Acts 7:20-53 | Obstinate or Obedient?Sample

Back to the accusation: “This man 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” (Acts 6:13-14).

Today, let’s talk about Moses.

For the Sanhedrin, the Synagogue of the Freedmen, and 1st-century Judaism, Moses is the top dog. Abraham might be the founding father, but Moses is the center point. For someone to speak against Moses in 1st-century Judaism would be the same as someone speaking against Jesus in Christianity. So it should come as no surprise that the Jewish leaders’ main point of contention with Jesus and the early Christians was over how they conformed (or didn’t conform) to their interpretation of the Mosaic law.

What’s fascinating in Stephen’s witness is how much he honors Moses because Moses is part of God’s Salvation Story. He’s part of Jesus’s Story. Stephen does not see Jesus as positioned against Moses. He sees Jesus as the very One to whom Moses was pointing! That’s why Stephen will say, “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’”

It’s also why Stephen points out that it was an Israelite who sent Moses into exile (Acts 7:27-29), that it was Israelites who rejected Moses in the midst of God saving them in the wilderness (Acts 7:35-39), and that it was Israelites who turned to idols instead of God (Acts 7:40-43). Stephen turns the leaders' accusation on its head.

The irony is that by rejecting Jesus, the very ones who thought they were honoring Moses were the ones standing against him. Moses became an idol instead of a guide, a stopping point instead of someone to lead people forward to God.

It’s easy to turn certain people or spiritual practices God has used to draw us near to Him into idols. If we’re not careful, the very things God uses to lead us to Him can become the focal point of our devotion instead. What looks like obedience can become obstinance instead.

We all have our Moses. Especially those of us who are spiritual or religious. Often, we don’t even realize it. It’s common in churches, and common among those who leave churches because their “Moses” isn’t getting its proper due.

Ask God today to help you see what you might be idolizing instead of Christ. How will you respond when God’s New Expressions and Works challenge your assumptions? What will you do when God leads you beyond the way He once led you? Will you keep following God, or root to what He once did?