Stephen"s Speech

As I read the speech Stephen gave my thoughts were “why bother saying anything to these people they don't care. They crucified Jesus and no matter what is said they are going to do the same to Stephen.” Then I thought “ Well if this is going to be the last time to speak for Jesus then why not give a history lesson to them reminding them of all the times they rejected the man of God that was put into power. Why not remind them of all the Prophets that they killed?” However, my thoughts went beyond a history lesson and past what the commentaries had to say about his speech. I started looking at each man that Stephen mentioned in his speech and wanted to know what Stephen was saying to me, (to us) about them. I wanted to know what I (we) could learn from Stephen as he stood and faced death. I wanted to know understand his character, his courage and his faith to stand boldly in front of those ready to stone him. Stephen's faith was tested and then he was persecuted.


I believe the faith of this generation is being tested and soon it will be persecuted. Maybe you think our faith is being persecuted now but I would argue with you on that fact just simply b/c we can still speak of Jesus without being jailed or killed. However, we are tested everyday in our life to stand for or faith and contend with others for it! In America we still have freedom of religion and as long as we have that we have no excuse to say that we are being persecuted! We are only being tested!!!!!
Stephen was being questioned by the Sanhedrin's. The Sanhedrin's were more involved in politics than religion. I believe they were only interested in religion when it affected them and their position. They needed the Pharisees because they were popular with the people. Even though the Pharisees didn't like them . Sound familiar at all with our own political status. I believe our govt represents the Sanhedrin and the churches represent the Pharisees. Especially the church leaders who allow themselves to be influenced by the political foolishness of our time. In order to stand against our enemy we must recognize and know who it is. Stephen knew who he was addressing just as Jesus knew who he was addressing. I share a brief description of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees.I include a link that you can go to and read more if you want.

The Sadducees:During the time of Christ and the New Testament era, the Sadducees were aristocrats. They tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest, and they held the majority of the 70 seats of the ruling council called the Sanhedrin. They worked hard to keep the peace by agreeing with the decisions of Rome (Israel at this time was under Roman control), and they seemed to be more concerned with politics than religion. Though the Sadducees held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin, history indicates that much of the time they had to go along with the ideas of the Pharisaic minority, because the Pharisees were popular with the masses.

1. They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.
2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27;Acts 23:8).
3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

The Sadducees ceased to exist in A.D. 70. Since this party existed because of their political and priestly ties, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees were also destroyed.
The Pharisees: In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen, and therefore were in contact with the common man. The Pharisees were held in much higher esteem by the common man than the Sadducees. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision making of the Sanhedrin far more than the Sadducees did, again because they had the support of the people

1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.

2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).

3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.

4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Though the Pharisees were rivals of the Sadducees, they managed to set aside their differences on one occasion—the trial of Christ. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to put Christ to death (Mark 14:53; 15:1; John 11:48-50).
(Ref:http://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees-Pharisees.html)

What can we learn from Stephen's speech..

Stephen represents the character of each of these men that he spoke about.

Abraham-represented the Promise of God
Joseph -represents the Protection by God
Moses -represents the Deliverance of God
Joshua -represents the Boldness and Courage of God
David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God
Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell

Abraham-represented the Promise of God: Stephen identified himself with the Son of Abraham and in doing so he identified himself with the Promises of God. Abraham was given a promise by God that his inheritance would be that his descendants would possess the land. This promise came to Abraham even when he had no child. Abraham never saw the promise fulfilled however as we read the bible we can see the promise being fulfilled. We can stand with Stephen and know that the Promise of Jesus returning for His bride will come to pass. We may not see the promise fulfilled just as Abraham and Stephen didn't see if fulfilled in their lifetime but we have the hope that one day we will stand in the presence of Almighty God and give thanks. We can have confidence that if God gives us a promise than it will be fulfilled no matter what the circumstances my look like.


