The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb

I wonder how often, if ever, that we think of the prospect of coming into fellowship with one who hurt us badly. Most often, I suspect, we would simply seek to avoid such a person. People who seem to live to or at least enjoy hurting those who trust in Jesus are too often simply written off as unreachable, and perhaps unforgivable. Certainly, it would be very difficult to forgive such a one under normal circumstances who had beaten or killed a friend or a loved one, especially a harmless, gentle friend or loved one. Yet, as the Scripture keeps telling us, the thoughts of God are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9); yes, the depth and height of his wisdom is beyond our full comprehension (Romans 11:33).

 

The Wrath of Saul

From the beginning the Jewish people held the Jesus Movement in high esteem. Although many didn’t fully embrace the Gospel, the Apostles and early believers were not only regarded as harmless to the Jewish faith, but what they preached was part of that faith, just as the sects of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes were so held.

 

Saul and the Persecution

If Luke was not among those believers who were persecuted and had to leave Jerusalem, he could not have witnessed Stephen’s death. However, it would not be inconsistent with his explanation in Luke 1:1-4 that he could have researched his material concerning the events surrounding Stephen’s death and the persecution that followed. These things may very well have been supplied by Philip, who had ultimately settled in Caesarea after fleeing Jerusalem.

 

The Reluctant Evangelists

Our ancient ancestors were not that much different from us? For about three and one-half years the disciples had been witnesses at Jerusalem, the capital of Judaism. Miracles were done in the name of Jesus and the Gospel was preached and believed in power. Thousands were baptized into the Kingdom of God and most of these travelled home to various parts of the Empire taking the Gospel with them. Nevertheless, the power behind the Gospel seemed to build up pressure at the capital like waters behind a damn of clay. Something had to occur sooner or later, and finally it did.

 

The First to Die for Christ

Stephen’s death (Acts 7:51-60) is probably the most significant chapter in the life of the Church since Pentecost. He is the first believer whose blood was shed in Jesus name, and I don’t believe its significance is fully appreciated in the Church today. It may come as a surprise to know that he was probably stoned on the Day of Atonement 3 ½ years after Jesus’ crucifixion and comes at the culmination of the second half of the 70^th week of Daniels 70 Weeks Prophecy. The first half of that week incorporated Jesus’ public ministry which ended in his crucifixion in the “midst of the week” (cp. Daniel 9:26-27). Both halves equal 7 years or the 70^th Week beginning on the Feast of Trumpets in 27 CE and ending on the Day of Atonement or 10^th day of the seventh month in 34 CE.

 

The Tenth Temptation of God

Whether or not Stephen was concluding his address to the Sanhedrin is not specifically stated in the text. However, it seems by the time he stated that the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, quoting Isaiah the prophet, Stephen seems to react to something the crowd said or did, because in Acts 7:51 he complains his audience is reacting just as their fathers had in the past.

 

The Tent of Witness

Without a doubt Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin is the most important event concerning the community of believers since Pentecost in Acts 2. Luke devotes more space to what Stephen says than any address spoken by either Peter or Paul in the Book of Acts. It stands out as a defining point for the Church. From this point on the Gospel will go to the nations. From this point on, less and less emphasis is placed upon Jerusalem as the center of the faith. It is almost as though God dwelt there in Jerusalem until blood began to be shed, after which he led his people out—not quite true, but the principle that showed the presence of God was not in a specific place, but wherever his people happened to be is defined here with Stephen’s words: “The Most High dwells not in Temples made with hands!”

 

The Prophet Like Moses and Worship

Remember that Stephen was accused of blasphemy against Moses (or the Law) and against the Temple (Acts 6:13-14). In the last four blogs I’ve shown how Stephen addressed the first accusation. By and large the fathers had rejected both Moses and Joseph and had no faith in God as their father, Abraham had. Their eyes were always upon the past, traditions, where they had been (e.g. in Egypt etc.) and had no vision for the future (promises to be fulfilled). The five books of Moses are what make up the Law (Torah), so blasphemy against either (Moses/Torah) is blasphemy against the other. Not only did Stephen show a reverence toward Moses, but implied the Prophet who was like him (Acts 7:37) fulfilled Moses’ experiences to the letter, i.e. he fulfilled the Law and was rejected and crucified in doing so.

 

The Prophet Like Moses ~ Savior

As we go through Acts 7, I am emphasizing parts of Stephen’s address before the Sanhedrin, hoping to show how the young Messianic leader put forth not only his defense but that of the Gospel as well. Throughout Stephen’s address he points to Israel’s history—a solidified revelation of how God has interpreted himself and his relationship with mankind in such a manner that God’s people’s eyes were always directed toward the future. It was a history of faith and expectation. The problem in Stephen’s day was the Jewish authorities wrongly defined their present service to God with the past.

 

The Prophet Like Moses ~ His Rejection

Luke, in the person of Stephen, uses four periods in Moses life, beginning with his birth and then separated by 40 years each, to show a correlation between Moses and the Prophet who would be like him (Jesus), and subsequent parallels in the lives of those who would be like Jesus. What happened to Moses reoccurred in Jesus’ life under different circumstances, and, perhaps unexpectedly, we find what happened to Jesus, the Christ (Messiah), also occurred in the “life” of the Body of Christ—the believing community—and this is Stephen’s defense, Moses’ life is Stephen’s vindication and the vindication of the Gospel

 

The Prophet Like Moses ~ His Coming

In chapter seven of Acts Stephen’s defense of the Gospel, which ultimately included proof of his own innocence of the charges of blasphemy brought against him, was presented in the form of a summary of the history of salvation in the persons of Abraham, Joseph and Moses. In a previous blog I wrote of his illustrations of Jesus and the infancy of the Church in the lives of Abraham and Joseph, but by far the main body of Stephen’s testimony lay in his illustration of Moses’ life.

 

Blasphemy Against God and Moses!

Chapter seven of Acts represents Stephen’s defense, but not just for himself, but of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God with Jesus as Lord or the Messiah. The accusation against him is stated twice in Acts 6, once in verse-13 and then for a second time in verse-14. It is worded differently, but, nevertheless means the same, and in reference to this the high priest (probably Annas) asks Stephen: “Are these things so?”

 

The Stephen Conspiracy

Why would a nice guy like Stephen get arrested and then executed, either by rule of the Sanhedrin or mob violence? Acts 6:8 tells us he was a miracle-worker, and the people seemed to love the believers among them who healed their ailments (Acts 5:12a, 15-16, 26), but something seems to have occurred here that kept Stephen from being protected by the power of the people. What was it?

 

A Chronology of Acts 8 through 12

The eighth chapter of Acts begins with the persecution of the Church immediately following the death of Stephen in the fall of 34 CE. At this point in time, however, it would be wrong to assume the Church is an entity in itself in the same manner that it had become in the 2^nd century CE. Rather all Messianic Jews were considered a part of Judaism, a faith made up of all Jews, whether or not one believed in Jesus as the Messiah. It is precisely because Stephen and the group of Messianic believers who settled in Jerusalem from the Diaspora were Jews that the leaders in Jerusalem had the authority to pursue them and bring them to Jerusalem for trial.

 

When Was Stephen Stoned?

Most scholarship, I believe, puts the stoning of Stephen in 34 or 35 CE. Is there reason within the Scriptures to substantiate this claim? Yes, I believe there is! However, such substantiation comes from prophecy in both Old and New Testaments, but the understanding of these very prophecies is clouded by the interpretation of most scholarship, which puts the fulfillment of them at the second coming of Jesus.