple, but God did not fill it.
David: That's right.
Christine: Therefore, lots of Jews rejected it. But we learned in, in Acts 1 and 2 that a Messiah has arisen, has ascended His throne, has dedicated a temple, and God has filled a temple.... And so that is the story that we find ourselves in here.
David: Yes.
Christine: And that temple is fully fulfilling the intent of God dwelling with man.
David: Yeah.
Christine: There is life spreading to places of death. There are crippled feet that are walking now, which is what Jesus announced at the start of his ministry in Luke.
David: Yep.
Christine: That healing is coming, 'cause the kingdom is here. So again, Jesus continues that ministry here, but there's still that temple standing that people are going to.
David: Yeah.
Christine: And kind of like you said, it's not a us versus them, but there-
David: They sort of don't go there anymore.
Christine: Yeah, it's- it does raise a question that, okay, this seems outdated.
David: Yeah.
Christine: And-
David: But it is, like, God, as He did in Ezekiel, has moved out, and maybe it nev- like you said, never went back into this temple, and now He's in His people. And if... You know, we know that Jesus taught that this temple would not stand forever-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... and that soon it would be brought down.
Christine: Yeah.
David: And so, and that's okay, 'cause look, the glory is here. His presence is here, and that's okay. And so, um-
Christine: Why do we need the temple? To be with God.
David: To be with God.
Christine: And-
David: Well, God is with us, Immanuel.
Christine: And if God is with us, then okay, we, the, we are not dependent on the temple to experience God with us anymore.
David: Yes.
Christine: And so, 'cause the temple of God is humans-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... it's the church.
David: So good. And so just one last little polemic note of, [chuckles] of what's happening here, and then we'll jump to the tension that's being brought up. I just think it's a cool detail that in Acts 3:11, after the healing happens, all the people run together to them in the portico called Solomon's Portico.
Christine: Oh, did you say Solomon?
David: "Oh, did you say Solomon?" And they were utterly astonished. Why? 'Cause there's this new king with his new people doing new healing work, and it's happening in the place named after the last temple builder that God- God's presence actually filled the temple with. And so it's just really cool to be like, "This is intentional. All of this is actually meant to be talking to each other." Anyway, so as we get to this showdown that Luke is kind of painting for us, and it- and all of this is relevant to the Stephen conversation, because some of the false accusations they're gonna bring against Stephen was that he's rejecting this holy place of worship, and he's rejecting the traditions of Moses, and, and all of this. And so there's this tension that's, that's happening between the disciples of Jesus and the temple authorities, and we see that kind of come to a head in Acts 5. So do you wanna walk us through that, Christine?
Christine: Yes, sure. And Acts 5 is a continuation of the opposition that Peter and John and the others face in earlier chapters, like in 3 and 4, where Peter and his friends are po- prosecuted by the religious elite for healing somebody, which that reminds us of Jesus's healings-
David: Mm
Christine: ... and how He was prosecuted for that, which makes you think, "Why are you so opposed to life and healing?" But- [chuckles]
David: [chuckles] Yeah, seriously. What are you mad about?
Christine: What ulterior motives do you have? What could be better than the temple bestowing life? But apparently something else. And so we see opposition in Acts 3 and 4, where the Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin, which is the council in Jerusalem. But then you mention Acts 5, we see the apostles continue their ministry despite outward persecution and inward purification. Just read the, read the story. It's amazing.
David: [inhales] Yeah, it is just... I can't help myself.
Christine: Okay.
David: But it is interesting, the, uh, i- a- as we're following the temple themes, that you do have Ananias and Sapphira, who, if you're familiar with the story, they die in front of Peter for handling an offering to the Holy Spirit and to the Church wrongly.
Christine: Dishonestly.
David: Dishonestly. And this is a repeat of the story of Nadab and Abihu from Leviticus, the sons of Aaron, who offer, quote-unquote, "strange fire," an, an offering unwisely, and recklessly, and foolishly. [chuckles]
Christine: And that is right after that temple is dedicated.
David: Is dedicated.
Christine: There is fire that comes out from God, and the place is consecrated, and yay, the priests can do their duties now. And then right after that, we see this incident with Nadab and Abihu, which maps onto Ananias and Sapphira.
David: Yeah, 'cause Nadab and Abihu, they drop dead-
Christine: Mm-hmm
David: ... because of their foolish offering.
Christine: Their mishandling of-
David: The mishandling of the offering.
Christine: Yeah, of holy things.
David: Yeah.
Christine: And so-
David: And now it's happening again. So again, the temple themes are here.
Christine: Yes, yes. Everyone would've instantly remembered, "Oh," so by that logic, with two people dying right after a dedication like this, okay, the people- this is the same presence of God that we've seen in the Old Testament.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: We just have the new name for it, [chuckles] which is Jesus's followers.
David: Yeah.
Christine: And so this is the new temple, and it's purifying from the inside, and-
David: Yep
Christine: ... oppressed by the outside.
David: Yeah.
Christine: But-
David: So anyway, it's furthering our point as we get-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... further into Acts 5, of this is ruffling feathers with the temple establishment.
Christine: It definitely is, enough for them to arrest them again, and this time just out of jealousy. So I'm in Acts 5:17, and it says: "The high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in public jail." And this is why I love Acts. [chuckles] "But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 'Go stand in the temple courts,' he said, 'and tell the people the full message of this new life.'" So there's opposition.
David: There's opposition, and-
Christine: Sadducees are putting apostles in prison, and angels are taking them out. [chuckles]
David: Who are they opposing?
Christine: So what's going on here? And they're freed by an angel, but then they're recaptured by the guards, because the, the, the high priests want to question them and bring them to the Sanhedrin. But when they go and inquire of the officers, they do not find them there, and then later someone says, "Oh, those men that you put in jail are now standing in the temple courts, teaching the people."... and so they go and they get them, but now they're a little bit afraid. But they s- nevertheless bring their accusation to them, which this is Acts 5:28. "We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name," they said, "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." This man being Jesus. And Peter and the others reply, "We must obey God rather than men." And he gives another, like, mini sermon about why they are doing this, is because they are commissioned witnesses.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: They can't help but do as they were told by the new and ascended Lord. And this, again, divides them, and they want to put them to death, but then a Pharisee named Gamaliel speaks up-
David: Mm
Christine: ... and reasons with them. Because we have here the Sanhedrin that's jealous of the work that they're doing, and they seem to see the temple as under threat, or their purpose for the temple is under threat. Even though the apostles just went back out into the temple and were preaching to the people the good news-
David: Mm-hmm
Christine: ... it seems like God's presence is coming to people. But the apostles say, "We must obey God rather than men." And Gamaliel tells them to test that theory. It's like-
David: Mm, tells the other leaders to test that theory.
Christine: Y- yes, he's very, very wise. Gamaliel's well-renowned for being an incredible teacher and scholar, and well-versed in the law, so even his proposal is rabbinically genius. I don't know if [chuckles] that's a way to talk about it, but he brings up examples from the past, and tells them, like, "Look, guys, a while ago there were these two rebellious groups with a leader, and once those leaders died, their followers dispersed."
David: And you're talking about Theudas?
Christine: Theudas and Judas.
David: And Judas.
Christine: Yes.
David: And these were what? Were these, like, would-be Messiahs?
Christine: Yes. These were people who were rebelling against Rome, and-
David: Gained followings
Christine: ... trying to gain following and take, take the kingdom by force.
David: Yep.
Christine: And so-
David: And ultimately they died, and so did their rebellion, so did their followers.
Christine: Yes.
