51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen[l] at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! 52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53 You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
Acts 7:51-53 (NLT) 中文
Trial speech concludes
At Stephen’s trial, he’s given them the abbreviated history of the Jews with an emphasis on God’s promises to be faithful to Israel – despite their rejection of Him and the people (like Moses and Joseph) He sent to save them. In the last passage Stephen talked about the tabernacle and God’s dwelling.
Hit ‘em ‘tween the eyes
Now he concludes his sermon with a knock-out punch. He hit’s ‘em ‘tween the eyes. Stephen was not a little angry. You might say he was “crazy mad”. He didn’t fear the consequences. No “kid gloves” here. He pulled no punches. Who else immediately comes to mind who demonstrated this kind of anger publicly, but even with action, not just words? Jesus cleansing the temple is who I think of (Matthew 21:12-13).
Accusations
Here’s a list of Stephens righteous accusations against these religious hypocrites:
- They are stubborn, having an uncircumcised heart and ears (like a heathen, pagans). “The idea of ‘circumcision of the heart’ is found in Romans 2:29. It refers to having a pure heart, separated unto God.” (gotquestions.org)
- Forever resiting the Spirit of God.
- Like their ancestors – persecutors of the prophets – even killing the ones who predicted Jesus
- Murderers of Jesus
- Deliberately disobey God’s law, delivered by angels
RЯeflection
- This is not just preached to the Jewish leaders judging Stephen and then killing him. It’s preached to you and me. Check over this list prayerfully. Is my heart set apart for God? Is He my all in all? Do I resist the Spirit of God prompting me to share a word of hope and truth, the Gospel? Or do I ignore His prompting me to flee a temptation? We can’t murder the prophets or Jesus but Jesus taught that sin is in the heart. Do we have a heart that “kills” Jesus and/or those who tell us about Him or when we read their words and reject them? That is, do we deliberately disobey God’s law?
