Acts 9:1-19 – Saul’s conversion

Saul's Conversion

[The story of Saul's (Paul's) conversion is told three times in Acts. Chapters 9, 22, and 26. I will include information from all three chapters in order to tell the complete story once.] 1Meanwhile, Saul [Same person who in Acts 8:3, "…began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison."] was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. [Acts 26:9-10a, "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem."] He went to the high priest [Annas (Acts 4:6)] 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. [Acts 22:5, "as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished." Acts 26:10b-11, "On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them."]
3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [Acts 26:13, "About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions."]
4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" [Acts 26:14, "We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'"] [Goads or 'Pricks' are sharp pointed sticks that were used for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden. "To kick against the goad" in this sense signifies to offer useless resistance. In other words, it is useless for Paul to continue to fight the will of God.]

5"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus [Acts 22:8 "of Nazareth"], whom you are persecuting," he replied. [Acts 22:10, "'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked."] 6"Now get up [Acts 26:16 "stand on your feet"] and go into the city [Damascus], and you will be told what you must do."

 
 

7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. [Acts 22:9 "My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me."]
8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. [Acts 22:11, "My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me."]
9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

 
 

10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.

 
 

11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

 
 

13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." [Ananias was sure that the Lord had made some mistake. "Are you sure you were supposed to say 'Saul of Tarsus'? Lord you might not know this but this is one bad dude! He is here to arrest your followers. This is a person who will arrest me! Didn't you mean to say someone else?" Ananias was guilty of what many of us do when God tells us to do something… "Are you sure about that, Lord?" We must remember that God knows what he is doing and we are not to question and complain…we are to do and obey.]

 
 

15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! [This is a command.] This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

 
 

17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. [Acts 22:12, "A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there."] Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. [Acts 22:13-16, "He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him. Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'"] He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. [In Acts 26:16-18, Paul summarizes the events after being blinded by the light as follows. (Jesus said), "'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'"]

 
 

[At this point Galatians 1:15-17 tells us that Paul did not remain in Damascus but went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Acts does not mention this information but Galatians is Paul's own words concerning it as follows, "But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus."]

Acts 8:26-40 – Philip and the Ethiopian

Philip and the Ethiopian

26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian [That is, from the upper Nile region] eunuch [a man who voluntarily or involuntarily abstains from marriage and is emasculated so that he may help high ranking women without the fear of any sexual advances], an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, [For he was a Jewish convert]
28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. [We notice this eunuch had traveled from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. This was no ordinary trip for it took a great deal of time to travel in those days since it was by chariot. The roads in that day were passable but not great, as I am sure it had many bumps. If I may expound on this situation for a moment. This man was drawn to Jerusalem, he was heading that direction to worship in the Temple. He must have told his queen of his plans and she permitted him to leave. He set out on this long, long journey with the Spirit of God leading him—even if he didn't realize it at the time. No doubt he was hot, but excited to be heading to Jerusalem again. He would worship the true and living God in his Temple and offer the necessary sacrifices as the Jewish authorities require. I can see him entering Jerusalem and first noticing the imposing Temple. He would be filled with pride but I can imagine that the joy would be short lived as he would notice the people uneasy because of this new sect of people who have left the Jewish religious system. No doubt people would tell him about the stoning of one of these followers and how Paul of Tarsus was rounding them up. This eunuch probably went to the Temple and performed his sacrifices but at the same time he must have felt there was something wrong…something different. He probably already had or maybe obtained in Jerusalem a scroll that contains the words of the prophet Isaiah. He must have felt an uneasiness in his heart as he left Jerusalem. I can imagine him praying to the Lord saying, "Why does this not feel right, Lord?" "Why do I feel this within me that something is not right?" I can see the Lord directing his eyes to Isaiah and he read something that mystified him. He couldn't figure out what he was reading. He could understand the words but he could not understand what these words meant or why they were here?]

29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." [God had brought Philip to this place for this reason.]

