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Two works of Christ in Acts 1-12, part 6

In the sixth chapter of Acts we are told how seven men were chosen to take charge of some of the ordinary responsibilities off the shoulders of the apostles (Acts 6:5). The first among these was Stephen, and the second was Philip. All of them had Greek names, but only Nicolas was said to be “a proselyte from Antioch.” It seems likely that the other five had both a Hebrew name and a Greek name.

Acts 6 and 7 tell the story of Stephen, and Acts 8 tells the story of Philip. As we will see, these two men provide us with illustrations of the two works of Christ. Stephen is killed, but Philip is caught away and supernaturally transported (alive) from Gaza to Caesarea.

Stephen’s Work and the Opposition

Acts 6:7, 8 says,

⁷ The word of God kept on spreading, and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. ⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

The success of the gospel, most notably among the priests in Jerusalem, soon brought opposition from “the synagogue of the Freedmen.” Nothing certain is known of this synagogue, but the name implies that they were a group of freed slaves who were proselytes to Judaism. Perhaps Stephen told them that they were yet in bondage, sons of Hagar-Jerusalem (Galatians 4:25). True freedom is found through freedom from the debt of sin, which Jesus made possible.

John 8:36 says,

³⁶ So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Again, we read in John 8:32,

³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

The problem is that there are none so blind as those who think they see, and there are none so enslaved as those who think they are free.

These “Freedmen” were frustrated and angry when they were unable to refute the wonders and signs that were confirming Stephen’s word. So they resorted to charging him with blasphemy (Acts 6:11), the same charge that condemned Jesus (Matthew 26:65). We read in Acts 6:13, 14,

¹³ They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law, ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.”

Compare this with Jesus’ trial in Matthew 26:59-61,

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. ⁶⁰ They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on, two came forward, ⁶¹ and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days’.”

The real story is given in John 2:18-22,

¹⁸ The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²² So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

It seems that even the disciples had failed to understand the meaning of Jesus’ words until after His “temple” had been raised up. So, of course, one would not expect others to understand it either. Their misunderstanding became apparent at Jesus’ trial. And when the Freedmen heard Stephen quoting Jesus’ words, they too misrepresented the truth. So we see that Stephen’s death was an extension of Jesus’ death. Stephen was thus associated with the first work of Christ.

The “customs” in question were, no doubt, the sacrificial system, which ended with the final great Sacrifice. The book of Hebrews speaks more fully on those changes. Hebrews 7:12 says,

¹² For when the priesthood is changed [from Aaron to Melchizedek], of necessity there takes place a change of law also.

By not accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews disagreed with Stephen’s message and brought him to the Council. Acts 6:18 says,

¹⁸ And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel.

It would be nice to have some explanation of this. Who gave this testimony? If the entire Council really saw something supernatural in his face, it did not prevent them from condemning him to death.

Stephen’s Death

Acts 7 gives Stephen’s defense before the Council. It is a lengthy account of the history of Israel beginning with the call of Abraham. We will not comment on his full speech, but he gave two examples that were most pertinent. The first was in Acts 7:23-27, which shows how Moses himself was rejected by Israel, even as Jesus was. Acts 7:23-25 says,

²³ But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. ²⁴ And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.

But the next day, when Moses tried to break up a fight between two Israelites, they rejected him. Acts 7:27 says,

²⁷ But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?”

Acts 7:35 continues,

³⁵ This Moses whom they disowned, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

In other words, Moses was rejected by Israel, not being recognized as their King and deliverer. The Hebrew word for “deliverer” is yashah, “savior.” It is the verb form of Yeshua (Jesus). Hence, we see how Moses, the type of Christ, was rejected by his own people. Stephen then reminds them God promised to raise up a prophet like Moses (Acts 7:37), implying that this was a messianic prophecy of Jesus Christ.

The Council’s rejection of Stephen’s testimony followed the pattern seen with Moses.

The second passage asserts that God is too big to dwell in a temple. This was his defense against the charge of speaking against the temple. We read in Acts 7:46-50,

⁴⁶ David found favor in God’s sight and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. ⁴⁸ However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: ⁴⁹ “Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; what kind of house will you build for Me?” says the Lord, “or what place is there for My repose? ⁵⁰ Was it not My hand which made all these things?”

Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple says in 2 Chronicles 6:18,

¹⁸ But will God indeed dwell with mankind on earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built.

By this time, Stephen could see the growing anger in the faces of his accusers. In Acts 7:51-53 he concludes his defense, saying,

⁵¹ “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. ⁵² Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; ⁵³ you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

The anger of his accusers then reached fever pitch. Acts 7:54 says,

⁵⁴ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.

But Stephen suddenly saw heaven opened, and he saw “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). But the accusers grabbed him, drove him out of the city, and stoned him as he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60).

Here is where we are introduced to Saul (later called Paul), who condoned this murder, though he did not personally participate in the stoning itself. Why was Saul present? Some think he was part of the Freedmen synagogue. I think, however, a more likely explanation is that because he was a student of Gamaliel, the Council president, he was an observer.

Years later, when Paul and Barnabas preached the word in Lystra, Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, “won over the crowds,” and stoned Paul, “supposing him to be dead” (Acts 14:19). But Acts 14:20 says,

²⁰ But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city…

It is not easy to survive a stoning, much less to get up and walk into the city. I believe he really did die but was raised from the dead. Either way, however, his life was spared because of Stephen’s prayer of forgiveness.