Acts 7:1-19 | You Are Part of a Bigger StorySample

In Acts 6 we meet a man named Stephen. Luke tells us he’s filled with the Spirit and wisdom, and that the growing church trusted him. Just as the apostles were doing the things Jesus was doing, so Stephen began doing the things the apostles were doing – proclaiming Christ, performing signs and wonders, and now facing the same kind of threats too.

At the end of Acts 6, we find the Jews in a local synagogue unable to stand up to Stephen, so they stir up false accusations, and like the apostles, he finds himself dragged before the Sanhedrin.

Stephen has just been accused of two things: speaking against the temple in Jerusalem and speaking against the law of Moses. (To an observant 1st century Jew, it doesn’t get much worse than that.) So Stephen responds. He responds with a long speech that spans all of Acts 7. It’s rooted in Israel’s history. It’s the story of God and the way he’s going about rescuing the world.

Stephen knows the big story. He knows he is part of the big story. His trust is so strong that when he speaks, his face is like the face of an angel. He recognizes that in following Jesus he is inside a new reality of heaven and earth. The Jews in the Sanhedrin refuse to see the new reality, so Stephen tries to make it clear.

Over the next three weeks, we’ll track Stephen’s witness. Today, familiarize yourself with the first part of what Stephen has to say.