30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. [No doubt startling the eunuch because he had probably been thinking or praying at that moment for God to reveal the truth of these words]

31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" [Can you feel the grief in his voice. How can I understand this? It is beyond me to comprehend.] So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. [Can you picture the excitement that the eunuch must have felt at this moment. Here he was struggling to understand these words and a man comes to him and offers to explain these words that are burning in his heart.]

32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth." [Isaiah 53:7,8]

34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" [Once again can you feel the intensity and grief in his voice as he asks this question, "Please, explain this to me! I know the prophet Isaiah is saying something very important I can feel a heaviness in my heart when I read this passage but I cannot figure it out. I know this scripture is important and it is crucial that I know…but it is hidden from my understanding. I have been praying that God would reveal this to me and that is when I met you. I ask you, what does this mean?"]

35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. [Amen! Praise God! I can see Philip saying the following:

"This scripture talks about Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is the sheep that was lead to the slaughter and he died to set you free from your sin and as Ephesians 1:7 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." I can see Philip preaching about the gospel of God like Paul in Romans 1:1-6, "the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." Like the Romans, the eunuch was a Jewish convert he was familiar with the law of Moses, to which Philip would say as Romans 2:19-20, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Then Philip might have said as Paul said in Romans 3:21-26, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." And as Romans 6:22-24 says, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." I am sure Philip echoed the words of Peter when asked by the eunuch what should I do? "Repent and be baptized" (Acts 2:38)]

 
 

36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" [Some manuscripts add the following: "Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' The eunuch answered, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'"] [This part of the verse is missing in some manuscripts but I don't think it should be left out because it does accurately represent what one should do to become born again. Whether this was added by a copyist to make the story more informative or if it was erroneously left out in some manuscripts is unknown. The main thing to focus on is that one must believe that Jesus is the promised Christ and that as Acts 4:12 says, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."]

38And he [the eunuch] gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away [physically removed him from that place], and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. [The eunuch's heart was rejoicing and full of peace. The eunuch had known that something was wrong and now he knew that God had sent his son Jesus to save him and to bring him into reconciliation with God without the rules and regulations of the law.]
40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus [city near the Mediterranean Sea] and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. [No doubt rejoicing as well that the Lord had used him to spread the message.]

Acts 8:4-25 – Simon the sorcerer

Philip in Samaria

4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. [As God had intended. Jesus tells his apostles in Luke 24:45-47, "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." So we see that God had his message begin at Jerusalem and up until this point the message had exclusively been taught there. God allowed this persecution to happen in order to spread the message to all the nations. Sometimes bad things can have a good result.]
5Philip [Same Philip who was chosen to be a deacon in Acts 6:5] went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6When the crowds heard Philip [speak of Christ and the forgiveness of sins] and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. [The signs grabbed their attention to the message.]
7With shrieks [Loud cries of horror], evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city. [Great joy because the sick were healed, the possessed were freed, and salvation was proclaimed. Notice that the miracles accompanied the salvation message and were proof to the people that this man was a true prophet of God.]

 
 

Simon the Sorcerer

9Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery [was a magician] in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. [Simon was using some type of magic to exalt himself. The people of Samaria felt that Simon with his 'amazing wonders' was probably the coming Messiah, whom they were still waiting to come. The people looked to Simon as sort of a god or godly power. Simon apparently had some sort of power or trick, duped the people into believing he was special, and felt himself to be all powerful. However, we see what happens when the gospel is proclaimed because Romans 1:16 says it is the true "power of God", "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:"]
12But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ [There is power in that statement…"but when they believed…" Amen! Their eyes were blinded and they were powerless. As Romans 5:6 says, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Before, they were God's enemies as Romans 5:10 says, "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Ephesians 2:1-5 sums up the Samaritans situation by saying, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."], they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. [Simon believed? But what did he believe in? More on this later.] And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. [Followed him and was astonished at the wonderful forgiveness of Christ? No. The miracles he saw astonished him.]

