Act 7 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Acts 7:1-53: 7:1-53 Stephen responded to the accusations by testifying about his Lord (cp. Luke 21:12-17 ). Instead of defending himself against their prosecution, he became a witness in God’s prosecution of them, exposing their stubbornness and unfaithfulness to God. Stephen’s recital of Israel’s past reminded them of their repeated rejections of those whom God had sent. • Stephen’s review of Israel’s history has three principal parts, dealing with the work of the patriarchs (Acts 7:2-16 ), the ministry of Moses (7:17-43 ), and the role of the Tabernacle and the Temple (7:44-50 ). Stephen followed up his historical survey with a clear attack on the hard-heartedness of his own people. With a prophetic challenge, he urged them to stop rebelling against the Holy Spirit and turn to God with repentance and faith.

Summary for Acts 7:1-53: 7:1-53 ^a Stephen responded to the accusations by testifying about his Lord (cp. Luke 21:12-17 ^b). Instead of defending himself against their prosecution, he became a witness in God’s prosecution of them, exposing their stubbornness and unfaithfulness to God. Stephen’s recital of Israel’s past reminded them of their repeated rejections of those whom God had sent.

• Stephen’s review of Israel’s history has three principal parts, dealing with the work of the patriarchs (Acts 7:2-16 ^c), the ministry of Moses (7:17-43 ^d), and the role of the Tabernacle and the Temple (7:44-50 ^e). Stephen followed up his historical survey with a clear attack on the hard-heartedness of his own people. With a prophetic challenge, he urged them to stop rebelling against the Holy Spirit and turn to God with repentance and faith.
7:8 ^f the covenant of circumcision: See Gen 17:9-14 ^g; see also thematic note for Circumcision in the New Testament at end of chapter.
7:14 ^h Compare this figure with the seventy mentioned in the Hebrew text of Gen 46:27 ⁱ. The number seventy-five is probably taken from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) for Gen 46:27 ^j. The Septuagint includes three descendants of Ephraim and two of Manasseh at Gen 46:20 ^k, making for a total of five more persons, whereas the Hebrew text does not include descendants for Joseph’s sons. The New Testament authors often quote from the Septuagint, which sometimes differs from the Hebrew Masoretic Text.
7:16 ^l a certain price: Four hundred pieces of silver, according to Gen 23:16 ^m.
7:37 ⁿ This verse quotes Deut 18:15 ^o. Moses had prophesied that the Messiah would come, and it had happened as Moses said.
Summary for Acts 7:39-40: 7:39-40 ^p Just as the ancient Jews had rejected what Moses was saying, now Stephen was speaking to descendants who were still rejecting God’s deliverers—in this case, Jesus, the ultimate deliverer.
Summary for Acts 7:42-43: 7:42-43 ^q This passage quotes Amos 5:25-27 ^r (Greek version) to illustrate how the people of Israel rebelled against Moses (Acts 7:39-41 ^s). Molech was a Canaanite god to whom human sacrifices were offered (Lev 18:21 ^t; 20:2-5 ^u; 1 Kgs 11:7 ^v; 2 Kgs 23:10 ^w; Jer 32:35 ^x). Rephan, a star god identified with the planet Saturn, was worshiped by the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings.
Summary for Acts 7:48-50: 7:48-50 ^y One of the charges was that Stephen was speaking against the Temple (cp. 6:14 ^z). The leading priests and scribes controlled the Temple commerce and had a vital business interest in maintaining their enterprises unhindered (see Luke 19:45-48 ^aa). That is why these leaders were so worried about the Temple despite the fact that God himself had said that the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands.
7:51 ^ab Stephen raised the same charge that God had raised against his people in the wilderness: that they were heathen at heart and deaf to the truth, because they were rejecting the gospel and obstinately resisting the Holy Spirit (see Exod 32:9 ^ac; 33:3 ^ad; 34:9 ^ae; Deut 9:6 ^af, 13 ^ag; 31:27 ^ah; see also Ps 78:8 ^ai; Zech 7:11-12 ^aj).
Summary for Acts 7:55-56: 7:55-56 ^ak Jesus standing ... at God’s right hand: Usually Jesus is described as seated in heaven at God’s right hand (2:33-34 ^al; 5:31 ^am; Luke 20:42 ^an; 22:69 ^ao; Rom 8:34 ^ap; Eph 1:20 ^aq; Col 3:1 ^ar; Heb 1:3 ^as, 13 ^at; 10:12 ^au). One possible explanation is that Jesus was welcoming Stephen, the first martyr, to heaven with honor. Stephen had confessed his Lord faithfully on earth, and now his Lord honored his promise to confess his faithful servant in heaven, standing as a witness to defend him (Matt 10:32 ^av; Luke 12:8 ^aw).

