The Book of Acts ~ Study Twenty-Seven

"Captive Audience"


Acts 7:1-8 (NLT) Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”
This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.
   “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’
   “God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.


When Stephen was brought before the Council he was asked if the charges brought against him were true. Stephen's response wasn't what they expected to hear. Stephen laid the groundwork of his defense by giving them a history lesson. The first person he spoke about was Abraham. Abraham is known as the Patriarch of the Jewish faith. Stephen was laying a foundation for his defense on the basis of faith.


Romans 4:1-3 (NLT)  Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”


What do we learn from this passage? Which is makes us acceptable to God ~ good deeds or faith?


Stephen wanted the Council to know that the basis for his defense was having faith in God. His faith in God enabled him to continue on with the history lesson before the teachers of the Law. What he said they couldn't refute. Stephen knew they would listen if he spoke about Abraham because he was the Patriarch of their faith.


Acts 7:9-19 (NLT) “These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.
   “But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food. Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some. The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers,[a] and they were introduced to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all. So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.
   “As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.


The next person Stephen presented was Joseph. He was known as another elder of the faith. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him. While he was enslaved in Egypt God raised him up to a position of power because Joseph had faith in God. 


Hebrews 11:22-23 (NLT) It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
   It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.


When Joseph died he left this world praising God. Could it be that Stephen sensed his own death was coming and would continue to praise God as he died? He was telling these learned men about the history they knew but he was speaking of the faith of Joseph not his accomplishments. I wonder if they understood.


Acts 7:20-43 (NLT) “At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.
   “One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.
   “The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’
   “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. ‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.
   “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him, ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.
   “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’
   “So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior. And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.
   “Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’ Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.
   “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’ So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel? No, you carried your pagan gods—the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.’


Stephen spoke about Moses after Joseph. He gave a synopsis of the life of Moses and his leadership of the Israelites. By faith Moses led them out of their slavery to the Egyptians. This wasn't an automatic thing. It took forty years in seclusion before God brought him back from the desert to be the leader the Israelites needed. 


Hebrews 11:23-29 (NLT) It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
   It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
   It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.


Stephen showed them his knowledge of the Torah and the three of the elders of their faith. He gave them a lesson on faith as seen in these special men of God. Remember they were transfixed by the light coming from Stephen's face. They knew of one other person whose face glowed and that was Moses. 


Exodus 34:29-30 (NLT) When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him.


The Council may have been scared like Aaron and the people of Israel when Moses came down from the mountain. Stephen's face got their attention. He had a captive audience and by the power of the holy Spirit spoke of Jesus. The three patriarchs' lives pointed to the Messiah and Stephen was telling them who the Messiah was.


Have you ever been in a situation were you had the opportunity to speak about Jesus? What did you do? What was the result?


We will all find ourselves in the position to tell others about Jesus. Sometimes they will listen and accept what we are saying. Other times they will listen and not accept what we are saying. There may be times when they will cut us off and not want to hear at all. The point is that God gives us opportunities to speak for Him and He gives us the words to say by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is all by faith (believing God) that we can tell others about Him. We aren't alone and we don't have to win the argument because it is already won by Jesus Himself. There is no argument in our witness or there shouldn't be. All God asks us to do is tell others what He has done in our lives.


1 Timothy 4:9-10 (NLT) This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.


"For our hope is in the living God." This is the same hope that Stephen had. We can go to the bank on the Hope found in Jesus. May we be like Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses and Stephen and live by faith. May our faces glow with the Spirit of our God. No matter what the possible outcome, let us take up the  shield of faith (See Ephesians 6:16) and trust our Lord.