David: So now you have this other upstart Messiah figure, who has- who's died and has followers-
Christine: Mm
David: ... and if they keep on living and thriving, there's something different about this Messiah. But if it dies out like the rest, well, then, there you go.
Christine: Yes.
David: And it's rabbinic teaching, because he's brought the testimony of two witnesses. [chuckles]
Christine: That's very right.
David: Is that, is that... Okay, yeah.
Christine: Yes, yes. So-
David: I thought I picked up on what you were doing there. [chuckles]
Christine: Yes. Well, it's, it's also just at, like, allowing time to prove God right.
David: Mm, that's cool.
Christine: And-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... because God works in His own time, and people can have flashy ministries [chuckles]-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... but if it disperses after they are gone, then there's a chance that maybe God was not behind that.
David: Mm.
Christine: And so he wisely counsels them to leave these men alone, and if their purpose or activity is of human origin, this is Verse 38, "it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You will only find yourselves fighting against God." So without advocating openly for the apostles, which I think he might be shrewdly doing, we know later Gamaliel probably came to the faith, but-
David: Does that- does church history hold that?
Christine: Yes.
David: That's so cool.
Christine: Yes, and... Well, I'd be getting ahead of myself with Stephen.
David: [laughs]
Christine: But,
Christine: but he's present there, and his counsel is taken, and he's, in a way, helping the apostles get out of, you know, [chuckles] get out of jail-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... here. Not without flogging, but he persuades the council not to kill them, in a way that doesn't show his cards. But which is another rabbinical thing, like-
David: Oh, yeah
Christine: ... "Well, what do you think?" And says, like, "Hey, if these are followers of another false Messiah, you know that you have nothing to fear. But if they are actually from God, then you will find yourselves fighting against God."
David: Mm-hmm. Okay, so what is going on then with the, I don't know, the rivalry here? What are they worried about with the disciples' teaching? Is it that they are trying to guard against heresy? Is it that they are worried ab- Is it purely political and economical, and they're like, "Oh, we're gonna lose our positions of influence"? Are they guarding something theologically? Because all of that grounding is gonna give them ear for the rumors and accusations brought up by kind of distant nobodies that we're gonna meet, that bring charges against Stephen. And so they wouldn't have even heard that case had there not already been a chip on their shoulder for this. So why are they so jealous and against this?
Christine: My answer was gonna be they're jealous. [chuckles] So-
David: Well, I mean, that's what the text says
Christine: ... why are they jealous?
David: Yeah, why are they jealous?
Christine: It could be their social influence, because... And why were they jealous? I, I can't quite put a finger on-
David: Sure
Christine: ... why were people jealous of Jesus' healing.
David: Yeah.
Christine: It did mean they were probably loosening their grip on people, and their influence in terms of the religious centrality of the temple, and they might have had... What was on the line for them in the preaching of this new way, I think is what you're asking.
David: Yeah-
Christine: And-
David: ... which I guess even looking back at the short sermon that's in chapter 5, their concern is, "You're determined to bring this man's blood on our head."
Christine: Yes.
David: "You're trying to make us guilty of killing him," and Peter doubles down in verse 30 of chapter 5, "The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree, but God exalted him at his right hand as Leader, Lord, and Savior, that he might give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins."
Christine: Yes.
David: "And he's made us witnesses of these things." And so it's like, "You guys are murderers of the Most High God, come in the flesh, his- in his Son. But hey, you can repent, and [chuckles]..."
Christine: And you're calling him all of these-
David: Right, so there is that, like-
Christine: ... these God names, that-
David: ... blasphemy stuff that they were bothered with Jesus saying as well.
Christine: Yes, and things that would've been treason against Rome as well. 'Cause Rome-
David: Lord
Christine: ... but Caesar is, yeah, both Lord and Soter.
David: Yep.
Christine: Like, the blasphemous names that you can talk about in other [chuckles] -
David: Sure
Christine: ... places, but-
David: ... So, okay, so at least four reasons.
Christine: Yes, they-
David: So just, I just want to round it out to where it's like, they're about to kill someone, so why?
Christine: Yeah.
David: It's like there's, there's theological issues at play here. They, they think they're committing blasphemy by calling a- giving a human God Yahweh names. There is the idea of they're bringing blood on them, and they want to silence these accusations against them.
Christine: Which is interesting that they want to silence accusations that are actually kind of true.
David: Yes.
Christine: But they will entertain false accusations later.
David: Oh, that is ironic. Yes.
Christine: So-
David: They want to hold their position in the temple and in authority, which is a very human thing to do. We can relate to that, and they're worried about what this is going to do to bring Rome down on them if somebody is, is claiming that there is another Kurios and Soter, another Lord and Savior, and it's Jesus the Messiah, not Caesar. And so there's, there's at least four reasons that-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... give us enough to be like, "Okay."
Christine: Yeah.
David: So now, when this small group of freeman synagogue-goers-
Christine: Oh, we jumped ahead. [chuckles]
David: I know.
Christine: Well, let-
David: Hey, we gotta move on. [chuckles] We gotta get, we gotta get to Stephen. [chuckles]
Christine: We do, but this thing surrounding- Well, do you want to talk about the context of what's going on in the church in the meantime?
David: Yes, we, we, we can.
Christine: Okay.
David: I, I was just trying to draw... I'm drawing the, the, the connection here to you're gonna get this small group of the freeman synagogues, which are these Greek Hellenized people, who are most likely freed slaves, were a part of some kind of lower echelon economic synagogue, and they are having arguments with Stephen, who we'll meet here in a second. And, and they can't hang with his wisdom, and so they end up bringing charges against Stephen to this group of people who are already angry with him, and they entertain these false, wild accusations and end up leading to Stephen's execution. So, but I just wanted to link those things before we moved on.
Christine: Okay.
David: But yes, so that's the situation. Who is Stephen? Introduce us to Stephen, Christine.
Christine: Oh, he's great.
David: Your dear friend.
Christine: [chuckles] Long time. Well, the context, we've finally got to the end of chapter five, and we meet Stephen in chapter six. And so we see the apostles persecuted, even shedding their own blood, and for some reason, in an honor-shame culture, they find this humiliation really glorifying, and we can talk about that- [chuckles]
David: Mm-hmm
Christine: ... another time maybe. But, but the apostles continue their ministry, and their ministry grows, and there are
Christine: a lot of people now whom they are teaching, and these people are Greek Jews, they are Hebrew Jews, and we're still in Jerusalem. So what happens with this growing number of followers is that you kind of need administration at, after a certain point-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... just because there's so many people to care for. 'Cause we didn't read these parts, but we know in, like, Acts 4 and stuff that the believers are sharing everything, not the least of which is the teaching of the disciples, and so, but also belongings and food and things like that. And so what is happening now is that the Hebrew Jewish widows, and when I say Hebrew, I mean locals in Jerusalem, Jews who are attending synagogue and stuff, they are well cared for because they're surrounded by their neighbors and friends. But many, like, Greek-speaking and non-Jerusalem Jews are also there now, learning from the apostles and following their ways, but their widows are getting overlooked right now. And so the Greek Jews are- make a complaint, which kind of reminds me of Moses in Exodus- [chuckles]
David: Oh, yeah
Christine: ... where there's an administration problem, and Moses gets some help with that. But what we see here is the apostles, the Twelve, as they're called here, say that, "Oh, it's... You're right, this is a real problem, and we need some godly, spirit-filled, wise men to help us with this. 'Cause we can't overlook the widows. They need to be fed and kept, but we also need trustworthy people to do this, and we need people who they will trust." So one thing you'll notice when these seven people are chosen, 'cause yeah, that was a choice of the apostles to say, that this is chapter six, verse three: "Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we will turn this responsibility, caring for the widows, over to them, and we'll give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word." So the- all the people select seven, one of which is Stephen, and it's funny that he's even selected after that to say, "A man full of faith and the Holy Spirit." So he's said to be full of the Spirit twice, full of wisdom, full of faith. Also, Philip, which we have met already.