Joseph -represents the Protection by God : Joseph was rejected by his family (brothers) sold into slavery, honored with position, thrown into jail, released from jail and honored again with a position, helped save a people from famine, and forgave his brothers. There is much more about Joseph but that sums it up. Through all that Joseph endured God protected him. Maybe at the time he didn't feel like God was there, just as we do sometimes when we face trials in life. Joseph was a man no different than us. He had to have had the same emotions that we have. However, I believe somewhere down deep he knew who he was and knew the God of his fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. His identity didn't become his circumstances and he made the best of what life had given him and through everything God protected him. We may not look at Joseph's life and think of protection but Joseph represent's the Protection of God when we are faced with hardships, rejection, hopelessness, despair, loneliness, anger.

God protects his children. He will protect us as well. Maybe you are thinking/asking “Why didn't he protect Stephen? My answer is protection doesn't come in the way man perceives protection."For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is. 55:8-9 It is not for me to understand God's protection I am only to have faith that it is there. However, Stephen represented the protection of the Gospel of Jesus by NOT compromising it and becoming the first martyr. I am moved at the thought of Jesus standing and heaven being opened wide ready to receive him home. I would like to believe that this was a form of God protecting Stephen by allowing him to see that He (Jesus) was standing there awaiting his arrival. Jesus wasn't sitting next to God, He was standing next to God!!!!! He was so excited at Stephens courage!

Moses represents the Deliverance of God: Moses delivered the people of Egypt and Stephen was just like Moses in the essence that he was being used to deliver a message of hope to people and see them delivered out of bondage and into life. Moses delivered the people from slavery and bondage with the power of God and Stephen delivered a message with the power and grace of God leading him. Moses was not accepted by his people, he was rejected; same is true with Jesus and the same is true with all God's people who take a stand for truth in order to see people set free from bondage. Stephen knew he was not going to be accepted, however, he stood and represented the character of the one who delivers knowing that he too would be delivered!This is our hope as well!

Joshua -represents the Boldness and Courage of God: Stephen had the Courage of God to stand for truth and contend for his faith. He gave his life up for the truth. In a society where courage is rarely found, where truth is in the eye of the beholder, and faith is silenced with the fear of man's opinion. I pray “Lord raise up Joshua's and Stephens who with courage are willing to take hold of the promise land knowing that nothing can separate them from you. Joshua was bold and courageous and took the promise land for you and the people. Stephen was the same he was bold in standing for your truth and courageous to speak it to the Sanhedrin.”Stephen knew what he would face but he faced it with boldness, courage and in the end forgiveness.

David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God: David's heart was to God and his praise was to him. David wasn't a perfect man we know that by reading the scripture but he was a man after God's own heart. He praised God when the enemy encamped about him and he praised Him when things were going good. I believe Stephen had the same character. His heart was for Jesus and truth. Through his death He praised the the Lord by giving Him glory and honor for a life surrendered to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell:Solomon had great wisdom and solved many problems of his time. I do not believe it was his wisdom that brought him down; I believe it was lust. Stephen wasn't like Solomon in the essence of the lustful nature but he had wisdom from God that when he preached the gospel his opponents could not argue with him.

Solomon built the temple and gave a place for God's presence to dwell, but Stephen knew that God didn't dwell in the house built by men, he lived and dwelt in the heart of man. Temples, Synagogues, Cathedrals and church buildings made by man do not hold the dwelling place for God. He dwells within the heart of each who call on His name and believe in Him. Stephen knew this clearly that they could kill him as they did all those before him even killing Jesus but they could not kill the Spirit of God that dwells within him!

I know that Stephen's speech was more for the Sanhedrin to realize the foolishness of their ways, but I saw the character of Stephen in each one of those he mentioned. Last but not least Stephen had the character of Jesus Christ! That is the common thread with all these men is that you can see the character of God and the identity of God. Jesus laid his life down so we might have life. Stephen stood for truth and died so that it could live. I love it b/c in the next chapter we see Saul (Paul) who was there persecuting Stephen how he is radically transformed after his encounter with Jesus!!!! When we encounter Jesus we too will be radically transformed!!!

