Stephen Defends His Faith

October 7, 2012 Background Scripture: Acts 6:1 – 7:53 Lesson Passage: Acts 6:8 – 15; 7:1, 2a, 22, 44a, 45b – 49 The title of our lesson manages to jump to the punch line without taking us through the steps. However, the steps are crucial to understanding the lesson. The main focus of the lesson is on Stephen. Stephen is one of the seven men selected by the Jerusalem congregation to participate in the daily administration of goods to meet the needs of the congregation. The congregation numbered at least three thousand and perhaps over eight thousand depending on how one interprets those who were part of the second infusion into the infant church. The members sold their belongings and brought the money to the apostles for the common good of the congregation. Teaching the word of God and looking after the daily needs of thousands of individuals were more than the apostles could handle. Inconvenience gave way to murmuring that caused a rift to start within the fledgling church. The solution the apostles brought to the church was for the members to make choice of seven men based on qualifications given to the church by the apostles. The congregation was please with the solution and the number of Christians continued to increase. One of the seven men chosen and set aside for the daily work was Stephen. Stephen did more than take care of the daily tasks that met the physical needs of the congregation. He did works of miracles that were a clear demonstration of his faith. And this is where the problem began for Stephen. He was met with great opposition by some of the Jews who disputed with him to no avail. Having loss the argument on philosophical terms, the Jews who were attacking him resorted to false accusations of blasphemy that led to Stephen’s arrest by the Jewish religious authority. When questioned by the Jewish religious leaders concerning the allegations, Stephen, rather than attempt to refute the lies of his accusers, gave a summary of Israel’s history as a precursor to the defense of his faith in Jesus as the anointed of God. Interwoven in Israel’s history is a constant thread composed of God’s promise to send a Messiah to His people Israel. Stephen’s defense was that the appearance of the Christ in Israel was inevitable because it is in accord with the promises of God. Stephen’s summary statement inflamed the Jewish council more than the false accusations of blasphemy had initially aroused them. His summary statement was that the Jewish leaders of his day had repeated the same error as Jewish leaders of the past who had slain the prophets of God because they disagreed with the message. Like their predecessors, they had totally missed the point. Although they had manipulated Pilate to carry out their sinister plot, Stephen reminded them that they were still accountable for slaying Jesus. Furthermore, the Law that they were so proud of representing and defending, they had not obeyed it themselves. Stephen’s defense of his faith in Jesus Christ went well beyond a philosophical argument about religion and religious rites. His defense became the centerpiece of his legal defense before the Jewish council. Stephen was willing to take a stand for the faith he held although it was clear that he was being persecuted for it. Robert C. Hudson September 26, 2012