David: Yep. In our past episode, not in chronological reading of Acts.
Christine: Yes, we're jumping around. [chuckles] We meet Philip later, but we talked about him earlier, and then Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. So these people are commissioned by the apostles. They lay their hands on these men, they pray for them, and so they are ordained to do this ministry, and the Word of God continues to spread, and the number of disciples continues to grow, and even priests are being brought into the faith. So this is all a very successful and beautiful ministry, and we see kind of repetitions from even Jesus's life. Um, I mentioned earlier Moses and Jethro's story. Jethro is Moses' father-in-law and gives him some administrative advice when Moses is getting overwhelmed with trying to adjudicate all sorts of cases of who stole whose cloak and what have you. [chuckles] And he's like, "No, you need to delegate some other leaders to do this." And we see that in Jesus's life as well when he delegates, after the apostles, 70 or 72 people-
David: Mm-hmm
Christine: ... depending on your translation, [chuckles] and this is in Luke 10. So Luke has mentioned a delegation or commissioning before, a group of people who are under the 12 but are still commissioned by Jesus.
David: Mm.
Christine: And so we see here that same pattern with seven men-... commissioned by the apostles, under the apostles, through Jesus. They lay their hands on them, they are sent out, they have the spirit of God in them, and they are commissioned to this. And all these men have Greek names, so these are people who- well, a lot of people had Greek names at the time, but I think Luke is highlighting this to show that people who they know that they can trust to take care of their widows are gonna be taking care of this whole process of this up.
David: Yeah, they didn't just pick a bunch of Hebrews to take care of, and continue taking special care of the Hebrews.
Christine: Yeah.
David: They picked some people who would take care of the marginalized and the- those who are being overlooked in the feeding ministries.
Christine: Yes, or some who would probably know, like, by name-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... and by address where these people lived. So it's not that-
David: Yes
Christine: ... Hebrew Jews didn't care, it's just they just wouldn't know where everyone was.
David: Right.
Christine: And so it's like, "Okay, you know that neighborhood, you know that neighborhood-
David: Right
Christine: ... you know so-and-so needs that kind of help. You guys be in charge of this."
David: And so Stephen is part of this group that-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... gets selected for that, and he goes out full of grace and power, and does great wonders and signs among the people. And this is where he runs into this group from the Synagogue of the Freedmen that we talked about. Again, running into-
Christine: Who are Greek Jews
David: ... some Greek Jews.
Christine: Yes, this- these are Stephen's own people- [chuckles]
David: Yep
Christine: ... in a way.
David: Yeah, totally. He's like- yeah, which is why he was talking to them, [chuckles] like, he's in that neighborhood.
Christine: Yeah.
David: Yeah. And so they- and they cannot s- stand up to his wisdom, they can't withstand his great wisdom, and we don't know exactly what they were talking about. But because of their arguments, maybe their own jealousy, for whatever reason, maybe they have some of the same problems that the chief priests and others had with blasphemy or worrying about Rome or what have you, they bring charges to the temple leaders.
Christine: Or Stephen was just the Bible nerd that [laughing] they couldn't, they couldn't find a loophole in or something. We'll see probably why, in the next chapter, why they probably couldn't stand up against his wisdom, 'cause-
David: 'Cause he's brilliant
Christine: ... 'cause he is a brilliant, um-
David: Bible nerd [laughing]
Christine: ... student of, of the Old Testament, or of the Bible. He likely knew the whole thing backwards and forwards, and so yeah, he just couldn't... He was the apologist no one could stand up to. [chuckles]
David: Yeah.
Christine: And so that was, that was part of the reason why. You could say they might have been envious of him as well, but they could not stand up to his wisdom-
David: Mm
Christine: ... or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
David: And so they bring accusations against him, and in 6:11, "They secretly instigated some men to say, 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.' And they stirred up the people, as well as the elders and the scribes. Then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council," the Sanhedrin. "They set up false witnesses who said, 'This man never stops saying these things against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.' And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel."
Christine: See, what's not to love?
David: What's not to love about Stephen? And so they're, they're bringing up false accusations against Stephen, charges of blasphemy, charges against what he's saying about the temple, charges about how he's treating the Law of Moses and the leadership of Moses.
Christine: Are you talking about Jesus or Stephen?
David: I'm talking... Exactly. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Because this is the same charges basically brought against Jesus, and in the same method, right? You have false accusations brought against Stephen the same way they're brought against Jesus, and so immediately Stephen knows he's in good company. [chuckles] And so why is his face shining like an angel, or why does it seem that way? What's going on there? That's such a strange [laughing] phrase for me.
Christine: [sighs] It's beautiful. I don't know what it's like to be accused falsely and dragged before a big court that has my life in its hands.
David: Hmm.
Christine: But
Christine: I know pretty sure that I don't think my face would be as serene as an angel's. So I think in one sense, this talks about his peace about the whole thing, and another sense, it might be a bit of an irony, because in two ways: one, we know whose face was like an angel's from the Old Testament, and-
David: Moses
Christine: ... it was Moses, and they're-
David: Who he's being said to accuse. [chuckles]
Christine: And they're accusing him of blaspheming Moses. So the fact that he's compared to Moses in the very next sentence is Luke kind of tipping us off. [chuckles]
David: Right. Yeah, it's, it's kind of the- it's the idea of i- just how Luke does this kind of thing, where he's like, "You know, are you opposing God or are we opposing man?" And it's like, well, the angels are letting the guys out of prison, so it's kind of obvious who you're opposing.
Christine: Yeah.
David: And then now-
Christine: If you put someone in prison and an angel frees that person-
David: You should probably leave him alone. [chuckles]
Christine: Probably.
David: Let him- let him, let him be emancipated, it's fine. And so here you have, "You guys are blaspheming Moses," and he's like, "Oh no, I've seen the one Moses saw, and my face shines the way Moses is shown."
Christine: And they would know, and we know, that he will say as much at the end, he meaning Stephen, but the Torah was given to Moses through angels-
David: Right
Christine: ... and on Mount Sinai. And so they're accusing Stephen of blaspheming Moses, but here's is Stephen shining with a shining face like Moses, and he's about to speak the Torah to them.
David: Like an angel.
Christine: Like an angel.
David: Like a messenger.
Christine: Yep.
David: Well, that's really cool. All right.
Christine: I like Stephen. [chuckles]
David: This is awesome. All right, well, let's dive into his sermon, yeah? Is that good?
Christine: Yeah. Well, just to summarize again what you said was on the line, they're accusing- we talked about a lot, a lot about temple, so-
David: Oh, yes, thank you
Christine: ... they're accusing him of discrediting Moses, and, or blaspheming him, saying, like, "You're rejecting God's chosen leader and lawgiver, Moses, and you're rejecting God's chosen dwelling place, the temple." So there are these two accusations that they're saying-... Stephen is guilty of, which they kind of drum that up by the time it gets to the, by the time it gets to the council. Because first they're like, "We heard him say this!" [chuckles] And then-
David: Whisper campaign.
Christine: Yes, and then by the end, they're like, "He never stops talking about this." And it's like, wow, that escalated quickly.
