The Trial of Stephen, Part 2
Acts 7:9–16 NKJV
“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
Last week. we looked at the beginning of Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin. Stephen had been arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin by members of his own synagogue. He was apparently charged with saying that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the Temple as well as to change the “customs” which Moses had delivered to them. (Acts 6:13-14) Acts tells us that these charges were brought by false witnesses. Whereas, the charge against the Temple did have basis in the words of Jesus Himself, they were false in the sense that the words of Jesus were wrongly applied for a false purpose, to condemn Jesus. This tells us that even things which are of themselves true can be deceitfully used. We only need look at the Serpent’s use of God’s prohibition against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan asked Eve if God had indeed said such. (Genesis 3:1).
We must also remember the words that the Holy Spirit would give the words to say when we are brought before magistrates (Matthew 10:19). The text does say that Stephen was a wise man in hos own right. But it also says that he was full of the Holy Spirit. Stephen was well-versed in the Scripture, but the Holy Spirit took what he has studied and made this remarkable defense which Stephen presents. We must remember that due to the suddenness of his arrest that he had no time to prepare a defense on his own part. We must, therefore, see this as the defense by the Holy Spirit through Stephen. As we noticed last week, Stephen’s defense, like Jesus before Pilate, was not a defense of the person of Stephen but a witness to the Gospel.
Last week, we see that Stephen began his defense of the Gospel by appealing to Scripture, which is the first witness in both time and priority. Even though there was a great distance between the understanding of the Sanhedrin and the Spirit given interpretation of Stephen, the Scriptures served as a common ground between them. His defense was heavily based upon the first five books of the Bible which were the only books that the Sadducees considered authoritative. Stephen had begun his apology with God’s call to Abraham to follow him to a land which would later belong to his descendants. The emphasis on this part of the argument was the covenant faithfulness of God. Even though it would be 400 years before God’s promise would be fulfilled, it would be fulfilled. This would also support the argument why it wasn’t until nearly 2000 years later that Christ would come and redeem His people. It also reminds us two thousand years later that Jesus will return and establish the Kingdom of God in its fullness. This should encourage us to be patient.
Stephen now turns to Joseph and the Patriarchs, the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). The story of Joseph was well known to the Sanhedrin. They held the Patriarchs in high esteem, especially Joseph. Again, the appeal to common ground, despite the differences in interpretation. Stephen does not have the time to recount the story which covers many chapters in Genesis. Instead, he summarizes the narrative. This means that he is being selective. the first thing we should notice is that the Patriarchs were filled with envy. We can recount the cause of their envy which was based upon Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph, even though he was the 11th born of Jacob’s sons. Jacob gave Joseph a supervisory role over his brothers and made a special coat of many colors. It did not help that Joseph related two dreams he had, showing that not only his brothers, but his father and Leah? would one day bow before Him. We know that these dreams had come from God who through what seems to be His odd design would come to pass.
The word “envy” is important because it was also the motivation for their rejection of Jesus as well as of Stephen. Envy is considered to be one of the seven deadly sins. This lit is loosely related to Proverbs 6:16-19:
Proverbs 6:16–19 NKJV
These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
Although “envy” is not directly named in this list, we can see several others which are appropriate here. In fact, all of them can be applied to Jesus and to some extent to Stephen here. The Patriarchs were envious of Joseph. this was the motivation for their subsequent actions.
the Patriarchs sold their brother into Egyptian slavery. Although Reuben prevented his murder and shedding of blood by selling Joseph to slave trading Midianites, Joseph was sent in chains to Egypt, The brothers thought they were rid of him. In addition, they had gained twenty pieces of silver in the process. This leads us to notice the second word “sold.” The Greek word here is the verb “paradidomi”. this word is used of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, It is also used of Jesus being “handed over to Pilate for judgment be the Sanhedrin, which was strictly prohibited by the same Law which Stephen was accused of breaking. Is was also not lawful to sell a Hebrew as a slave to a foreign master; I might add. However, the selling of Joseph happened before the Law was codified by Moses. Yet, what the Law describes is God’s will and understanding which is timeless and part of His character.
