Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
Acts 7:1-60
Chapter 7 is a long one with 60 verses. It is long because it includes Stephen’s speech. His speech is about Jesus Christ. Notice, though, Stephen never mentions Jesus’ name. Like Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Chapter 2, Stephen starts with the Old Testament because the Jews knew the Old Testament. Notice that Stephen starts with Abraham, the first Jews who became the “Father of Many Nations.” Then Stephen moves on to the other patriarch, such as Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. He continued with Moses, Aaron and Joshua. He then mentions Solomon.
Questions
1. Even though this chapter is long, it is orderly. Notice in Stephen’s speech, he listed and talked about the patriarchs in order. Starting with Abraham, summarize what Stephen said about him and each of the other patriarchs in the order of Stephen’s speech.
Abraham - Acts 7:2-8
Joseph - Acts 7:9-19
Moses - Acts 7:20-44
Joshua, David, Solomon - Acts 7:45-47
2. After going through the patriarchs, Stephen turns his attention to his audience. What does he call them, and what does he accuse them of (Acts 7:52-53)?
3. Notice that Stephen’s speech went from “Review to Rebuke” in the longest speech in Acts. It is longer than Peter’s three speeches combined.
The Stoning of Stephen
Acts 7:54-60
After Stephen had rebuked those who falsely accused him and seized him, they became angry because they were convicted. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him. Stephen became the first martyr. That means he died for the sake of Jesus Christ. When he looked up, he saw heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is the only time in the Bible that Jesus stood up after His ascension. Why did Jesus stand? Just as you would stand to welcome someone, Jesus stood to welcome Stephen home.
As they were stoning him, Stephen was praying that God would forgive them just as Jesus had asked for forgiveness on the cross for those who crucified him. Stephen had become a type of Christ by saying what Jesus said.
Questions
1. What is a martyr? Do you know any modern day martyrs? Was Cassie René Bernall, the student killed in the Columbine High School massacre at age 17 on April 20, 1999, a martyr? Initial reports suggested that Eric Harris asked if she believed in God. After she said “Yes,” the shooter killed her.
2. Was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a martyr?
3. Do you think you could become a martyr?
4. In case you don’t know why Jesus was crucified and Stephen was stoned, the answer is simple. Jesus was crucified for political reasons. Stephen was stoned for religious reasons. They were two different crimes with two different forms of punishment during that time.
5. Review Acts 7:58b and Acts 8:1. This will be significant later on especially when you get to Acts 22:20.
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