Acts 7, new international version niv the bible app. Stephens speech is, as a whole, the key luke provides his readers for the interpretation of his entire twovolume narrative. The authors apparent use of speech material in the gospel of luke, itself. Stephen s opponents see in his preaching a challenge to firstcentury judaism s twin pillars of piety. The line between apologetic and polemic is difficult to draw. Various critics of the bible have ridiculed stephens. The dreams and visions in the acts of the apostles bryce new testament october 7, 2008 july 21, 2012 3 minutes the book of acts tells us that on the day of pentecost, following the death, resurrection and ascension of jesus into heaven, the holy spirit came and filled the apostles and they began to speak in other languages acts 2. In his book the city of god, augustine of hippo describes the many miracles that occurred when part of the relics of saint stephen. When his last sermon, delivered in prison, was published, a friend commented to samuel johnson that the effort was far better than he had thought the man capable of. The high priest mentioned here was probably still caiaphas, the same one who presided over the trial of jesus. The traditional name for this book is acts of the apostles, but a more accurate name.
Stephens defense was a counterattack, accusing his judges of persecuting him just as they persecuted all of gods other prophets. At this point, stephens defense takes a turn toward offense. To the objection that it seems unlikely that such a long speech could be reproduced in the text of acts exactly as it was delivered, some biblical scholars have replied that stephens speech shows a distinctive personality behind it. Strange details in stephens defense xenos christian fellowship. In fact, it just may be that saul owes his earliest exposure to the gospel to stephen. Stephen knows all about abraham as we should, abrahams father was born 222 years after the flood, he was age 205 when he died in haran, they had departed babylonchaldeans rev. Ad 34 traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of. The first martyr, stephen, has a vision of the exalted jesus, and stephens announcing it to the examining council leads them to stone him to death 7.
Finally, peter comes to himself and realizes the dreamlike scene is real. Stephen s speech in acts 7 is the longest recorded in acts. What two themes run through stephen s speech in acts. Stephens speech, the longest of all the speeches of acts. We only have a chapter and a half about stephen in the whole bible, yet he emerges as one of the most impressive characters in the entire scripture.
Stephens speech in acts 7 is the longest recorded in acts. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days. Based on what we read, this sermon was definitely far too long for the sanhedrin before whom stephen spoke. In particular, stephens speech is the catalyst that sparks a great persecution. The development of stephens theology in order to evaluate the function of these discrepancies in the theology of stephens speech, it is first necessary to place them in the where the speech actually conflicts with the ot h.
Doble, the son of man saying in stephen s witnessing. I wrote out the following observations that i gathered from reading stephens speech in acts 7. Baxter we see, then, that the outrage against stephen is, in a fourfold way, a pivotal event in the acts. Acts 7 takes 8 to 9 minutes to read out loud and most of it is stephen s speech. From that perspective, he wasnt give much time at all. He finally declares jesus to be the messiah and accuses them of murder and disobeying the torah as the messiah was foretold by the torah, by its reference to another prophet, and by the entire. If the areopagus speech may be taken as a precursor of a later well developed form of christian apologeticthe defense of the gospel against pagan religion stephens speech in acts 7. Typology in stephens speech stephen the table waiter of chapter 6 now becomes an angel of god cf. When saul of tarsuss life is turned around on the damascus road, it is the. This morning i have a rather difficult duty, and that is that the sermon in chapter 7 is 53 verses long. It breaks the theological ground for pauls and the churchs understanding of the gospels relationship to the old testament.
The god of glory appeared to our father abraham while he was still in mesopotamia, before he lived in harran. The epistle for todays mass is taken, in part, from saint stephens speech to the sanhedrin acts 7. Stephen s speech, the longest of all the speeches of acts. Mar 02, 2018 stephens speech in acts 7 did he really make so many mistakes. In 1777, william dodd, a wellknown london clergyman, was condemned to be hanged for forgery. The b god of glory appeared to our father abraham when he was in mesopotamia, before he dwelt in c haran, 3 and said to him, d get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that i will show you.
The book of acts of the apostles contains many great speeches or sermons, numbering from seventeen to thirtysomething, depending on your chosen method of reckoning. Apr 01, 2011 story of stephen s speech in acts 7 part 2. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. This essay has limited value, especially the unconvincing comparison of stephen s speech and wisdom. In its current form it is clearly the longest speech in the book of acts, yet it diverges from the other speeches in the book in that it is nonapostolic and apparently nonkerygmatic. Of the numerous speeches in acts of the apostles, stephen s speech to the sanhedrin is the longest. It is commonly referred to as the book of acts or simply acts. Stephens speech in acts 7 did he really make so many mistakes. Stephens speech in acts 7, philips explanation of isaiah in acts 8 and pauls. Mar 19, 20 someone recently referred me to delbert l. Oct 07, 2008 the dreams and visions in the acts of the apostles bryce new testament october 7, 2008 july 21, 2012 3 minutes the book of acts tells us that on the day of pentecost, following the death, resurrection and ascension of jesus into heaven, the holy spirit came and filled the apostles and they began to speak in other languages acts 2. Human religious effort is a fact of life in almost every culture.