14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. [Why had the Spirit not come on these people? We see that the Spirit fell upon the apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2). We will see later that this same Philip witnessed to an Ethiopian and there is no mention of Peter and John praying for him to receive the Holy Spirit. Were these people saved before they received the Holy Spirit? Is 'receiving the Holy Spirit' something optional for a Christian? We see in verse 20 that Peter refers to this as a 'gift of God'.]

 
 

18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

 
 

20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. [Verse 23 seems to indicate that Simon was never a follower of Christ because Peter says he is still a captive/slave to sin. As we see in Romans 6:16-18 Christians are not slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."]
22Repent [because he has not previously done so] of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

 
 

24Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me." [We see a repentant response by Simon to Peter. We pray that Simon truly became a Christian at this time and received the Holy Spirit.]

 
 

25When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

[I would like to take a moment to look at what we have seen about Simon so far. At first he was a magician who was deceiving people into thinking he was someone Divine and special. Then he sees a man who can truly do miracles and he believes in what this man says and follows this man around because he is ACTUALLY doing things that Simon just pretended to do. Then he sees the apostles lay hands on people and give them special gifts similar to what Philip had exhibited. Simon then tries to purchase this power, which leads him to being rebuked. We can notice from this that Simon only believed in the miracles Philip did, not the message.]

Acts 8:1-3: Persecution scatters the church

[Chapter 8 begins as a continuum of Chapter 7 in that very little time has elapsed between the two. In the first verse we see Paul's (the young man who was watching over the witnesses coats in Acts 7:58) thoughts on the death of Stephen.] 1And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. [For if he was a member of the 'Synagogue of the Freedmen' (Acts 6:9), he was one of the people who—as Acts 6:10 says—"…could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke." This must have infuriated Saul (later Paul) because we read in Philippians 3:4-6 in Paul's own words describing his old life, "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless." So we see that Paul before his conversion was full of zeal for the Jewish faith, a Hebrew of Hebrews! Paul was no doubt confused and angry that he could not as we mentioned before 'stand up against the wisdom of Stephen or the Spirit by whom he spoke'. This must have infuriated Paul because he was a Pharisee, he was faultless in legalistic righteousness…he was supposed to make a man like Stephen shake in his sandals. I can see Paul thinking…Why did Stephen have so much wisdom? Why couldn't we stand up to him? Why did Stephen's face shine like an angel? Why did Stephen mention that he saw the heaven's open and see God? No doubt Paul was angry and furious…NEVER!! Never will God be blasphemed again!, thinks Paul. So we see that Paul was giving his approval to the death of Stephen for at this time Paul was full of hatred and self-righteousness. But thank God Paul's life doesn't end at this verse!]

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. [So we see that all of the Christians, except the 12 apostles, were either run out of Jerusalem or killed in this persecution, the first major persecution against the Church—there had been smaller persecution against the apostles earlier. This persecution is in response to Stephen's speech and stoning in that the Jewish authorities were wanting to once and for all end this new sect. It is interesting to note that the 12 apostles stayed in Jerusalem. Why is this? Was this because the Pharisees were afraid to remove them because they were so famous? Or was this because the apostles did not want to leave Jerusalem due to the fact that they were Jews who wanted to proclaim the gospel to the Jews only? We know that the Sanhedrin was not afraid of the Apostles in Chapter 5 because they had them flogged for spreading the message. The scriptures are not clear as to why the apostles stayed behind but only mentions that they did stay behind. We do know that through this persecution the gospel of Jesus spread to areas that had not heard this message before. No doubt, God was moving his followers into new areas other than Jerusalem.]
2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. [Most likely the apostles who remained in Jerusalem]
3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. [Wherever the followers of Jesus went, Paul went out to destroy them. He was full of hatred for this new religion and wanted to do his part to destroy them before they spread more. His zeal for the Jewish religious system was so strong he wanted to persecute the church and he did just that.]

