Acts 7 is a must read. Well, the whole Bible is a must read. But I love this chapter which focuses on Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He is a name we should all know and respect.
From verses 1 thru 50, Stephen gives the rabbis, Pharisees, and other Jewish leaders a history lesson on Israel's history of disobeying God and mistreating/killing His chosen prophets.
Verses 51-60 are copied below in bold text along with my commentary. There is nothing new under the sun @Kontradiction as speaking out against Jewish religious leaders has always been a fast track to a violent death!
"You stiffnecked 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."
(Wow! What boldness from Stephen. Even though these Jews are circumcised literally by Jewish law, their hearts and ears are metaphorically uncircumcised. In other words, they are hearers of the law, not doers. They know the laws of God yet are ungodly. Awesome rebuke of those who killed Jesus. It was NOT the Romans)
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
(Is it just me, or are the Jewish religious leaders sounding slightly satanic in this description? They don't handle rebuke well. Arrogant fucks)
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, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
(In the face of danger and certain persecution, Stephen only sees the Lord. Keep your eyes and mind on Him. Always)
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 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.
(Sounding demonic again. "Stopped their ears" is no accident of word choice. They cannot and will not hear the truth. They have ears but will not hear. But they will kill Stephen for daring to speak out against them)
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 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.
(Forgiving them as he is dying. Stephen was a righteous saint)
From verses 1 thru 50, Stephen gives the rabbis, Pharisees, and other Jewish leaders a history lesson on Israel's history of disobeying God and mistreating/killing His chosen prophets.
Verses 51-60 are copied below in bold text along with my commentary. There is nothing new under the sun @Kontradiction as speaking out against Jewish religious leaders has always been a fast track to a violent death!
"You stiffnecked 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."
(Wow! What boldness from Stephen. Even though these Jews are circumcised literally by Jewish law, their hearts and ears are metaphorically uncircumcised. In other words, they are hearers of the law, not doers. They know the laws of God yet are ungodly. Awesome rebuke of those who killed Jesus. It was NOT the Romans)
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
(Is it just me, or are the Jewish religious leaders sounding slightly satanic in this description? They don't handle rebuke well. Arrogant fucks)
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, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
(In the face of danger and certain persecution, Stephen only sees the Lord. Keep your eyes and mind on Him. Always)
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 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.
(Sounding demonic again. "Stopped their ears" is no accident of word choice. They cannot and will not hear the truth. They have ears but will not hear. But they will kill Stephen for daring to speak out against them)
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 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.
(Forgiving them as he is dying. Stephen was a righteous saint)
Last edited:
