Jun 22, 2014
Acts 7:37-53
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Outline:
Stephen is speaking truth into the lives of these religious leaders by presenting for them an honest recounting of their history in order to illustrate 5 key lessons.
1. Abraham’s relationship with God illustrated that faith in Jesus was consistent with the life God had called them to live.
2. The patriarch’s interactions with Joseph illustrated that God had actually used their rejection of Jesus to exalt Him to a position of Savior.
3. While these religious leaders had placed all their faith in Moses to deliver them from sin, Stephen explains that Moses had been nothing more than a failed deliverer.
Moses initially believed “God would deliver his brethren by his hand,” which is why he killed the Egyptian. And yet, the Jews rightly rejected him because they recognized Moses was acting in the flesh, under his own strength, without the involvement of God. The people understood the job of delivering Israel was reserved for God alone. Where Moses had failed, God would prove able by delivering them by His own hand!
For context for the section of Scripture we’ll be looking at this morning, look again at what Stephen said in vs 35-36, “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.” Then we’re told… “He (or this) brought them out, after he had shown (literally preformed) wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.” The subject was not Moses, but the Angle of the Lord.
You see the only reason the Jewish people rallied around Moses this second time was because it had become clear he would be the instrument by which God was going to deliver them. Note: It’s also evident Moses had come to understand this as well.
It’s with this context that Stephen transitions to his next point… Because these men had failed to learn from history by placing their faith in Moses and not God, their rejection of Jesus flowed from a misguided reliance on the religious formalities of the Law, their religious customs, and the Temple.
Acts 7:37, “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’”
In order to understand the context behind this verse you must first understand why these religious leaders placed so much faith in Moses. Because they believed Moses was the greatest of all the prophets for he and he alone had spoken to God face to face (Deuteronomy 34:10), they viewed the “Law of Moses” as being God’s ultimate revelation.
And yet, Stephen is reminding them of a fatal flaw in their perspective by pointing out that in Deuteronomy 18 Moses prophesied that in the future “God would raise up a Prophet like me from your brethren.” Stephen also reminds his audience that Moses encouraged the people to listen to this Prophet.
This Mosaic prophecy is significant for four reasons:
1. As God sent Moses, God would be sending another Prophet.
2. This Prophet would be “like” Moses.
While God would send many prophets to Israel following Moses is clear this particular individual would be unique. Moses claims this prophet would be “like me” meaning He would share this same qualifier of speaking to God “face to face” (A characteristic that truly set Moses apart from the rest of the prophets) and would possess the same call to be an instrument of deliverance.
And to their credit, Scripture affirms the reality these religious leaders were indeed looking for the arrival of this future prophet for when John the Baptist arrived on the scene we’re told in John 1:19-21 “the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, “No.”
While John denies being this Prophet, their inquiry reveals the reality that in addition to looking for Elijah (who Malachi 3 predicts would prepare the way for the Messiah) these religious leaders were also looking for both “the Prophet, and the Christ.”
The traditional perspective of the day was that God would be sending two people to Israel: The Prophet and the Messiah. Today, we understand Jesus would end up fulfilling both roles on two separate occasions. As Prophet, Jesus would deliver the people from their spiritual bondage. As Christ, Jesus would establish a future, physical kingdom in Jerusalem. Note: This false reading of Scripture also explains why future Jews will rally around an Antichrist and a False Prophet in the end times (Revelation 13).
And to be clear that this Prophet was indeed Jesus, in John 5:45-47 Jesus told the people, “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you - Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.”
3. The message of this Prophet would be on par with the message of Moses.
Here’s the brilliance of Stephen’s argument… If God sent Jesus as this Prophet, then His message would carry equal weight with the message God had initially given Moses. Basically, it is only logical to view Jesus’ message as carrying the same level of authority as the message delivered by Moses through the Law.
Understand, Jesus’ message did not seek to diminish, discredit, or supersede the Law of Moses, rather in Matthew 5:17 He affirmed that He had “come not to destroy the Law or the Prophets… but to fulfill.”
4. The Prophet’s message would be the final essence of God’s revelation.
It would seem before transitioning to his next history lesson, Stephen wants these religious leaders to realize that even Moses (the failed deliver they had place their complete trust in) recognized the obvious limitations of the Law which is why he encouraged the people to listen and obey the One who was to come after him. The Law of Moses set the stage for the message of Jesus!
Acts 7:38-50, “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron (Exodus 32), ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.”
“Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets (Amos 5:25-27): ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, images which you made to worship; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’”
“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 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, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house. (Isaiah 66) “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘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? Has My hand not made all these things?’”
In order to understand the flow of Stephen’s sermon, you should realize there is an unspoken question ringing in the ears of all who were present following verse 37. “If Jesus was this Prophet then why would He speak against the Law and the Temple?”
First, Stephen makes it clear that contrary to the accusation that had been levied against him and earlier Jesus, never once did either of them speak against the Law of Moses or the Temple. As a matter of fact, Stephen even affirms that God established both of these institutions to help the people in the development of their covenant relationship with Him. Moses “received the living oracles” and then “as God appointed, instructed Moses to make the tabernacle according to the pattern that he had seen.”
Question: Why did God give the Jews the Law?
Answer: To explain how His people might fully enjoy His unmerited favor.
Don’t forget… While Abraham had been chosen by God for no other reason than God’s grace, the only way he could fully experience the unmerited favor of God was though his obedience to God’s commands. The same was true of the nation of Israel. As long as the people obeyed the Law of God they would enjoy the unmerited blessings of God.