David: Yeah.
Christine: Also, that's all false. But Stephen is gonna take them on, and he's gonna address both of those accusations: the fact that he's rejecting God's chosen lawgiver, and that he is rejecting God's chosen dwelling, the temple.
David: Mm.
Christine: Tho- those are the a- accusations they brought on him, and saying that he is not being faithful to Moses or to God's chosen place, the temple.
David: I see. Which, uh, which has s- some grain of truth in it, like all good lies, because the, the temple leaders are already up in arms with the rivalry they're sensing with Peter and the, the church. They're drawing crowds, they're s- they're having healing and salvation happening outside- inside the temple, but not through its system, and, and the charges get brought up against him then that they are committing blasphemy, when in fact, he's just talking about its fulfillment.
Christine: Yes.
David: And so i- i- it's not that this proves that Stephen and the early Christians were anti-temple or anti-Moses. These are, let's remember, false accusations.
Christine: Yes.
David: But they w- they can be interpreted that way, because God is doing something new and old [chuckles] in Jesus, and in the Spirit, in His church, and He was inviting everyone to come on board.
Christine: Yeah, and Stephen is showing the continuity he has-
David: Yes
Christine: ... with Moses and God's chosen place.
David: Yes. So I think that's gonna be the- a good paradigm for framing what Stephen's sermon is all about, is it's not this temple versus that temple, your reading of the law versus our reading of the law. It is discontinuity versus continuity.
Christine: Yes.
David: It is, "You guys are doing something different." He's like, "No, no, no, no, no. We're doing exactly what's always been happening, and this is the fulfillment, and you are the ones who are being discontinuous."
Christine: Which is gonna upset-
David: They're gonna get a little angry
Christine: ... the Sadducees, 'cause yeah, this is their home court.
David: Yeah, okay.
Christine: And so, and as is Stephen's, 'cause we didn't-
David: Oh!
Christine: ... talk too much about it, but-
David: Yeah.
Christine: Well-
David: Oh, go, yeah.
Christine: Well-
David: I think you're gonna do the thing that I'm so excited to do. [chuckles]
Christine: [chuckles] Well, he's a Bible scholar.
David: Yes.
Christine: He is very well-versed in the rabbinic tradition, not just knowing his Torah, the Pentateuch, but... I'll say Pentateuch, 'cause that's what he knew. [laughing]
David: Yeah.
Christine: Especially, but maybe the Torah, too, Greek and Hebrew. But he also knew the rabbinic traditions surrounding it. So if you read through Stephen's sermon, you'll notice that, okay, he traces the history of Israel, beginning with Abraham, really well, but he also adds details that you just don't find in the Old Testament, and that's because he's pulling from these rabbinic traditions that his listeners in the Sanhedrin would've been very familiar with.
David: Yeah, he- he's a Bible nerd talking to Bible nerds.
Christine: Yes.
David: Yes.
Christine: He's speaking their own language, and being genius about it, because he's also e- or speaking to them in a way that's very native to how they discourse.
David: Mm.
Christine: And he is going to take their shared history-
David: Mm
Christine: ... and tell it in a way that is polemic, but the shoes he puts them in at the end is what enrages them so much.
David: Yeah. Well, I don't know if you were teeing me up to get to share the fun bit of in- of facts here, but one-
Christine: Go for it
David: ... one thing that the, the Church holds, we know that Saul was a student of Gamaliel, and we've met Gamaliel in this passage, and we're soon gonna see Saul as well.
Christine: We are.
David: And he's not gonna be in a great position. But what, what some church tradition holds is that Stephen was also a pupil of Gamaliel.
Christine: And knowing Gamaliel's fame for his f- being such a great rabbi, and seeing how, like, a student Stephen is, those things just work together-
David: Yes
Christine: ... even, like, from a scriptural perspective.
David: Yes.
Christine: So, yeah.
David: And so, and, and so when he says, you know, "Brothers and fathers," at the beginning of his sermon, this isn't just like, "Hey, fellow Jews," this could be like, "Hey, pupils and fellow r- rabbinic students," like-
Christine: It's not, it's not how someone rebelling against Moses in the temple would address-
David: That's right
Christine: ... their accusers.
David: Yeah.
Christine: He is-
David: And so it just-
Christine: He is one of them.
David: Yeah, so it adds so much here, where this is a trained, quote-unquote, "Pharisee, Sadducee, Sanhedrinites, Gamalielites," kind of person talking to those people. And that when, at the end of his talk, we see Saul holding the coats of the ones who are stoning Stephen, that is very likely a pupil of his, or even a younger student in the school, and maybe Paul or Saul one time looked up to Stephen as someone who... an elder who had gone before him in rabbinic training.
Christine: You're gonna make me cry!
David: I'm sorry, [chuckles] but it's just-
Christine: But yeah, it's very visceral.
David: It's very visceral.
Christine: It's possible that Saul is even present in this. It's very likely Gamaliel is.
David: Yes.
Christine: So in a sense, this is like a-
David: He's talking to his own student.
Christine: Yeah, so this is like exam day, which we don't know Gamaliel's role here. He might just be listening, 'cause he's part of the council.
David: But regardless, he's not some passive, cold observer.
Christine: No, he's-
David: Like, and, and perhaps no one is. Perhaps this whole room is filled with friends.
Christine: It could be.
David: Yeah.
Christine: Yeah, very well could be.
David: Okay, context, context, context. Stephen's sermon, here we go. So Stephen's sermon, what, what is the... I don't know if- what's the right way to ask this question, 'cause we could go line upon line and have a four-hour episode, which would be awesome. But for the sake of everyone listening, what's his thesis, or, like, what's the point of his sermon, and how does he make his argument?
Christine: Well, what jumps out the most is where he begins and where he ends.
David: Mm.
Christine: Because remember, they accused him of-... blaspheming God's chosen leader and the temple. And Stephen is very cleverly going to talk about God's dealings with his own people, sans Moses and sans temple.
David: Right.
Christine: And showing how, I mean, his very first sentence is found in verse two: "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 Haran." Okay, none of these two places he listed are Jerusalem or the temple, and Abraham knew nothing of Moses or the temple.
David: And yet, the glory of God appeared to him apart from the temple and apart from Moses.
Christine: Yes.
David: So this, uh, I mean, that's already a strong start, and he, and he's not saying something crazy.
Christine: No-
David: He's, he's-
Christine: ... he's just beginning their story. He's beginning in Genesis, which is a great place to start.
David: Great place to start.
Christine: And whether you're preaching a sermon or starting a defense of blasphemy, however you want-
David: Start in Genesis
Christine: ... just start at the beginning, and this is how a rabbi student would answer a question put forward by a rabbi, or like, you know-
David: Mm-hmm
Christine: ... it's not in a, this is a different type of testing, but you're expected to trace themes throughout the Bible and-
David: And so is his-
Christine: interpret it.
David: Is his point here in saying how Abraham not only was chosen, but was also, well, also encountered the glory of God apart from the temple and apart from Moses, is that to say
David: just because things are happening in the church, you know, apart from the temple structure or something, is that what he's aiming at, like, what's happening in the early church? Or is he talking about the blasphemy that he's being accused of and saying, "That's not the be-all, end-all," or like, why bring this up? I'm like, what is this poking at?
Christine: I, I think it's doing multiple things. One of them is showing Abraham's reluctance to obey God right away-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... like, being a forefather of the faith and our father Abraham and all that. He is showing or casting kind of a real light on Abraham that, yeah, God had to move him from place to place. He wasn't this a- as, as faith-filled at the beginning as we always make him out to be, and you know this from your traditions. He, hi- he come, comes from an idol-worshiping family, and even though he rejects those idols, at the beginning, he had to leave his father behind.