Acts 7:54-60 – The Stoning of Stephen

54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. [They were so full of anger and hatred. To them it was blasphemy because Stephen had said that the Temple sacrifices were useless now that Christ had died and that the Jewish religious system was no longer needed. Stephen also told them that God did not reside in the Temple but in Heaven.]
55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." [God was so pleased that Stephen's boldness that he allowed him to have a vision of heaven. Truly Stephen was a prophet similar to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It is wonderful to notice that Jesus in this vision was standing at the right hand of God. Usually, Jesus is referred to as sitting at the right hand of God (Matthew 22:44, Matthew 26:64, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 12:2). Truly this was special event!]

57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, [so as to not hear the blasphemy that this Jesus was standing in heaven with God. If they were to believe that then they would turn to Jesus for salvation, but then they would have to give up their position and power in this world] they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses [Deuteronomy 17:7, "The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you."] laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. [Take note of this man. More on Saul later in Acts]

 
 

59While they were stoning him [The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible says the following concerning Jewish stoning at this time: "the wise men say, a man was stoned naked, but not a woman; and there was a place four cubits from the house of stoning, where they plucked off his clothes, only they covered his nakedness before. The place of stoning was two men's heights, and there he went up with his hands bound, and one of the witnesses thrust him on his loins, that he might fall upon the earth; and if he died not at that push, the witnesses lifted up a stone, which lay there, the weight of two men, and one cast it with all his strength upon him; and if he died not, he was stoned by all Israel."], Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." ['spirit' or 'soul'. This indicates to us that Stephen's spirit ascended into heaven and so to will the souls of all Christians go to heaven when we die. The soul does not sleep when a person dies, but go directly to be with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 says, "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." So, we see that Christians when away from the Body—dead physically—are at home with the Lord just as Stephen mentions.]
60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. [Asleep is commonly used to refer to people who have died because their bodies appear to be sleeping. It is also specifically used to refer to Christians who have died. 2 Thessalonians 4:13 says, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."]

[Stephen was a man who was full of the Holy Spirit. We see the example of him in that he boldly spoke against the Jewish authorities, he endured stoning for the witness of Christ, and he prayed that the horrendous crime they committed against them would not be held against them. As I mentioned earlier, where were the apostles? They might have been hiding, for I am sure they would have found out about this…I am sure everyone knew about the young man who defied the Sanhedrin and was to be stoned. Also, this event as we will see in the next chapter signals a new era in the kingdom of God. I have mentioned many times and I will again, the gospel up until this point was preached in Jerusalem only to Jews only. This changes with what has just happened as we will see in the next chapter.]

Acts 7:23-53: Stephen’s Address-part2

23"When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. [Stiff-necked/stubborn reaction to God's prophet]
26The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?'

 
 

27"But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' [Exodus 2:14]
29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

 
 

30"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice: 32'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' [Exodus 3:6] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

 
 

33"Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.' [Exodus 3:5,7,8,10]

 
 

35"This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' [The man the people rejected was the prophet God will use.] He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36He led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert.

 
 

37"This is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.' [Deut. 18:15. A prophecy concerning Jesus.]
38He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us. [Stephen proves to the Sanhedrin that he knows who Moses was and what he has done.]

 
 

39"But our fathers refused to obey him. [Resisting God and his prophets] Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don't know what has happened to him!' [Exodus 32:1]
41That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made. 42But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

" 'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? 43You have lifted up the shrine of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile' [Amos 5:25-27] beyond Babylon.

 
 

44"Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. [Exodus 25-27]
45Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. [Some early manuscripts 'the house of Jacob']
47But it was Solomon who built the house for him. [1 Kings 5:3-5 Solomon says concerning this, "You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'"]

 
 

48"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:

49" 'Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord.

Or where will my resting place be?

50Has not my hand made all these things?' [Isaiah 66:1,2]
[Notice the transition from the earthly dwelling places of God—tabernacle and Temple—to the true dwelling place of God—Heaven.]

 
 

51"You stiff-necked people [stubborn], with uncircumcised hearts and ears! [In other words, you may be physically circumcised but you are not inwardly in your heart. Paul puts it this way in Romans 2:28-30, "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."] You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! [As Stephen proved in his speech.]
52Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. [Hebrews 11:35-40, speaks of the prophets who were persecuted, "…were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."] And now you have betrayed and murdered him [Christ Jesus]— 53you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." [Paul says in Romans 2:17-29, "Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker."]