• the Son of Man standing: Cp. Dan 7:13-14 ^ax. The Jewish leaders understood that Stephen was speaking of Jesus as the divine Son of Man (Acts 7:57 ^ay), a title that speaks of Jesus’ power and authority (cp. Rev 1:12-15 ^az).
7:57 ^ba they put their hands over their ears: They believed that the comparison of Jesus to the divine Son of Man (7:56 ^bb) was horrible blasphemy.
7:58 ^bc Saul was the Hebrew form, Paul the Greek form of his name (see 13:9 ^bd).
Summary for Acts 7:59-60: 7:59-60 ^be Stephen’s prayer, Lord, don’t charge them with this sin, is strikingly similar to Jesus’ prayer at his crucifixion (Luke 23:34 ^bf). Jesus clearly taught his followers the importance of both forgiveness (Matt 6:14-15 ^bg; Mark 11:25 ^bh; see Luke 11:4 ^bi; 17:3-4 ^bj) and prayer (Luke 11:5-10 ^bk; 18:1-8 ^bl; see also Acts 1:12-15 ^bm; 4:23-31 ^bn; 12:5 ^bo; Jas 5:16-18 ^bp). The Lord answered Stephen’s prayer affirmatively in the case of Saul (Acts 9:1-43 ^bq).

Thematic note: Circumcision in the New Testament
Circumcision (cutting off the male foreskin) was widely practiced in the ancient Near East (see Jer 9:25-26 ^br). For Jews, it had religious significance as the sign of the covenant that God had established with the people of Israel (Gen 17:9-14 ^bs; Josh 5:2 ^bt; John 7:22 ^bu; Acts 7:8 ^bv; Sirach 44:20). It was normally performed on the eighth day of a male infant’s life (Gen 17:12 ^bw; Lev 12:3 ^bx; Luke 1:59 ^by; Acts 7:8 ^bz). The New Testament notes the circumcision of John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and Timothy (Luke 1:59 ^ca; 2:21 ^cb; Acts 16:2-3 ^cc; Phil 3:5 ^cd). Circumcision became a metaphor for the renewal of a person’s relationship with God (Deut 10:16 ^ce; 30:6 ^cf; Jer 4:4 ^cg; Rom 2:28-29 ^ch). In the late 40s AD, some Jewish Christians tried to require Gentile Christians to undergo circumcision (Acts 15:1 ^ci, 5 ^cj; see 21:20-21 ^ck; Gal 2:4 ^cl, 11-13 ^cm), to which Paul and Barnabas objected (Acts 15:2 ^cn). The ensuing church council at Jerusalem settled the matter in favor of not requiring Gentiles to be circumcised (15:19-21 ^co, 28-29 ^cp).
Paul insisted that “it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised” (1 Cor 7:19 ^cq). “What is important is faith expressing itself in love” (Gal 5:6 ^cr). In Galatians, Paul argued against vigorous Jewish opponents and insisted that everyone enters God’s family simply through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 2:14-21 ^cs). Circumcision is not required for acceptance by God (Gal 5:6 ^ct). The cross of Christ is the way that sinners enter into covenant with God (Gal 2:14-21 ^cu; Col 2:11-15 ^cv).

Passages for Further Study
Gen 17:9-14 ^cw; Lev 12:3 ^cx; Josh 5:2-9 ^cy; Jer 9:25-26 ^cz; Luke 1:59 ^da; 2:21 ^db; John 7:22-24 ^dc; Acts 7:8 ^dd; 15:1-5 ^de, 19-21 ^df, 28-31 ^dg; 16:2-3 ^dh; 21:18-24 ^di; Rom 2:25-29 ^dj; 1 Cor 7:17-19 ^dk; Gal 2:3-5 ^dl, 11-21 ^dm; 5:6 ^dn; 6:15 ^do; Phil 3:5-9 ^dp; Col 2:11-23 ^dq