History 101

Today we conclude our observations from yesterday with the reading of Acts 7. It's going to run a little long, because we're dealing with 68 verses.
III. Opposition of Servants 6:8-7:60
These embittered Jews disputed with Stephen (6:9), that is, they argued as in a formal debate. Luke doesn't give us the details of the debate, but it was no doubt centered on the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the inability of the Mosaic Law and temple rituals to save. Regardless of the precise issues of the debate, Stephen won. His opponents were unable to contend with his wisdom (6:10). So, unable to defeat Stephen in a fair debate, his opponents changed tactics. They recruited and coached false witnesses to accuse Stephen (the same tactic used at Jesus' trial). Then, when Stephen was allowed to speak (Ch.7), he launched into the greatest sermon recorded in Acts. He gave them a history lesson of how Israel had always resisted the truth. Let's note a few points of that sermon that surely enraged his opposition.
7:2: Stephen began by reminding his accusers that God appeared to Abraham, NOT in the Holy City of Jerusalem, but in the pagan city of Mesopotamia, where the moon god was worshiped. His point: God is not confined to a place.
7:8: God gave him the covenant of circumcision, long before the Temple and Mosaic Law. The point: Again, God is not confined to a place.
7:9-11: Joseph is a picture, a type of Jesus. His brothers rejected him. Point: Jesus came unto His own (brethren) and His own received Him not--rejected Him.
7:13: It wasn't until the second time that they recognized Joseph. Point: Israel did not recognize Jesus at His first coming. They rejected Him. But they will recognize Him at His Second Coming (-see Zechariah 12:10.)
7:27: The Israelites rejected Moses (again, a type of Christ). They said, "get out of here. We don't want you to rule over us." Point: Israel rejected Christ and said, "We have no king but Caesar. Away with this Man. Crucify Him!".
7:28-29: After he was rejected, Moses went into the land of the Gentiles and took a Gentile bride. Point: When the Jewish people rejected Christ, He went to the Gentiles and took a Gentile Bride--the church.
7:46-50: Again, God is not confined to a place. By now their blood was boiling.
Those are just a few points we brought out. The main thrust of his message is that Israel always resisted the truth and rejected the messengers that God sent to them. They rejected Joseph, Moses, the prophets, and now they have rejected and crucified their own Messiah. Israel's history reveals the patience of God and the hardness of man's heart, and that was the message he was trying to get across to them. That's the message for us. God is patient with us. But eventually that patience runs into His wrath and judgment. Turn from your hard-hearted ways before it's too late. God is ready to forgive.
Well, they get so mad, they stone Stephen to death. His death was now the third murder in Israel's most recent history and a turning point in God's dealings with the nation. They had:
1. Rejected the Father when they allowed John the Baptist to be slain. They had...
2. Rejected the Son when they asked for Jesus to be crucified. And now they had...
3. Rejected the Holy Spirit as they kill Stephen.
There could be no more forgiveness. The line had been crossed, and the Gospel will now move out of Judea into Samaria and eventually to the utter most parts of the world.