Acts 7:42-60
—Verse by verse
This page is a verse by verse study of Acts 7:42-60. These verses describe Stephen’s rebuke to the Sanhedrin and his death at their hands..
Stephen rebukes the Sanhedrin, and they kill him with stones.
Acts 7:42-60
¶“41They made a calf idol in those days, and brought a sacrifice to it, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.” (Acts 7:41).
¶“42But God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of Heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'Was it really to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? No, 43you carried with you the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, and the idols which you made to worship. So I will carry you away beyond Babylon.'; ” (Acts 7:42-43).
¶“44Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness. That tabernacle was made exactly as he who spoke to Moses commanded. Moses made it according to the pattern that he had been shown. 45Our fathers, in their turn, brought in the tabernacle when they entered with Joshua into the land possessed by the pagan nations. These nations God drove out as our fathers advanced. This continued until the days of David 46who found favor in the sight of God. David asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob, 47but it was Solomon who built him a house.” (Acts 7:44-47).
¶“48The Most High, however, doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. As the prophet says, 49'Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50Did not my hand make all these things?' ” (Acts 7:48-50).
¶“51You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! You do just what your fathers did. 52Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you yourselves have now become betrayers and murderers. 53You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and you didn't keep it!” (Acts 7:51-53).
¶“54Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they bared their teeth at him. 55But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. 56Stephen said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!' ” (Acts 7:54-56).
¶“57But they cried out with a loud voice, and blocked their ears, and all together rushed at Stephen. 58They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses threw their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59They stoned Stephen even as he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!' 60Stephen then knelt down, and cried in a loud voice, 'Lord, don't hold this sin against them!' When he had said this, he fell asleep in death.” (Acts 7:57-60).
1 The Tabernacle for Idols
Verses 42-43
¶"But God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of Heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets, “Was it really to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? No, you carried with you the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, and the idols which you made to worship. So I will carry you away beyond Babylon.” " (Acts 7:42-43).
- Tabernacles and idols Stephen has been accused of speaking against the temple by teaching that Jesus will destroy it. Stephen now turns this upon the Sanhedrin as he continues to use the disobedience of their forefathers as a parable against them. The generation in the wilderness insulted God and the tabernacle that he gave them (cf Acts 7:44). They carried with them the tabernacle of Moloch and worshipped stars and idols. When they offered sacrifices at the tabernacle of God, their hearts were with the pagans. God turns away from those whose hearts are not truly with him.
2 The Tabernacle of Testimony
Verses 44-47
¶ "Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness. That tabernacle was made exactly as he who spoke to Moses commanded. Moses made it according to the pattern that he had been shown. Our fathers, in their turn, brought in the tabernacle when they entered with Joshua into the land possessed by the pagan nations. These nations God drove out as our fathers advanced. This continued until the days of David who found favor in the sight of God. David asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob, but it was Solomon who built him a house." (Acts 7:44-47).
- A habitation for God. The forefathers thought that God needed a house in which to dwell. It is dangerous for people to build a house for God out of their own heads and with their own hands. Next, out of their own heads and with their own hands, they'll make a god to dwell in the house. God therefore did not let the forefathers invent the house: he provided the pattern and commanded every detail. The tabernacle (the travelling ornate tent of meeting) was eventually replaced by a temple in Jerusalem based on the same pattern. David wanted to build it for God, but God did not grant his wish. It is instructive to read God’s message to David (2Samuel 7).
3 The Tabernacle of Heaven
Verses 48-50
¶ "The Most High, however, doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. As the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” " (Acts 7:48-50, Isaiah 66:1-2).
- Earth is my footstool. Stephen is pressing the point that it's an idolatrous belief that God dwells in an earthly building, no matter how grand the building seems to human eyes. The earth is God’s footstool, and nobody can build a house on a footstool, unless it be a house for a mouse. The tabernacle and the temple, and God’s special presence in them, were only symbols or shadows of God’s eternal and heavenly dwelling place (Hebrews 9:1-28, Hebrews 10:1). It was time for the Sanhedrin to see that the symbols were only until Christ came, and that Christ had now come. But they refused to see. They admired the shadows of the good things that had come, but shut their eyes to the good things themselves.