[We must also remember that Stephen's speech was not just his opinion of the Sanhedrin. It was much more than that…it was God's judgment of the Jewish religious system that was in place. God was speaking through Stephen to the Jewish leaders. These were not Stephen's words, these were God's words. Up until this point, God's message of salvation through Jesus was limited to the Jewish people. Also, it is important to remember that Temple sacrifices were still being offered to God. Hebrews chapters 8-10 speaks of Christ being the High Priest of a new covenant spoken of by Jesus in Luke 22:20-21, "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'" This new covenant is through God's grace through faith and not by works (Eph 2:8). Christ's death was the perfect sacrifice to fulfill the demands of the new covenant. This new covenant renders the old covenant--Temple sacrifices—void and unneeded as Hebrews 8:13 says, "By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." Hebrews 10:11-14 says, "Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." So, we see that the Temple sacrifices were obsolete now that Christ had made the perfect sacrifices. However, they were still being made. This is why the Temple was destroyed. God destroyed the Temple because he did not require the sacrifices of animals, he requires faith in his Son.] [One last thing to notice, where were the apostles?]

Acts 7:1-22: Stephen’s Address-part1

Stephen's Speech to the Sanhedrin

[Acts 6 discusses how Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin because some Jews secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." Specifically, witnesses were brought against Stephen, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."]
1Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?" [Stephen answers by given a brief history of the Jewish people. I believe that Stephen does this to prove to the Sanhedrin that he knows the scriptures in order to show the council that he was familiar with who Moses was, who God is and why the Temple exists. No doubt the high priest and members of the Sanhedrin were filled with pride when they heard of their glorious past. They even probably kept repeating Exodus 19:5-6, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." They loved attention and for most of the Stephen's speech…he obliged. Also, it is interesting to note that Stephen spoke of the good points in history and the bad points as we will see in verse 51…]

2To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 3'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.' [Gen. 12:1]

 
 

4"So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants [or Seed] after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.' [Gen. 15:13,14]
[The nation was Egypt and this prophecy was fulfilled]
8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

 
 

9"Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. [We see the first instance of Jewish persecution of God's prophet] But God was with him 10and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

 
 

11"Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers could not find food. 12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. 13On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. 14After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. 16Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

 
 

17"As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. 18Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. 19He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

 
 

20"At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. [He found grace in God's sight] For three months he was cared for in his father's house. 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

Acts 6:8-15: Stephen Seized

Stephen Seized

8Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power [full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (vs. 5)], did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. [It would appear that these Jews were also Romans citizens similar to Paul as he states in Acts 22. It is believed that Paul belonged to this group of men considering that he (known as Saul at the time) was present at the Stoning of Stephen and gave his approval.] These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. [These men did not like what Stephen said or did but they could not refute him.]

11 [Their hatred and jealousy of Stephen was so great…]Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. [Which had earlier warned the 12 apostles not to teach about Jesus]
13They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." [Were the witnesses false in that Stephen never said those things? or that they were false because they were hired men who actually never heard the statements of Stephen? We see that the witnesses were "secretly persuaded" to say that they have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy. Therefore the text seems to lean towards the witnesses being false in that they were hired to accuse Stephen. So, did Stephen speak about Jesus destroying the temple? Yes. Matthew 23:37-39 says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Also, Matthew 24:1-2 "Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 'Do you see all these things?' he asked. 'I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'" Did Stephen speak about Jesus changing the customs Moses handed down to the Jews? Yes. Hebrews 10:5-10 speaks of what Jesus' death has done concerning the ceremonial laws of Moses, "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.'' First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first (covenant) to establish the second (covenant). And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." So we see that Stephen spoke truthfully when he said that Jesus 'will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us'.]

15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. [Signifying that he was 'a man full of God's grace and power, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit' and that he spoke the words of God himself.]