All week long I have felt impressed to share with you the first complete Christian sermon found in Acts 7. In the earlier chapters there are several references to other sermons presented by the Apostle Peter. However, this is the only example of a complete sermon. In every example there is a question to be answered. Stephen has been charged with blasphemy. The same charge that earned Jesus death on a Roman cross! One of the most horrible forms of execution known to man.
The question Stephen was asked is found in the first verse of Acts 7. Let’s look at that and the beginning of Stephen’s response.
Acts 7:1-4 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.
We know very little about Stephen’s background. He is first introduced in Acts 6. There he is presented as one of the seven men that are usually referred to as the first deacons. The church had grown until there were thousands of believers in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. The twelve, as the apostles were known, found themselves being overwhelmed by a common problem in the church. Apparently, when people came to faith in Christ they were put out of the synagogue and no longer received needed support. When the church began to take over responsibility for feeding the widows there was a problem. An unexpected problem. But a problem nonetheless that could lead to a division in the body of believers. The Greek speaking minority apparently were being neglected. The Apostles called a congregational meeting to select men to solve the problem. The Apostles needed to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.
It is interesting that when they chose these seven men all of them have Greek names! The wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit solved the problem of the division by taking away all reasons for conflict on that subject. The devil is always busy finding a way to create divisions in the church.
The qualifications for these men that they be of good reputation and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Beginning with a solid foundation what did Stephen do to get himself into so much trouble? We are told that he was doing great wonders and signs among the people. When the organization of the church began to solve the problems a great number of priests came to the faith. Doing good resulted in many more people coming to faith in Christ. The priests coming to the church increased the jealousy of the Jewish leaders. When they argued with Stephen they always failed because they could not withstand his wisdom given by the Holy Spirit. The Jewish leaders organized opposition by encouraging men to lie about Stephen and his message. That is what got him arrested!
Stephen began his defense by going back a couple thousand years to the calling of Abraham out of the region called Ur. Remember, there was no Bible for Abraham to learn from. Instead, the God of glory appeared to him. We are not told how this appearance happened. We just know that he went up from Ur to a place called Haran. There he lived with his family until his father died. God is extremely patient. That made Abram the leader of the clan and we are told that God removed him from there and brought him to the land of Canaan. (Verses 5-6).
Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.
Let’s not forget we are talking about the sermon delivered by Stephen. What had he been charged with? He was charged with blasphemy, with being opposed to the law of Moses, and with being opposed to the temple and the temple worship.
There was one other charge against him. (6:14) The false witnesses said, we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.
Then the chief priests asked the question leading to Stephen’s sermon and the story of Abraham. The priest certainly did not intend what was about to happen to him. When he asked if these things were so he would have been glad to hear “yes” or “no”! But that’s not what he heard coming from this man whose face reminded them of an angel. We need to remember that what they ask is not necessarily what they need to receive. In 1 Peter 3:15 we are told, in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
Let’s look back at Stephen’s response. Stephen quickly moves past many things that happened between Abraham and God. He moves past Isaac and Jacob and brings them into Egypt.
The trip to Egypt was laid out in the lifetime of Joseph. Now, Joseph was the spoiled child among the children of Jacob. His brothers hated him and were jealous of him. So they sold him into slavery to be rid of him. They had no idea how he would be treated or if they would ever see him again. In fact, I believe you can be pretty sure they never expected to see him again. We do not know how much time would pass in Joseph’s life. His brothers sold him to some traders who sold him on the market in Egypt to Potiphar chief guard of Pharaoh. Time passed. We don’t know how long! Joseph was treated very well because God was with him. God had a plan and it involved Joseph being mistreated. Folks, if you’re a child of God you can expect that he will love you and care for you. He will protect you and he will use you for his own glory not yours. Joseph certainly was useful to God.
Stephen told us just enough about Joseph’s situation that satisfied their basic need to know. Joseph was soon moved up to household manager. As time went by Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce him and caused him to run away from her. When she told her husband that his slave had insulted her he grew very angry. We are not told exactly what he was angry about but I don’t think it was the usual “husband anger”! Potiphar had the right to put him to death which is what I would have expected to happen. Instead he was put in Pharaoh’s prison that must have been one of the better places to be incarcerated. Again, time went by and Joseph rose up in rank to be the chief trustee in the jail.
