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

Sometimes it’s helpful to begin at the end. Especially in Acts 7.

Stephen’s defense and witness before the Sanhedrin is long. But at the end, this is what he says, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him – you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it” (Acts 7:51-53).

He says this, of course, because they were responsible for killing Jesus. And now, they’re threatening Stephen. It’s where his whole defense and witness is leading. As if to say, “You accuse me of speaking against God, but you are in fact the ones who are rebellious!”

Stiff-necked. Uncircumcised of heart and ear. Holy Spirit resistors. Children of persecutors and murderers of God’s prophets. Murderers of God’s Messiah. Breakers of the law of Moses. It’s the language Stephen uses for the Sanhedrin, and it can all be summed up in the word “obstinate.”

To be stiff-necked is to be obstinate. Type in “stiff-necked” on Biblegateway.com or any other Bible concordance and you’ll discover it’s a consistent, ancient complaint God has toward His people, a complaint that Stephen is repeating. It should come as no surprise. Israel’s history is marked by obstinance more than obedience. Even their very name – Israel – means “one who fights with God.”

Stiff-necked is a great metaphor for obstinacy. Think of an animal under a yoke, a horse fighting against the reins, or a wrestler in a match. Stiff necks. Instead of allowing themselves to be led, they resist by stiffening up. It’s a spiritual posture we take every time we resist where God is leading us.

Read the back half of Stephen’s defense again. This time, count up all the times he accuses Israel of being obstinate. Then bring it home. When do you find yourself stiffening up against the Spirit’s Leading?