David: And when it wasn't... And then he brings up, "And it wasn't until after his father died that he finally moved."
Christine: Well, God moved him.
David: Yeah, God moved him.
Christine: Yes, like, w- he, he intentionally puts Abra-
David: God had him move. [chuckles]
Christine: Yes.
David: Yeah.
Christine: Yes, it was God who- God called him, and then Abraham's like, "Yeah, okay," but he had to leave his family and his idols behind, and Stephen is intentionally showing, again, rejecting God's chosen leader and stuff, and, "You guys are not as pure bloods and pure faith as you [chuckles] might think." So he's coming back to Abraham's story and showing how, first of all, Abraham is out in Mesopotamia, in Cal- like, land of the Chaldeans, Haran. These are all not Jerusalem proper or the temple proper or even Hebrew or Jewish proper, and so the, I wouldn't call it an altercation, but the rejection he had with his father and his father's idols is recalled with these details. And he is coming to a place where God gives him no inheritance, and so there's all this stuff that he's talking about that kind of reminds them of, I think, one,
Christine: we're not, we're nowhere near Moses's time. [chuckles] Um, the God of glory appeared and is kind of dragging Abraham to where he wa- [chuckles] he wants him to be, and so there's... What he's setting up here that he fleshes out in later stories are the hesitancy of God's people to heed God right away-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... and the fact that God appears outside the temple. 'Cause where he ends his sermon is actually, while he... Sermon, it's a defense, but you understand. [chuckles] He tracks the history of Israel before the temple is built. He goes into some detail about the tabernacle as God's physical dwelling place, but the way he ends his whole speech is only to, like, mention the temple structure in passing, only to say that, "And the Most High does not live in houses built by men." So, yeah, it's jumping ahead, but the polemic is, why are you making a big deal about this when you know from your history that this is not where God is confined to? He never was.
David: Hmm.
Christine: So.
David: So I'm hearing a couple things there. One is, from the very beginning, he is trying to get his listeners to kind of, in a difficult way, identify with the hesitant, a- and then at the end, with those who outright reject and deny-
Christine: Yes
David: ... the working of God.
Christine: Yes.
David: So he, he's doing something with, "Who are you in the story?" is one thing he's doing.
Christine: Very, yes.
David: Yeah.
Christine: And that's the genius of, you know, retelling of history, the way you set-
David: Mm
Christine: ... the stage for stories everybody knows, but with the nuance that you tell it and with the angle you tell it, you're gonna make different points. So he's starting with their history. Good student that he is, student of Gamaliel, he is walking them through their own history that he knows and they know backwards-
David: Mm, mm
Christine: ... and forwards, and casting a light on it that will be interpretive throughout the whole thing. So mentioning Abraham and the resistance or the hesitation and the fact that he's- he and God are just away from Moses and outside any sort of temple structure, tees up the next family that he will go into more detail. 'Cause he jumps over- he skips over the patriarchs pretty quickly, but then he talks about the patriarchs who are jealous of Joseph, who sell him as a slave into Egypt.
David: Oh, so there they are. Who are you in the story? You're the jealous brothers selling the-
Christine: But God was with Joseph and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave-
David: But in Egypt.
Christine: In Egypt, yes. So God is-
David: Before Moses, before the temple.
Christine: Yes, so where is God now, and where is his chosen and now rejected leader?
David: Oh, brother.
Christine: He's in Egypt, and his-- yes, his brothers rejected him. [chuckles]... and then the famine struck Egypt and Canaan, and the fathers had to go and get grain from Joseph, and Pharaoh is making Joseph second in command, but these were the people who rejected Joseph.
David: So, okay, hearing this now with the, the genius of putting them in the story in the wrong [chuckles] spot, now hearing, "famine in Canaan," and hearing them come and have to get grain from Joseph-
Christine: Oh, yeah.
David: Man, like, he is putting them in their place in the story. If you're the jealous one who is rejecting the one whom God is with wherever he is, you know, you are going to experience a f- like, a famine in your land, and you're gonna need to come to us for the harvest.
Christine: Yeah, and-
David: 'Cause, yeah, we're Jo-
Christine: And it's-
David: Jesus is the new Joseph.
Christine: And it's Joseph's family who comes to him down to Egypt-
David: Right
Christine: ... and which he covers in immediately next, is it's Joseph who calls Jacob and his whole family to come down to Egypt, and that is where they die. And then his next story opens with, "Finally, we got to Moses," but h- the way he tells Moses's story is also one of rejection. This is G- God's chosen leader that God shows He is favoring, but then Moses grows up, and he is rejected by his fellow Israelites. They do not acknowledge him as their leader. Instead-
David: Oh, yeah, and they ask Aaron to make gods for them.
Christine: Oh, you jumped ahead.
David: Oh, I jumped. Sorry.
Christine: But yeah, yeah. Well, 'cause we, we have another appearing of God [chuckles] later. But yeah, when Moses tries to reconcile two fighting Israelites, they push him aside and say, "Who made you ruler and judge over us?"
David: Right.
Christine: So are you- have you already always been a fan of Moses? 'Cause here, our forefathers are rejecting him, and he makes that point a little bit later, too.
David: Dang.
Christine: And then, but God, nevertheless, still goes after him, and now where's God? Jerusalem? The temple? No, He's on Mount Sinai in Midian. [laughing]
David: Again, where is God, is, is the question.
Christine: God is with His chosen leader-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... and His presence is not confined to anything but Himself.
David: Yeah.
Christine: He is going where He pleases.
David: He's all over the place.
Christine: Yes, he is. So here's God appearing again to Moses and commissions him to go back to Egypt, and then he says in seven, verse 35, just to land his point, "This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?'" He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God Himself-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... through the angel who appeared to him in the bush, and he did just that. He led them out of Egypt. He was-- God's presence with him was confirmed with miraculous signs and wonders.
David: Sound familiar?
Christine: And he was with them in the desert and at the Red Sea and for, yeah, and for 40 years. Again, where is the temple right now?
David: Mm.
Christine: We have a rejected chosen leader, and we have God's presence just going everywhere, but a specific fixed brick location or stone location.
David: Mm. Okay, so he is trying to get them to see that they've not always had a, a perfect relationship to Moses, to the chosen leaders of God in their past, nor have they always needed some kind of physical structure and system to interact with God's glory and miracles and healing and presence. And in fact, not only is he proving the point that God doesn't live in houses made by hands and doesn't need to, nor is, is he constrained to something with Moses, you know?
Christine: Yeah. Whom the, our fathers refused to obey and continually rejected, and in their hearts, turned back to Egypt.
David: Right.
Christine: They turned to Aaron and said, "Make us gods who will go before us." They're trying to localize God-
David: Mm, mm
Christine: ... in that, and so yeah, he's making a very clear point, which lands full on at the very end-
David: Okay
Christine: ... when, which is why all this build-up is so
Christine: well-guised. Because he tells them a s- the story that they know. They could be saying the words after him or in sync with him, but at the end, when he pulls it together in 51 through 53, in those verses, it's when he lands all of his points at once, and then they just lose their minds.
David: Okay, so he says, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do." Oh, the ancestors that I've just listed-
Christine: Yes
David: ... ad nauseam to you.
Christine: Yes.
David: "Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become His betrayers and murderers. You are the ones who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it." So how is he pulling together his whole sermon into that conclusion?
