Acts 7

Stephen's Sermon

1 "Is this true?" the high priest asked.
2 "Brothers and fathers," he said, "listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

3 and said to him:
Get out of your country
and away from your relatives,
and come to the land
that I will show you.
4 "Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land you now live in. 5 He didn't give him an inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, but He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless.

6 God spoke in this way:
His descendants would be strangers
in a foreign country,
and they would enslave
and oppress them 400 years.

7 I will judge the nation
that they will serve as slaves, God said.
After this, they will come out
and worship Me in this place.

8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the 12 patriarchs.

The Patriarchs in Egypt

9 "The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole household. 11 Then a famine and great suffering came over all of Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food. 12 When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors the first time. 13 The second time, Joseph was revealed to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 Joseph then invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, 75 people in all, 15 and Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our ancestors died there,

16 were carried back to Shechem, and were placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

Moses, a Rejected Savior

17 "As the time was drawing near to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt 18 until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19 He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them leave their infants outside, so they wouldn't survive. 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God's sight. He was cared for in his father's home three months, 21 and when he was left outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted and raised him as her own son.

22 So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions.
23 "As he was approaching the age of 40, he decided to visit his brothers, the Israelites. 24 When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He assumed his brothers would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.

26 The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?'

27 "But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed him away, saying:
Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us?

28 Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?
29 "At this disclosure, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons. 30 After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he was approaching to look at it, the voice of the Lord came:

32 I am the God of your fathers-the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. So Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.

33 "Then the Lord said to him:
Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

34 I have observed the oppression of My people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to rescue them. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt.
35 "This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?-this one God sent as a ruler and a redeemer by means of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

36 This man led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness 40 years.

Israel's Rebellion against God

37 "This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. 38 He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him, but pushed him away, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

40 They told Aaron:
Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what's happened to him.
41 They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made.

42 Then God turned away and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
House of Israel, did you bring Me offerings and sacrifices
40 years in the wilderness?

43 No, you took up the tent of Moloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship.
So I will deport you beyond Babylon!

God's Real Tabernacle

44 "Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Our ancestors in turn received it and with Joshua brought it in when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers, until the days of David. 46 He found favor in God's sight and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built Him a house.

48 However, the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says:

49 Heaven is My throne,
and earth My footstool.
What sort of house will you build for Me?
says the Lord,
or what is My resting place?

50 Did not My hand make all these things?

Resisting the Holy Spirit

51 "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your ancestors did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.

53 You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it."

The First Christian Martyr

54 When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God's glory, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said,

56 "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
57 Then they screamed at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. 58 They threw him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They were stoning Stephen as he called out: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin!" And saying this, he fell asleep.

The Acts 7

Stephen's speech

1 The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?”

2 Stephen answered:t
Friends, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he had moved to Haran. 3 God told him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to a land that I will show you.”

4 Then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.t
After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. 5 God didn't give him any part of it, not even a square metre. But God did promise to give it to him and his family for ever, even though Abraham didn't have any children.t 6 God said that Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be ill-treated four hundred years.t

7 But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”t
8 God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show that you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons.t

9 These men were our ancestors.
Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with himt

10 and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoht thought highly of him. Pharaoh even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.t
11 Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat.t 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time.

13 It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learnt about Joseph's family.t
14 Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were seventy-five of them.t 15 His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did.t

16 Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.t

Stephen continued:

19 He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them. He even made them leave their babies outside, so they would die.t
20 During this time Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him in their home.t 21 Then when they were forced to leave him outside, the king's daughter found him and raised him as her own son.t

22 Moses was given the best education in Egypt. He was a strong man and a powerful speaker.
23 When Moses was forty years old, he wanted to help the Israelites because they were his own people.t 24 One day he saw an Egyptian ill-treating one of them. So he rescued the man and killed the Egyptian.

25 Moses thought the rest of his people would realize that God was going to use him to set them free. But they didn't understand.

26 The next day Moses saw two of his own people fighting, and he tried to make them stop. He said, “Men, you are both Israelites. Why are you so cruel to each other?”
27 But the man who had started the fight pushed Moses aside and asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? 28 Are you going to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”

29 When Moses heard this, he ran away to live in the country of Midian. His two sons were born there.t

Stephen continued:

32 “I am the God who was worshipped by your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses started shaking all over and didn't dare to look at the bush.
33 The Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals. The place where you are standing is holy.

34 With my own eyes I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now I am sending you back to Egypt.”

35 This was the same Moses that the people rejected by saying, “Who made you our leader and judge?” God's angel had spoken to Moses from the bush. And God had even sent the angel to help Moses rescue the people and be their leader.t
36 In Egypt and at the Red Seat and in the desert, Moses rescued the people by performing miracles and wonders for forty years.t 37 Moses is the one who told the people of Israel, “God will choose one of your people to be a prophet, just as he chose me.”t 38 Moses brought our people together in the desert, and the angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. There he was given these life-giving words to pass on to us.t

39 But our ancestors refused to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.
40 The people said to Aaron, “Make some gods to lead us! Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what's happened to him now.”t

41 Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf. They offered sacrifices to the idol and were pleased with what they had done.t
42 God turned his back on his people and left them. Then they worshipped the stars in the sky, just as it says in the Book of the Prophets, “People of Israel, you didn't offer sacrifices and offerings to me during those forty years in the desert.t

43 Instead, you carried the tent where the god Molech is worshipped, and you took along the star of your god Rephan. You made those idols and worshipped them. So now I will have you carried off beyond Babylonia.”

Stephen continued:

47 And it was finally King Solomon who built a house for God.tt

48 But the Most High God doesn't live in houses made by humans. It is just as the prophet said, when he spoke for the Lord,

49 “Heaven is my throne,t
and the earth
is my footstool.
What kind of house
will you build for me?
In what place will I rest?

50 I have made everything.”
51 You stubborn and hard-headed people! You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did.t 52 Is there one prophet that your ancestors didn't ill-treat? They killed the prophets who told about the coming of the One Who Obeys God.t And now you have turned against him and killed him.

53 Angels gave you God's Law, but you still don't obey it.

Stephen is stoned to death

56 Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!”
57 The council members shouted and covered their ears. At once they all attacked Stephen

58 and dragged him out of the city. Then they started throwing stones at him. The men who had brought charges against him put their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.t
59 As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” 60 He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don't blame them for what they have done.” Then he died.