It is interesting that Stephen had been charged in trying to change the customs which Moses had delivered. This is the same Greek word “paradidomi.” The word itself can have a positive connotation as well as a negative one. Paul uses it in writing to Timothy to guard the deposit of truth which had been delivered unto him. Context means everything here. Stephen’s being delivered by his own synagogue to the Sanhedrin is the negative use of the word.
The use of the word “envy” can be described as the motivation for the arrest of Stephen. We are clued in by the text that no one was able to resist his teaching and the Spirit by which it was delivered (Acts 6:10). It also says that Stephen’s countenance was like that of an angel (Acts 6:15). We have learned from our study of Acts at this point that the church is the continuation of what Jesus began to do and to teach (Acts 1:1). Jesus also warned that what had happened to Him would also happen to His disciples as well for good or ill. There had been much envy of Jesus. He made extraordinary claims about Himself, which if any other person had said this would be guilty of the worst blasphemy. He had a great following for a season among the common people which had made the Pharisees jealous. Neither the Pharisees nor the Sadducees could overcome Jesus teaching, even though they lay many traps for Him. This envy would blind both groups with hate. They stopped their ears and refused to believe on Him. The same will happen here to Stephen.
I might add that “envy” is still a killer today. We see people charged with either false or dubious crimes because of envy. Because of envy, justice is perverted. People are falsely imprisoned. People die. This is the sad truth of human history. It would be nice to say that this does not happen in our churches, but it often does. This leads to the weakening of the church’s witness to the world. Yahweh accused Israel because their actions led to the Name of Yahweh to be everywhere blasphemed. It is ironic that this is the basis of the charge brought against Jesus and also Stephen. They accuse the true witnesses of blasphemy while it is actually those who accused them who were guilty of blasphemy.
The next thing we learn is found in the words “But God was with Him.” We might also add that God delivered Joseph from all his troubles. This is said about Jesus in Acts 10:38:
Acts 10:38 NKJV
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
One of the great sources of our comfort is found in the words that God was with him. In the case of Joseph, not only was he brought low by his brothers but als by the false witness of Potiphar, his master;s wife. Normally the charges of attempted rape by a servant brought the death penalty. But Joseph again escaped death and was only imprisoned. God used the imprisonment as the means of Joseph’s later exaltation when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. He was made the ruler over all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. His brethren faced death from the famine in Canaan along with their father Jacob. God used the exaltation of Joseph who had grain stored up as the means of delivering them from death. Those things which man meant for evil, God is able to make good for those who are His. (Genesis 50:20)
In this way, Joseph stands as a type which points to Christ. Stephen uses the story of Joseph to center attention to the person and work of Jesus. But unlike, Joseph, Jesus was appointed to death. It was the life of Joseph which led to the saving of his brethren. But it was the death of Jesus which saves those who will believe in Him. But even in death, Jesus was not forsaken. He was raised from the dead on the third day and highly exalted. God was with Him. And Stephen would not be delivered from death in this life as he was about to be stoned. But Jesus would stand up for him, even in Stephen’s death. So whether we live or die in this life, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8).
Let’s make this personal. We can see that God was with Joseph, Jesus, and Stephen. But what about us? We live in difficult times. The specter of persecution face us. Already in much of the world, Christians are suffering imprisonment, torture, and death for the faith. The sufferings of Christians have occured throughout history. We celebrate the saints who have gone before us. their battle has been won. But we are in the heat of the battle. The good news is that God was not only with them, He is with us as well. This is what “Emmanuel” means in Hebrew. We may be delivered from the many toils and snares in this life. For a season, we might escape physical death like Peter and Paul did. But what is more important is that Jesus, who is God with us, has a better future planned for us which is eternal life. We experience by the Holy Spirit that God, the Holy Spirit, it with us and in us. God is present in the midst of His people, even in this age. Just think what it shall be like in heaven. We have received as Paul notes, a down payment.
The fact that God is with us, empowers us, and works out all things for our good should encourage us to be bold in proclaiming Jesus. Instead of being so concerned about our own safety and position in this world, we should be praying and witnessing to those who hate us in the hopes that they might be brought to Christ. Our future is assured. Thanks be to God!