Christine: Well, as we said before, he is putting them in a posit- a historical position in his defense that implicates they are the ones who reject God's chosen leader, whether that's Moses or Joseph, and they are also the ones who are rejecting God's work outside of the temple. Because he doesn't get to mentioning the tabernacle until the last bit of his sermon, and only after he said that, "Oh, and by the way, idolatry is just rampant right now, even in Israel." And so much so that God says He's gonna send them into exile beyond Babylon [chuckles] so not only is God not gonna be in the temple, neither are you. Everything is going down because you're not being faithful to me. And but then he jumps back in talking about how they had the tabernacle of the testimony with them f- finally, but even there, he... And that's all fair and good. That was something that was commissioned by God after the pattern on the mountain, and then in the last two sentences, he says, "And David wanted to build a house for God."... but it was Solomon who built the house for him.
David: Yeah.
Christine: So he just passes through even the authentic temple of, of what they are calling-
David: A- and then says, and he doesn't live in houses made by hands anyway.
Christine: Yes, and by the way-
David: [chuckles]
Christine: ... he doesn't even do that. So you guys are the ones who are rejecting God's chosen leader, just like your fathers.
David: Mm.
Christine: In fact, the ultimate choosing- chosen leader of today is the righteous one. All these prophets foretold, even... He quotes Moses in Deuteronomy, says, "God will raise up for you a prophet like me-
David: Mm, mm-hmm
Christine: ... whom you must listen to." He quotes that part.
David: Yep.
Christine: [chuckles] So even that messianic prophecy that Moses has, he says, "You're not, you're not the one- you're not listening to Moses."
David: I see, 'cause Moses said, "God will raise up one like me, and you should listen to him."
Christine: Yes.
David: And so now that one has come-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... in Jesus, confirmed in all the ways that these other prophets were con- confirmed, that you've rejected, and yet you're not listening to Moses. Because Moses talked about Jesus, Jesus has confirmed himself as this promised servant, and you've rejected him, just as all your ancestors have rejected the prophets. And he has now brought his Spirit to us, the temple, the Church of Christ, and you are now saying that that's illegitimate, uh, because we need this house made by hands.
Christine: Yes.
David: Like, no, you're not listening to your Bible.
Christine: Yeah, you have received the law that was put into effect through angels, but have not obeyed it.
David: Okay.
Christine: So-
David: That's really helpful.
Christine: [chuckles] It's a powerful-
David: That is brilliant.
Christine: It's- he's brilliant.
David: Beyond brilliant.
Christine: He is beyond brilliant.
David: And so their response to this sermon is-
Christine: Not surprising after that
David: ... Not surprising, but still very-
Christine: Also tragic
David: ... tragic. When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." What is Stephen saying there, if you can compose yourself enough [chuckles] to communicate?
Christine: He's saying so much. [sighs] Again, he's full of the Holy Spirit, which we've talked about how that's a prophetic thing, and what else makes a prophet but s- having a vision of God?
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: And here he is surrounded, much like the prophets of old, by enemies who are rejecting God, and who are now, like, wanting his blood. But he looks up and he sees heaven and the glory of God, which remember how he started his defense?
David: No.
Christine: "The God of glory appeared
Christine: to our father Abraham."
David: Oh, that's how he starts his sermon.
Christine: That's how he-
David: "The God of glory appeared-
Christine: "Glory appeared to our father Abraham"
David: ... out in nowhere land-
Christine: Mm-hmm
David: ... appeared to Abraham."
Christine: And now h- he looks up at the end of- after having traced the God of glory from Genesis through-
David: Mm
Christine: ... to the present time, indicting, like, putting his listeners into the position they have chosen for themselves, and saying, "Right now, the chosen leader of God that you've rejected is the righteous one that everyone else has pointed to," and-
David: And I see him.
Christine: And yes, so even it may look like he finished his defense with, "You betrayed and murdered him."
David: Yeah, but now he says, "I know where God dwells."
Christine: He ends with the resurrection. [chuckles]
David: And it's a resurrection, ascension. Here is God in his heavenly temple, ruling and reigning above all things. This, this Jesus that you rejected and whose blood is on you [chuckles], he has conquered your violence and death itself, and is ruling and reigning at the right hand of God. He's n- I mean, I- let me just... Uh, he's not in the temple.
Christine: He's not, he's in heaven. [chuckles]
David: He's in heaven.
Christine: Heaven is his throne.
David: I think is the big moment there. And why is Jesus standing, [chuckles] Christine? Or, or if you can't make it, you've told me, and so I can share, but I'd rather you say it.
Christine: Yeah, you can help me.
David: Okay.
Christine: Uh, [laughs]
David: Well, uh-
Christine: I just-
David: ... let the listener understand, uh-
Christine: Decompose after
David: ... Christine helped me unearth this, so... But I know she was helped by others as well. So it's, it, it's really amazing that when, when a king takes his throne, and he is seated, and, and everybody else stands or kneels, and the, the, the king is the one who sits, and the king does not stand when he is enthroned. That-
Christine: And we see that at Jesus's ascension.
David: Yes.
Christine: He ascends into heaven and sits at the-
David: And sits down at the right hand of God
Christine: ... That, that's where we see him. He is seated, enthroned, his rule is complete.
David: Yeah, and so we're not saying that doesn't happen. [chuckles]
Christine: Yeah.
David: It's very important that it does happen. Even Hebrews makes a big deal out of it, saying that the priests stand daily, but Jesus once for all sat down.
Christine: Yes.
David: The work is done. He's enthroned. It is finished. He's ruling and reigning, so his seatedness [chuckles] in the- in the heavens is very important. But here, at the martyrdom of his beloved servant, who is being
David: mistreated and, and accused, and oppressed, like the prophets of old and like Jesus himself, Jesus knows exactly what it's like to be in this situation. He was falsely accused in a kangaroo court and, and, and rejected, and then killed, as his, as his sweet servant is about to be. And it's at this that Stephen looks up, is granted a vision of God in the heavens, and he sees Jesus not sitting enthroned, you know, in his victory, but that Jesus, the King of Kings, actually stands up in heaven, ready to receive his servant into his hands. He comes after him, and is standing to receive him. The ultimate honor any human has ever had bestowed [chuckles] on them, Jesus the King stands for Stephen, is just remarkably beautiful. And so-
Christine: It's like when everyone's... It's a tiny, tiny microscopic dimension of the same thing, but it's like when at a wedding, everyone stands up for the bride-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... to come in, and Jesus just can't wait for Stephen to come. He stands. All of heaven is rejoicing.... and Stephen is-
David: Yeah
Christine: -ready to be received.
David: Yeah. Yeah, it's like whenever- or like a, a, like a judge or someone enters a room, everyone, "All rise," you know, you stand.
Christine: Yeah, it's the greatest honor.
David: Yeah, and but Jesus stands [chuckles]
Christine: The King of Kings stands to receive you when you are about to enter His presence.
David: Yeah.
Christine: There's no greater honor, and there's no [chuckles] greater love. Yeah.
David: And so Stephen has this beautiful vision, and then, "They cover their ears, and with a loud shout, they all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he died, and Saul approved of their killing him."