Rooted in Christ ~ Jackie~



Stephen's Speech
As I read the speech Stephen gave, my thoughts were “why bother saying anything to these people, they don't care. They crucified Jesus, and no matter what was said they were going to do the same to Stephen. Then I thought, “Well if this was going to be the last time to speak for Jesus then why not give a history lesson to them reminding them of all the times they rejected the men of God that God had sent to them. Why not remind them of all the Prophets they had killed?” However, my thoughts went beyond a history lesson and past what the commentaries had to say about his speech. I started looking at each man that Stephen mentioned in his speech and wanted to know what Stephen was saying to me, (to us) about them. I wanted to know what I (we) could learn from Stephen as he stood and faced death. I wanted to know and understand his character, his courage and his faith that enabled him to stand boldly in front of those ready to stone him. Stephen's faith was tested and then he was persecuted.
I believe the faith of this generation is being tested and soon it will be persecuted. Maybe you think our faith is being persecuted now, but I would argue with you on that fact, just simply because we can still speak of Jesus without being jailed or killed. However, we are tested every day in our life to stand for our faith and contend with others for it! In America we still have freedom of religion and as long as we have that we have no justification to say that we are being persecuted! We are only being tested!!!!!
Stephen was being questioned by the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was made up of Sadducees and Pharisees. The Sadducees were more involved in politics than religion. I believe they were only interested in religion when it affected them and their position. They needed the Pharisees (even though the Pharisees didn't like them), because the Pharisees were popular with the people. Sound familiar at all with our own political status? I believe our politicians represent the Sadducees and the churches represent the Pharisees, especially the church leaders who allow themselves to be influenced by the political foolishness of our time. In order to stand against our enemy we must recognize and discern the spiritual condition and underlying motives of our political and religious leaders. Stephen knew the spiritual condition and political motives of the leaders he was addressing, just as Jesus did when he addressed the Sanhedrin. I share a brief description of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. I include a link that you can go to and read more if you want.

The Sadducees: During the time of Christ and the New Testament era, the Sadducees were aristocrats. They tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest, and they held the majority of the 70 seats of the ruling council called the Sanhedrin. They worked hard to keep the peace by agreeing with the decisions of Rome (Israel at this time was under Roman control), and they seemed to be more concerned with politics than religion. Though the Sadducees held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin, history indicates that much of the time they had to go along with the ideas of the Pharisaic minority, because the Pharisees were popular with the masses.
1. They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.
2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27; Acts 23:8).
3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).
The Sadducees ceased to exist in A.D. 70. Since this party existed because of their political and priestly ties, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees were also destroyed.
The Pharisees: In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen, and therefore were in contact with the common man. The Pharisees were held in much higher esteem by the common man than the Sadducees. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision making of the Sanhedrin far more than the Sadducees did, again because they had the support of the people
1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.
2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).
3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.
4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Though the Pharisees were rivals of the Sadducees, they managed to set aside their differences on one occasion—the trial of Christ. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to put Christ to death (Mark 14:53; 15:1; John 11:48-50).
What can we learn from Stephen’s speech?
Stephen represents the character of each of these men that he spoke about.
Abraham-represents the Promise of God
Joseph -represents the Protection by God
Moses -represents the Deliverance of God
Joshua -represents the Boldness and Courage of God
David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God
Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell
Abraham-represents the Promise of God: Stephen identified himself with the Son of Abraham and in doing so he identified himself with the Promises of God. Abraham was given a promise by God; his inheritance would be that his descendants would possess the Promised land. This promise came to Abraham even when he had no child. Abraham never saw the promise fulfilled, however as we read the Bible we can see the promise being fulfilled. We can stand with Stephen and know that the promise of Jesus returning for His bride will come to pass. We may not see the promise fulfilled just as Abraham and Stephen didn't see it fulfilled in their lifetime, but we have the hope that one day we will stand in the presence of Almighty God and give thanks. We can have confidence that if God gives us a promise it will be fulfilled no matter what the circumstances my look like.