Stephen knows all about abraham as we should, abraham s father was born 222 years after the flood, he was age 205 when he died in haran, they had departed babylonchaldeans rev. Johnson replied, depend upon it, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates the mind wonderfully. Septuagint similar speak speakers speeches in acts statement stephens speech story testament testimony theme. The very length of stephens speech in acts 7, the longest in a book full of speeches, probably indicates something of the importance luke assigned to this. Stephen is using israels history of rejection and idolatry to prepare for the climax of his speech. Jun 19, 2015 stephens speech is, as a whole, the key luke provides his readers for the interpretation of his entire twovolume narrative. So thats a fairly long answer to the question are these things so. Leave your country and your people, god said, and go to the land i will show you. Boice notes that stephens speech is a transition speech that paves the way for presenting the gospel to the gentiles, which begins in the very next chapter of acts. Jul 21, 2012 i wrote out the following observations that i gathered from reading stephens speech in acts 7. It is not calculated to receive exoneration before the sanhedrin.
The significance of the speeches for interpreting acts. The twelve minor prophets were commonly written in one volume, and were called the book of the prophets. The god of glory appeared to our father abraham while he was still in mesopotamia, before he lived in haran. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to egypt. Moses will become the ruler and liberator of israel v. Johnson replied, depend upon it, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a.
As for this fellow moses who led us out of egyptwe dont know what has happened to him. Peter himself, meanwhile, has a dream in which god commands him to eat. Stephens opponents see in his preaching a challenge to firstcentury judaisms twin pillars of piety. The development of stephen s theology in order to evaluate the function of these discrepancies in the theology of stephen s speech, it is first necessary to place them in the where the speech actually conflicts with the ot h. Stephens sermon answers the charges made against him, showing that. The sermon on mars hill is also apologetic, using reason rather than experience. So that s a fairly long answer to the question are these things so. Of the numerous speeches in acts of the apostles, stephens speech to the sanhedrin is the longest. Stephen s sermon answers the charges made against him, showing that. Boice notes that stephen s speech is a transition speech that paves the way for presenting the gospel to the gentiles, which begins in the very next chapter of acts. The speeches in acts are not mere rhetorical exercises, nor are they introduced simply as vehicles for the authors own reflections or interpretations.
Observations from reading stephens speech in acts 7. It breaks the theological ground for paul s and the church s understanding of the gospel s relationship to the old testament. One of the notable commentaries on the acts of the apostles is that by richard b rackham, first published in 1901. What two themes run through stephens speech in acts. Bruce sees it as a defense of pure christianity as gods appointed way of worship. Stephens speech is different from the other speeches in acts. It is noteworthy that there have always been those faithful believers whose love for and commitment to the lord seem to shine through so greatly that others around them notice, and stephen was such a man. Acts 17 stephens discourse is a critique of religion, using israels history as his example.
Stephens speech to the sanhedrin then the high priest asked stephen, are these charges true. Chapter 8 v12 then some men who really believed the lord jesus buried stephens body in a grave. Now, the testimony given to israel in the initial chapters of the book of acts is. God revealed himself to his people and called them to him. So he left the land of the chaldeans and settled in haran. As a result of stephens confrontation with the temple authorities. Summary of stephens speech in acts, and what he said about. Wienss stephens sermon and the structure of lukeacts.
If anything, stephens words are an indictment, not a defense. Stephens sermon is twice as long as peters sermon delivered at pentecost acts 2. Johnson, acts, 119 johnson believes that stephens speech is. The critical attitude to the jerusalem temple in stephens speech, for example, is not lukes own attitude, which is much more positive. Yet stephen declares it is such effort that has kept israel from knowing the righteous savior and true worship. The theme of stephens sermon is israels resistance to the holy spirit throughout its history see acts 7. Acts 7 takes 8 to 9 minutes to read out loud and most of it is stephens speech. On that same day, people started to do a lot of bad things to the believers in. His story is wholly contained in two chapters in the book of acts, but it provides a glimpse into life in the early church and serves as an example of how our faith in christ can lead to great things. Aug 31, 2015 the very length of stephens speech in acts 7, the longest in a book full of speeches, probably indicates something of the importance luke assigned to this episode in the history of early. Acts 7 niv stephens speech to the sanhedrin bible gateway. After stephen delivers a prophetic speech in acts 7 and describes his fellow jews as a stiffnecked generation, like the tribes of israel in the wilderness.
Dec 20, 2016 at this point, stephens defense takes a turn toward offense. Acts 7 commentary mark dunagan commentary on the bible. Acts 7 new international version niv stephens speech to the sanhedrin. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Turn in your bibles to the 7th chapter of the book of acts. Stephens speech in acts 7 did he really make so many. Stephens speech is often called a defense, or apology, but it is obviously not a speech for the defense in the forensic sense of the term. Studies in the book of acts grace communion seminary.