And while the religious leaders understood the importance of obedience, they failed to recognize the fundamental mechanism for obedience as exemplified in the example set by Abraham (which had been Jesus and later Stephen’s principle issue).
Though Abraham came to realize that his relationship with God and his obedience to God relied entirely on his faith in God, the Jews had substituted human effort (works) in the place of divine reliance (faith). Instead of looking upward, they looked inward. Needless to say the results were tragic.
Stephen points to history to illustrate that reliance on human effort had only resulted in disobedience, worldliness, idolatry, and judgment. Look at the progression…
Disobedience: “Our fathers would not obey, but rejected…” Here they were accusing Stephen of speaking against the Law when their very history revealed an obvious and consistent inability to obey the Law. Even the generation that God had delivered from Egypt proved incapable of obedience apart from faith. And why had they always been disobedient?
Worldliness: “In their hearts they turned back to Egypt…” Over and over again the root cause of their national disobedience had been a love of sin and the world. The Law may have given them the blueprint for obedience, but in and of itself it had failed to change their hearts. Which had ultimately led to…
Idolatry: “Make us gods to go before us…” Sadly, not only would the people of God disobey the Law of God, but they would actively turn against the God of the Law. Note: It’s one thing to treat your husband poorly, but it’s an entirely different atrocity to cheat on him. We’re also told “they rejoiced in the works of their own hands…” It’s true that all idolatry comes back to a love of self and a desire to create gods into our own image.
Judgment: “God turned, gave them up, and carried them away to Babylon.” Because of their disobedience and the grievous sin of idolatry God judged His people by (A) removing them from the land He had promised, and then (B) sending them to a land of idolatry… Babylon! God simply gave them what they wanted.
Understand… The Law had been given because God desired obedience from His people. It was the only way they could fully enjoy the life He had called them to live. And yet, the fundamental problem with the Israelites and these religious leaders boiled down to a false belief that they could obey the Law apart from faith in God.
Stephen is pointing out their failure in order to demonstrate that the Law was designed to teach us that it is impossible for anyone to obey God and enjoy the grace of God apart from faith in God. And then to illustrate that this had never been God’s intention Stephen transitions to the Temple.
Question: Why did God give the Jews the Temple?
Answer: To keep their eyes on what should have been the object of their faith.
You see the purpose of the Temple had not been to provide God a place to reside (Stephen quotes from Isaiah the prophet that “the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands… Heaven is His throne”). Rather the purpose of this dwelling place was to provide the people a physical reminder of the presence of God.
Stephen explains that God “instructed Moses to make the tabernacle according to the pattern that he had seen.” Further passages indicate the Tabernacle and later the Temple were modeled after heaven.
The entire idea was to provide the people a constant reminder that the very God who had called them out of Egypt was also present to help them reside in the land and remain obedient to His Law.
This is why God also instructed that the Tabernacle be placed in the very center of the camp. The purpose of this structure was to help the people keep their eyes heavenward and rely solely on God no matter what situations they faced.
While the Law explained the expectation of obedience, the Tabernacle was designed to remind them of the mechanism by which they could obey. The key for victory and the mechanism for obedience rested in their relationship with God, not in their own might.
Stephen’s point was that the entire purpose of the Law and the Temple was to encourage the people to rely on God by keeping their eyes fixed on heaven! God was not only able to deliver the people, but He was the only way they could live lives of Godly obedience.
Tragically, these religious leaders rejected Jesus because they thought obedience to God could be attained apart from faith in God. Stephen points back to their history in order to illustrate the silliness of this particular proposition.
Acts 7:51-53, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 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, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
Don’t forget Stephen is speaking to the 71 most powerful men in Israel. Though they had brought him to trial, Stephen uses Scripture to try them. The verdict… They were “stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears… always resisting the Holy Spirit.”
Stephen claims these men were “stiff-necked.” Literally, he claims they were being “stubborn and headstrong” which indicates Stephen knew he had made a sound theological argument that would be difficult to ignore.
Stephen says they were “uncircumcised in heart and ears.” While these men had been circumcised according to the flesh, it was obvious by their rejection of God’s Word and resistance to the examples therein that their hearts were far from God.
Stephen claims they were actively “resisting the Holy Spirit.” In much the same way as their fathers, these men, even knowing the truth, were still “resisting” or literally “opposing, striving against” the will of God.
Though they accused him of blasphemy, Stephen is inciting them of a far worse crime. Just as your fathers “killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One” you took things to their logical end by killing the very Prophet Moses promised would come. “You boast in the law, but you don’t keep the law. You have become betrayers and murderers.”
In conclusion there has been a constant underlying theme with Stephen’s sermon… Even when you reject what God is doing, He’s still faithful to provide you a second chance.
Abraham wasn’t obedient to leave his father Terah behind when he was called out of Ur, but upon Terah’s death in Haran God gave him a second chance to be obedient.
The patriarchs failed to recognize Joseph their savior on their first trip to Egypt, but Joseph still chose to reveal himself when they arrived for a second visit.
God resisted Moses when he step out to deliver the people under his own strength, but after 40 years in the wilderness God appeared and gave him a second chance.
Because the people were disobedient to the Law and followed after false idols God exiled them to Babylon; however, after 70 years in captivity God graciously gave them a second chance by allowing them to return to the land.
And even though the people would reject almost every prophet who foretold the coming of the Christ, in the end God was still faithful to send “His only begotten Son.”
Which leads us the Stephen’s 5th and final Lesson: Though these men had initially rejected Jesus (the Prophet sent by God), Stephen is pleading with them that if they’d simply stop resisting the Holy Spirit, God would be more than willing to give them a second chance.
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