Christine: Oh, you're on your own now. [chuckles]
David: Okay. Christine's in a puddle, so I'll talk until she recovers. But there's so many beautiful things here to point out. O- one is the reaction of the crowd. We've already seen them grinding their teeth and covering their ears and shouting out. I mean, Jesus talked about this reaction whenever He talked about the weeping and gnashing of teeth at the coming of His kingdom, that people will hate and be reviled at the coming of the Kingdom of love, and they will grind their teeth at it and, and hate it. And that this man is teaching repentance and forgiveness, and he's, he's not saying anything bad to them other than, "Hey, you can, [chuckles] you can come and be part of this. You- you've broken it, but that's not the end of the story. Father, forgive them," and yet they absolutely hate this man, and they're experiencing a bit of torment from the way he's loving them and teaching them the truth. And so they drag him out, and they give him the death of a false prophet. They seek to stone him. This is what the law commands for a false prophet. When a, when a, when a prophet says, "Oh, this or this will come to pass," or, uh, says, "Hey, let's go worship this idol instead of Yahweh," the, the law says to stone them, and so they are giving him the, what they think is the appropriate punishment as a false prophet. And they- the witnesses, these are the witnesses, like the two or three witnesses gathered against someone in order to pass judgment. They're gathered, and they lay their coats at Saul's feet, and this is where we meet the young man, Saul, the pupil of Gamaliel, watching and approving of the, the killing of Stephen because these are his convictions, too. That he thinks that Stephen's a blasphemer, that any kind of idea that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who died and rose, is just anathema to him. And yet, in the midst of all of this hostility and torment, we hear, we hear Stephen repeat the words of Jesus twice.
Christine: On the cross. Yes.
David: Are you recovered? Do you wanna walk us through that?
Christine: I can try. [chuckles]
David: Okay.
Christine: Uh, I'll never get over being overwhelmed by this. But yeah, Luke records Jesus' words on the cross
Christine: that are a prayer of forgiveness when they are crucifying Him, and He says, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And of all the things you could- that could come out of your mouth when people are impaling your limbs onto wood, I don't think the Romans ever heard words like that.
David: Mm-mm.
Christine: And it's absolutely category-breaking love, and the fact that this is
Christine: said by the Son of God, who was falsely accused, even though He had irrefutable wisdom, even though He's filled with the Spirit from, from the beginning, He is also dragged out of the city and put to death, and we see the same thing happen to Stephen here. They also divide up Jesus's clothes, and it's taken away as trophies. Here, there are people who are removing their clothes and laying them beside Saul, and Stephen prays that this sin would not be held against them, and he also prays, like Jesus on the cross, when Jesus says, "Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit," Jesus and Stephen both surrender their, their spirit to God and fall asleep.
David: Hmm. Yeah. The other thing we forgot to mention, which is just so fascinating, is the people's reaction to, to Stephen's sermon, is using the same language as the people's reaction to Peter's sermon-
Christine: That's right
David: ... but with the opposite, [chuckles] um, response.
Christine: Yeah, this is in Acts 2?
David: Acts 2, yeah, when the people are-
Christine: Okay, so there's another way to respond to-
David: There's a different-
Christine: -truth
David: ... reaction. [chuckles]
Christine: Cutting at you.
David: That's right.
Christine: Okay, go on. [chuckles]
David: Yeah, so in Acts 2, Peter says, I'd say, possibly a harder sermon, "This, this Jesus, whom you crucified, has made him both Lord and Christ." Similar charge, and it says there that the people were cut to the heart.
Christine: Yes.
David: And this is the same type of language. Uh, it's said again in chapter five, verse, what is it? 33, yeah, where you have this idea again of, of being cut to the heart. But where, where, where the people's reaction in Acts 2 of being cut to the heart was a soft heart that was penetrated by the word of truth, and they say, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And he says, "Repent. Be baptized, every one of you, in the name of the Holy Spirit, and, and, and you'll... Or for the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Here they are, they are cut to the heart, but the word in Greek is different in 5:33, and here, where the, the, the cutting that's happening is not a sword going into a soft thing, like a piercing. Instead, it's a revealing.
Christine: ... wow!
David: A- and so it's when they had heard these things, they became enraged. A- and it's this idea that, that, that when, when their hearts were exposed. So it's, it's interesting that even the- some of the words get hidden in, in some of our English translations, but it's the same idea here, is there's this exposure of the heart, and when the heart was exposed in the repentant, they turned, and they joined Jesus. When the heart is exposed in the rebellious, they kill Jesus again, and his people.
Christine: Wow! So-
David: And so, yeah.
Christine: So was- uh, help me understand the Greek difference, because is the first one, does the cutting change the heart? And then the other one, it only shows the heart for what it is?
David: Yeah, so the key difference in the Greek, at least, with these passages, 2:37, 5:33, and 7:54, is the- is one Greek word i- is used in 5:33 and 7:54, which are the negative responses, the negative piercing or cutting or exposing of the heart.
Christine: Uh-huh. That brought about-
David: That brought about-
Christine: -death
David: ... death or-
Christine: or the desire for murder
David: Yeah, or, or yeah, these murderous ideas, is that in 2:37 you have this i- this, this verb that means to pierce or to cut-
Christine: Mm
David: ... or to open. And in- although the formula is the same, and in 7:54, the, the one we're in now, it's not in my English Bible, but the word cardia in Greek for heart is present, but we don't get the heart in my translation.
Christine: Yeah, it just says they were furious-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... with-
David: But no-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... it's that they-
Christine: Doesn't talk about heart stuff.
David: Yeah, but it- their heart is in the Greek.
Christine: That's crazy.
David: Which is crazy, 'cause he's- Luke is doing something here.
Christine: He is. He's linking these events.
David: He's linking these, and you can respond differently, and so the difference is-
Christine: Oh
David: ... one is cut to the heart, and-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... and it's, it's this idea that the Bible talks about, that y- there- that you will be given a heart of flesh.
Christine: Hmm.
David: And instead here, what's revealed, what's opened, what's cracked, what's shown is, what's exposed is a heart of stone.
Christine: Oh, wow.
David: And so the, the sword of the Spirit comes in and pierces the former, but clinks against like, like metal on stone on the other.
Christine: Wow.
David: And it just creates sparks and, and fury. And, and so they end up grinding their teeth-
Christine: Wow
David: ... kind of like the grinding of-
Christine: And they pick up stones?
David: And they pick up stones, hard hearts. There you go. They have hearts of stone, so they stone, and, and hearts of flesh-
Christine: To defend the stone temple.
David: Yeah, [chuckles] there you go. Yeah.
Christine: That's gonna crumble. Anyways, there's... Wow.
David: So it's- it- there's a lot going on here, and it's just, uh, it's just beautiful. What, what I'd love for you to kind of tease us and, and lead us into the next episode where we talk about Saul, is to talk about the, the significance of the cloaks being laid at Saul's feet.
Christine: Oh, okay. Yeah, this is... This is a fun meditation, but I don't think it's by accident, and if I'm wrong, I'm sorry. But I think it's really cool or significant that there's cloaks at Saul's feet when Stephen is martyred, because we will find out that Saul, too, will have a vision of the resurrected Christ. Maybe 'cause Stephen prayed for it?
David: [chuckles]
Christine: I don't know. Wouldn't put it past him, but the fact that, yeah, that we know that God's gonna go after Saul's heart [chuckles] very, very strongly in just a minute. I think it's worth noticing that there's sort of, I don't know, the passing of a mantle is kind of seeming to surface here, just because of how Saul is going to function in the story, and the way Saul and Stephen's lives are linked together.
David: Mm.
Christine: It's through this vision of Christ resurrected, and where Stephen's mission ends at the end of his life with a resurrected Jesus, Saul's mission will begin. And so the fact that Saul has all these cloaks, just-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... it just reminds me of the heavenly vision that Elijah and Elisha, uh-
David: Share
Christine: ... shared, and how there was a pla- passing of the mantle, passing of a mission.
