Acts 7:44-60
Acts 7:44-60 - Cut to the Heart | Stephen’s Final Witness
Acts 7:44-60
Recap
Stephen is standing before the council and giving an account of what he’s been teaching
But he’s not defending himself, he’s using this as an opportunity to share the truth
He takes them through the lives of Abraham, Joseph and Moses
He shows them how each one was treated by Israel (their fathers)
and they are treating Jesus the same way
And now he starts to address the issue of the temple
Remember that Stephen has been accused of blasphemy against the temple, the law and Moses
He’s addressed the fact that none of these things existed when God first started dealing with his people
His point being is that their relationship with God is not based upon these things
Scripture
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed (as God appointed), instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
Remember that the author of Hebrews points out that the tabernacle was built to replicate the true Tabernacle in heaven
The tabernacle is different from the temple — it was a tent that traveled with them
45 “which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,
Stephen points out that the tabernacle was brought into the land
The inner part of the tabernacle was called the Holy of Holies
What made it holy was because it was where God dwelled
Stephen is pointing out that God‘s dwelling place was brought into the land when it was still occupied by Gentiles
Therefore, there is nothing inherently holy about the land
What made it holy is that God dwelled there with his people
And Stephen points out that this was done until the time of David
46 (talking about David)“who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 “But Solomon built Him a house. 48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven [is] My throne, And earth [is] My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what [is] the place of My rest? 50 Has My hand not made all these things? (Quoting Isaiah 66:1-2)
Stephen point out that it was David who desired to build God a house
God told him in Isaiah — I don’t need a house — it’s all My house
Instead, God allowed his son Solomon to build his house — the temple
Stephen is showing that there is nothing inherently spiritual about the land
There is nothing inherently spiritual about the temple
God dwelled with his people in a tent in the wilderness— and they were still His people
Because He was with them
It’s not blasphemy to say the children of Israel were rebellious — they were
It’s not blasphemy to say that God doesn’t need a temple to dwell in — He doesn’t
It’s not blasphemy to say that the law and the old covenant is passing away — Jesus fulfilled it
And this is where he closes out his narrative on Israel’s history
Then he hits him with this statement
51 “[You] stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers [did,] so [do] you.
You stiff necked — you won’t even bend your neck so much as to look around and see
You’re married to your traditions — not to scripture — not to God
You uncircumcised in heart and ears — circumcision was a sign of the covenant God had made with Abraham
But circumcision of the heart — the cutting away of polluted flesh — leaving a clean heart and clean conscience
Abraham still resisted God and His will — until God brought him through trials and changed him
Cutting away his disobedience and self will
Stephen is saying YOUR disobedience and self will still remains
You always resist the Holy Spirit — indicating that:
this very conversation
The multiple interactions you’ve had with Peter and John
Each of the interactions you had with Jesus
WERE ALL ORCHESTRATED AND EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
We resist the Holy Spirit when we’re exposed to the truth and reject it
Not on the basis that it’s false
but rather on the basis that we don’t like it — it doesn’t fit our desires
We’re stiff necked and uncircumcised when we resist correction God has ordained on the basis that we simply don’t like the message
52 “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 “who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept [it.]”
The prophets foretold of the coming of the Messiah and your father’s persecuted them, killed them
Now you have become the betrayers and the murders of the Messiah himself
Notice that everywhere up to this point Stephen has said “our fathers”
Indicating the he too once belonged to a people who were disobedient to the Lord
But now he changes and says — your fathers
Your fathers killed the prophets
Your fathers rejected the message
Your fathers hardened their hearts the way you are doing now
Your reaction to the truth is what reveals who your father is
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with [their] teeth.
Notice: Stephen has confronted them very bluntly and they are “cut to the heart”
This cut to the heart is a reference to conviction — the Holy Spirit illuminating the truth of these words to them
We saw this same phrase used in Acts 2 — Peter confronts them the same way:
Acts 2:36-37 (NKJV) 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard [this,] they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?”
Notice the same message — you crucified Him, you killed the messiah
Notice the same delivery — blunt and direct
But notice very different responses:
In Acts 2, they’re convicted and they want to know how they can be saved
In Acts 7, they’re convicted and they want to kill the messenger
Response has nothing to do with content, and it has nothing to do with delivery — it has to do with their reaction to the light
John 3:19-21 (NKJV) 19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Two different responses to the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit
The light of the Holy Spirit is shown, illuminating the heart as to the truth of its condition
Those that love their deeds more than the truth of what’s been revealed, recoil back into the darkness hardening their heart to the truth
Those that see the truth of their standing before a Holy God, come into the light
This conviction is the drawing Jesus speaks of, without which no man can come to the Father
But this conviction has a response — and that response is based on our reaction to the truth
Jesus said:
Matthew 5:3 (NKJV) “Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the response to the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit
It is followed by:
Matthew 5:4 (NKJV) Blessed [are] those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
The convicting work of the Holy Spirit, illuminating who we are before a Holy God destroys any notion we have that we are good — it destroys our false identity
This invokes an extreme response:
Either mourning
Or gnashing of teeth
We’ve now seen both play out in practical terms
The Pharisees here love their life
They love their position
They love their false identity — which Jesus said must be destroyed so they can be reborn to a new identity
And they would rather embrace a lie that allows them to keep their identity
Than embrace a truth that gives them a new one
And the result is they gnash their teeth at Stephen and seek to kill him
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
Imagine this — imagine your last few moments of life — and what passes before your eyes is not:
All the things on your bucket list
All the things you experienced in this life
But rather your eyes are firmly fixed on Christ — and He looks on, waiting to receive you
He’s not worried about what he’s leaving behind — he’s looking forward to what’s ahead
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast [him] out of the city and stoned [him.] And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on [God] and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
We talked about Christian maturity and what it should look like as we grow in the Lord
Jesus gave us an outline of what that looks like:
Matthew 5:3-12 (NKJV) 3 “Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed [are] those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed [are] the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed [are] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed [are] the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed [are] the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed [are ]those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great [is] your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Stephen had only been a Christian for a short time
But he grew to maturity quickly — how?
Because maturity isn’t about how much of Him you have — it’s about how much of you He has
The first Christians were all in — not coming to Jesus for what He could do for them
But believing that His promises were better — His kingdom was better
And their entire lives were centered around the fact that He was better — than anything this world had to offer
Mature Christians were produced quickly in an environment that was hostile against Christ
And Stephen would be the first to reach maturity — “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great [is] your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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