Stephen reminds us that God was with Joseph and rescued him out of all his afflictions. That rescue had God’s purpose all over it therefore it had to happen at the right time and in the right place. Without going into details Joseph spent over two years in that prison before he was brought before Pharaoh. He was able to interpret two dreams that were disturbing Pharaoh and, as a result, he was appointed prime minister of Egypt. Had he stayed with his brothers in the wilderness as a shepherd he would have been a shepherd when God needed a prime minister! Being in that position allowed him to bring his family to Egypt to escape a famine. When Jacob died, he was carried back to the tomb Abraham had bought to bury his dead.
All of this is included in the sermon Stephen was bringing so as to answer the question “is this true?” Just as God had promised Abraham, Jacob and his entire clan, about 75 people, did not leave Egypt when the famine was over. They stayed there and were blessed a good number of years. We do not know exactly how long they stayed as free men. The time to depart was coming and they would need a little encouragement to go. You see, they had been settled in the best part of Egypt for shepherds and farmers. They had all the things that they needed and were very happy. They grew into a large population. When it was time to prepare them to leave God allowed a Pharaoh to arise who did not know Joseph.
That Pharaoh realized that having a strong nation who would not consider themselves to be Egyptians on his northern border was not a good idea! So, Stephen goes into a little more detail. He explained that this new king forced the families to kill their babies. Moses tells us that it was the boys they killed leaving the girls to eventually be absorbed into Egyptian society. From the viewpoint of the Egyptians this is a good idea. From the viewpoint of the descendants of Jacob it was a horrible idea. I believe it was allowed by God to bring the people of Israel into a position where they were willing to leave Egypt.
Think of it, suppose they had been left as free men in a land that flowed with milk and honey and they had lived there for more than 300 years. Then suppose Moses came wandering into their settlements telling them that God wanted them to go across the great wilderness to the east and go into battle to take the land of Canaan from the giants who lived there. Actually there were only a few giants. But when the spies went into the land they said, “we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seem to them.” (Numbers 13:33). Moses would’ve had a very difficult time persuading them to go with him. So God allowed them to be put under strong bondage. Once again Pharaoh and his household became useful to God. When Moses was born, he was beautiful in God’s sight. When he was three months old he was put in a watertight basket and placed in the edge of the river near where the daughter of Pharaoh bathed. Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and took him into the family. As a member of the royal family Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became mighty in words and deeds. He lived in the lap of luxury for 40 years!
He knew he was an Israelite. I assume that was because Pharaoh’s daughter hired Moses’ mother to take care of him. At the age of 40 he felt the need to go among his people and see how they were being treated. When he saw one of them being wronged he defended the Israelite and killed the Egyptian. Moses assumed the people of Israel would recognize him as their deliverer.
So the next day when he went among his people he saw two Israelites quarreling. He intervened in the fight and he was immediately confronted by the one who was in the wrong, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?” Immediately, he knew he had to get out old town. At the age of 40 Moses traveled into that wilderness that he would lead them through later. This Prince of Egypt now found himself a shepherd in the wilderness! He settled down to await instructions as to what he should do now. Remember, God’s work must be done God’s way and in God’s timing! Between the ages of 40 and 80 Moses had a simple life. He was no longer in a position to do anything in his own strength to deliver his people.
At the age of 80 he was shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep and he saw a sight he had never seen before and would never forget. He saw a burning bush that did not burn up. Curiosity overcame him and he turned aside to see this great sight. Suddenly there was a voice coming out of the burning bush. “32 I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and Jacob… 33 Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you’re standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” (Acts 7:32-34)
Several things were going on here. There was the need to cause the people of Israel to want to leave Egypt. In order to bring that about, they had to be held as slaves until they were ready to go. There was the preparation of Moses so that he would not operate at his own strength. He had lots of ability when he went into the wilderness. Folks, the only ability God needs on our part is avail — ability! If we could do it in our strength we would not need God. Moses had to come to the place where he knew he had to believe God and operate in God’s strength. In Exodus chapter 3, verse 10-22 Moses had quite a debate with God. By the way, God doesn’t mind you having opinions he simply minds us operating on the strength of them.
Another thing that was operating was the preparation of the land they were going into. The land that is often called Canaan.
When God made a covenant with Abraham to give the land to his descendants Moses tells us “Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:13-16).
Everything in God’s plan worked out the way he wanted. Imagine that! Even Joseph being sold into slavery. After Jacob died and they observed his funeral Joseph returned to Egypt with his family. His brothers, discussing among themselves assumed Joseph would now take some kind of revenge on them. Near the end of Genesis we find this account.
His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:18-21).
God willing, next week we will take up the rest of Stephen’s sermon and perhaps get into the results.
Have you trusted Jesus for your salvation? Today could be your day.
All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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