David: Yep, of a cloak.
Christine: Yes, and a spirit. [chuckles]
David: Yeah, that's right.
Christine: When Elijah was caught up and transferred into heaven, and Elisha, his successor, was left on the ground with Elijah's mantle, and he-
David: Red cloak.
Christine: Yes.
David: Yeah.
Christine: Yes, with his cloak.
David: For those who did not know what a mantle was, uh, like I did [chuckles] for a long time-
Christine: Yeah, it's, it's, it's not what's above your fireplace.
David: That's ... [chuckles] Yeah, exactly.
Christine: Um, it's that and something else. People are like, "Yeah, there's fire with my mantle all the time."
David: Oh, my gosh. [laughing]
Christine: [chuckles]
David: But yes, Elisha receives Elijah's cloak, his mantle.
Christine: Yes, yes, and as with Elijah's ascension, there is just the heavenly vision of fire and chariots and all of that.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: And Eli- when that vision disappears, not only is Elisha's teacher gone, but all that's left of him is this cloak. And so Elisha takes that up and then undergoes kind of a form of baptism as he-
David: He does
Christine: ... receives-
David: He strikes the water with the cloak.
Christine: He strikes the water and walks through, which that was the baptism of Israel.
David: Yep.
Christine: And he goes back, and he not only continues, but doubles the mission of his predecessor. And so it's also interesting that in that we know Elijah did not taste death at all. He just was taken up into heaven.
David: Hmm.
Christine: And Luke's way of talking about how Stephen leaves this life is one that is also, the word he uses is also used to describe sleep very often.
David: Mm-hmm.
Christine: And so it's hint- he could have used another word, but he uses the one that implies falling into a deep sleep, which Peter will do when he's in prison. Like, people wake up from this type of-
David: Mm
Christine: ... coma.
David: Yeah.
Christine: Which is, I think, where we get that word from, too. But the fact that Stephen meets his Lord in glory-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... and we have someone with a cloak at his feet who's going to be continuing that mission much-... against his will at first, is just a fun-
David: Yeah
Christine: -thing to think about.
David: Yeah, so-
Christine: But anything else?
David: No, I just think it's awesome, because I love this picture of Saul taking up the mantle of Stephen in the same way that Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah. There's just so much there. Number one, we're, we're gonna see it. In case you think this is too crazy of a meditation, tease for next episode is we're going to see Saul repeat the story of Elisha, almost beat for beat-
Christine: It's crazy!
David: -on the road to Damascus, and it's nuts. If you want to go try to make the connections yourself, just go read 2 Kings 6, uh, along with Acts 9, and see if you can put it together, 'cause I bet you can, 'cause it's right there.
Christine: It's wild.
David: Um, and so it's just amazing to see this, this beautiful picture, and, and that Saul, Paul, then goes on to suffer so much like Stephen, and how much strength did he draw from being present at Stephen's martyrdom, knowing what he did for him? "Forgive him, he knows not [chuckles] what he does," you know, kind of idea. And now Paul goes into to, to places where he's persecuted, is cast out of the city and basically killed, is raised from this, quote-unquote, "sleep," and then goes right back into the city who was, [chuckles] who was persecuting him, 'cause he's like, "For Stephen!" [laughing]
Christine: [laughing]
David: Like, "I know what this is like."
Christine: For you, my friend.
David: And, and it's just amazing. And, and then in a way, as I'm kind of giving my final thought here, is this is the call that we're all given, this is the mantle we're all given as Christians, that Jesus comes and sets His mantle before us at the foot of the cross, and He says, "Come and take up your cross and follow me." The mantle and the Spirit [chuckles] pass on to us, and the vision of Him in glory, triumphant over the, the powers, and over death, and over suffering, and over the cross, that mantle passes to us, and He now calls us to persevere and to conquer, and those who conquer will receive the crown. [chuckles]
Christine: And pray for our enemies, and forgive them-
David: Yes
Christine: ... even if they happen to be murdering us.
David: That's right, and just forgive them, and lay your life down for them. And this is the mantle that Jesus gives all of us, and Saul just got to literally hold one of the cloaks while it was happening. And so I just think it's a beautiful thing to, to see, as Christine and- a- has, has pointed out multiple times throughout this episode, how clearly Stephen's life and death maps onto Jesus's life and death, that then makes Saul's life map onto his, [chuckles] is the beautiful picture of costly discipleship, that Stephen is, is discipling Saul in his martyrdom, and saying, "Come and be like me."
Christine: Wow!
David: And this is what Jesus does for all of us. [laughing]
Christine: Okay, ow!
David: [laughing] Lay down your life.
Christine: This is the first- this is the first sword, right? [chuckles]
David: This is the first one. Just let it pierce, and it's fine.
Christine: [laughing]
David: And yeah, and Jesus comes to us and does the same thing: "Come, be falsely accused, but like a sheep before his shearers, [chuckles] is silent. Don't open your mouth," as we talked about in the last episode.
Christine: Or if you do, open it like Stephen.
David: Open it like Stephen, man.
Christine: [laughing]
David: Just quote the sermon.
Christine: Yeah.
David: And, and just it's beautiful, uh, of map your life onto Christ, and what is the last thing you'll see? It's the ascended Jesus standing to greet you. So be like Stephen, be like Paul, be like Jesus. Not like Saul in this story, maybe, but, [laughing] you know... Any closing remarks, Christine?
Christine: Well, if you are like Saul in this story-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... know that, know that there are Christians praying for you.
David: Yeah.
Christine: And you can turn. And yeah, I, I come back to Gamaliel's advice to the Sanhedrin that we kind of touched on earlier, that if this Jesus sect is from God, then it will not be able to be stopped-
David: Hmm
Christine: ... and fighting it will be futile. And, and it's just interesting that we see one of his students die for this, and die, but sort of, [chuckles] because what his death accomplishes is the multiplying of the gospel message throughout Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and his- Stephen's friend Philip will be going to Samaria. And so what Stephen's death does, far from extinguishing the mission of Christ, it, it accelerates it. And it kind of shows that, okay, if death cannot stop this message, it must be from the God who is over death and Lord of death, and that is Jesus.
David: Hmm.
Christine: And so-
David: Yeah
Christine: ... it's, it's really cool. It's really beautiful, and it's me, so I'm, I'm gonna talk about names, but [chuckles] Stephen's name is crown.
David: Hmm.
Christine: It means crown, and we talk about receiving the martyr's crown. We see that in Revelation, and it's just beautiful that that is the future. It's this glorious reigning where you enter into the presence of a king who is waiting to receive you.
David: Hmm.
Christine: And, and you get to reign with Him forever.
David: Yeah.
Christine: It's like, yeah, what's,
Christine: what's not worth... Yeah.
David: Yeah.
Christine: You just-
David: No, it's incredible, too, because-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... it's like this is what Paul just talks about in his letters, is, "I'll do anything to attain that resurrection-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... even suffering and dying with Jesus," and he's just, "I remember a guy dying while seeing the resurrected king."
Christine: Yes.
David: And he's got that in his head-
Christine: Yeah
David: ... and he's like, "That's my mission now."
Christine: Mm-hmm.
David: So we'll get to spend more time with Saul in the next episode, as we see him meeting this ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Christine: Damascus.
David: Which, if you don't know why that's so cool, make sure you come back. But thank you so much for joining us, and we will see you on the road to Damascus. [upbeat music]
Christine: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel creates short films, devotionals, and podcasts like this one. Everything we make is free because of generous supporters like you. To see our resources, visit spokengospel.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening. See you next time. [upbeat music]