Joseph-represents the Protection by God : Joseph was rejected by his family (brothers), sold into slavery, honored with position, thrown into jail, released from jail and honored again with a position, helped save a people from famine, and forgave his brothers. There is much more about Joseph but that sums it up. Through all that Joseph endured, God protected him. Maybe at the time he didn't feel like God was there, just as we do sometimes when we face trials in life. Joseph was a man no different than us. He must have had the same emotions that we have. However, I believe somewhere down deep he knew who he was and knew the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. His identity didn't become his circumstances and he made the best of what life had given him, and through everything God protected him. We may not look at Joseph's life and think of protection but Joseph represents the Protection of God when we are faced with hardships, rejection, hopelessness, despair, loneliness, anger.

God protects his children. He will protect us as well. Maybe you are thinking/asking “Why didn't he protect Stephen? My answer is protection doesn't come in the way man perceives protection."For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is. 55:8-9 It is not for me to understand God's protection, I am only to have faith that it is there. However, Stephen represented the protection of the Gospel of Jesus by NOT compromising it and becoming the first martyr. I am moved at the thought of Jesus standing and heaven being opened wide ready to receive him home. I would like to believe that this was a form of God protecting Stephen by allowing him to see that He (Jesus) was standing there awaiting his arrival. Jesus wasn't sitting next to God, He was standing next to God!!!!! He was so excited at Stephen’s courage!


Moses-represents the Deliverance of God: Moses delivered the people of Egypt and Stephen was just like Moses in the essence that he was being used to deliver a message of hope to people and see them delivered out of bondage and into life. Moses delivered the people from slavery and bondage with the power of God and Stephen delivered a message with the power and grace of God leading him. Moses was not accepted by his people, he was rejected; same is true with Jesus and the same is true with all God's people who take a stand for truth in order to see people set free from bondage. Stephen knew he was not going to be accepted, however he stood and represented the character of the one who delivers, knowing that he too would be delivered! This is our hope as well!


Joshua-represents the Boldness and Courage of God: Stephen had the Courage of God to stand for truth and contend for his faith. He gave his life up for the truth. In a society where courage is rarely found, where truth is in the eye of the beholder, and faith is silenced with the fear of mans opinion, I pray “Lord raise up Joshua's and Stephen's who, with courage, are willing to take hold of the promised land knowing that nothing can separate them from you. Joshua was bold and courageous and took the Promised Land for you and the people. Stephen was the same; he was bold in standing for your truth and was courageous to speak it to the Sanhedrin.” Stephen knew what he would face but he faced it with boldness, courage, and in the end forgiveness.


David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God: David's heart was to God and his praise was to him. David wasn't a perfect man; we know that by reading the scripture, but he was a man after God's own heart. He praised God when the enemy encamped about him and he praised Him when things were going good. I believe Stephen had the same character. His heart was for Jesus and truth. Through his death He praised the Lord by giving Him glory and honor for a life surrendered to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell:Solomon had great wisdom and solved many problems of his time. I do not believe it was his wisdom that brought him down; I believe it was lust. Stephen wasn't like Solomon in the essence of the lustful nature, but he had wisdom from God that when he preached the gospel his opponents could not argue with him.

Solomon built the temple and gave a place for God's presence to dwell, but Stephen knew that God didn't dwell in the house built by men; he lived and dwelt in the heart of man. Temples, Synagogues, Cathedrals and church buildings made by man do not hold the dwelling place for God. He dwells within the heart of each who calls on His name and believes in Him. Stephen clearly knew that they could kill him as they did all those before him, even killing Jesus, but they could not kill the Spirit of God that dwells with in him!

I know that Stephen’s speech was meant more for the Sanhedrin to realize the foolishness of their ways, but I saw the character of Stephen in each one of the men he mentioned. Last but not least Stephen had the character of Jesus Christ! That is the common thread with all these men, that you can see the character of God and the identity of God. Jesus laid his life down so we might have life. Stephen stood for truth and died so that it could live. I love that in the next chapter we see Saul (Paul), who was there persecuting Stephen, and how he is radically transformed after his encounter with Jesus!!!! When we encounter Jesus we too will be radically transformed!!!
Rooted in Christ ~ Jackie~