4 End of Stephen’s Speech
Verses 51-53
¶ "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! You do just what your fathers did. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you yourselves have now become betrayers and murderers. You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and you didn't keep it!" (Acts 7:51-53).
Stephen ceases to speak parabolically about the Sanhedrin’s ancestors. He now turns directly upon the Sanhedrin with five accusations...
- 1. Stiff-necked They were “stiff-necked” in the sense of prejudice, bigotry, and pride. This characterized the hearts of most of the Sanhedrin. "God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble" (James 4:6, Prov 3:34).
- 2. Uncircumcised in heart Being circumcised according to the law was of great importance to a devout male Jew. However the Sanhedrin didn't seem to realize that you could be a circumcised Jew in the flesh, whilst an uncircumcised heathen in heart. Paul speaks of this spiritual circumcision: ¶ "In him you were also circumcised, but it wasn't a circumcision done by human hands. Rather, it was a removal of the sins of the flesh in the circumcision that Christ does." (Colossians 2:11).
- 3. Resisting the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was revealing the gospel, but the Sanhedrin were not listening. By shutting their ears to the word, they were resisting the Holy Spirit. They were acting toward Stephen’s message as they had acted toward John the Baptist’s: "The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves" (Luke 7:30). People can do no worse than resist the Holy Spirit and reject God’s counsel.
- 4. Killed the Messiah. Just as the fathers killed the prophets who foretold of the Messiah, now the Sanhedrin has killed the very Messiah himself. You cannot do worse than crucify Christ the Son of God (cf Hebrews 6:6).
- 5. Didn't keep the Law. This accusation would have angered the Sanhedrin possibly more than all the others. They regarded themselves as experts and exemplars of the law of Moses. But Jesus himself had said to them, ¶ "You cleverly set aside the law of God in order to keep your tradition" (Mark 7:9).
5 End of Stephen’s Life
Verses 54-56
¶ "Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they bared their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” " (Acts 7:54-56).
- Cut to the heart. This is the same phrase as in Acts 2:37. However there is a difference. When the Holy Spirit convicts people with the truth, cuts them to the heart, they can either accept or reject that truth. Those who were baptized on the day of Pentecost accepted what they'd been convicted of. Those listening to Stephen rejected, repudiated, resisted, and wanted to destroy what convicted them.
- Gnashed their teeth The phrase “gnashed their teeth” is an idiom for the kind of frenzy or anguish that might cause people to bare and agitate their teeth in a threatening or agonized manner —as a mad or ferocious dog might do. One does not take the phrase too literally. It's like we said, “They were hopping mad” or, “They did a Vesuvius”.
- I see the heavens opened. Stephen was granted a vision of the risen Lord, the man Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God (Acts 2:34). But in this vision, the Lord stood. The Lord honours those who are willing to die for him. This vision encouraged Stephen, but could it have also convinced the Sanhedrin, had they dared to look and also see?
Verses 57-60
¶ "But they cried out with a loud voice, and blocked their ears, and all together rushed at Stephen. They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses threw their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. They stoned Stephen even as he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Stephen then knelt down, and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, don't hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep in death." (Acts 7:57-60).
- Rushed at him. The Sanhedrin, the august assembly of Jewish scholars and high priests, behaves with disgusting indecency. The veil of dignity is cast away; the whited sepulchres are broken open and the dead men’s bones come rattling out (Matthew 23:27).
- The witnesses. Under Jewish law, the witnesses were also the executioners. Consequently, if they were false witnesses, they became also murderers.
- A young man named Saul. This was the man who was to become Paul the apostle.
- Stephen’s prayer Stephen asks the Lord to receive his spirit and to forgive his murderers. Stephen echos his Lord’s own prayers when his Lord was crucified (Luke 23:34,46).