Atos 7

Atos 7

Piper - What was the root evil in all this resistance to God's will? Why did they resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51)? I found the key in a parallel phrase in Acts 7:41 and Acts 7:48. In Acts 7:41 Stephen says that they offered sacrifices to the idol and "rejoiced in the works of their hands." And in Acts 7:48 he says, "The Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands." The root evil in many in Israel was that they derived their joy—their fulfillment, their meaning, their sense of significance—from what they could achieve with their own hands. Acts 7:41: "They rejoiced in the works of their hands." They wanted a kind of god and a kind of worship in which they could demonstrate their own power and their own wisdom and their own righteousness and their own morality and their own religious zeal. They got their joy from what they could achieve and not from God. Especially not from a God so free and so great and so sovereign and so self-sufficient that he gets all the credit for everything good, and won't let himself be limited or controlled by anybody's man-made temple. The temple in Jerusalem had become for many in Israel a symbol of what they could achieve— the work of their hands. And therefore the worship there had become a subtle form of self-worship—all very religious, using all the right language, but coming from uncircumcised hearts and stiff, unsubmissive, self-exalting necks. (The Story of a Stiff-Necked People) (Bold Added) LIKE FATHER LIKE SON! You are doing just as your fathers did - Literally: as your fathers also ye. Stephen was saying "As Israel was in its history, so you are today." Their fathers had made "external worship" a substitute for "internal heart change" that issues in spiritual obedience. Stephen has shown how God had revealed himself gradually, the revelation sloping upward to Christ Jesus. Stephen continues this denunciation in Acts 7:52. Furneaux - "And as he saw his countrymen repeating the old mistake--clinging to the present and the material, while God was calling them to higher spiritual levels--and still, as ever, resisting the Holy Spirit, treating the Messiah as the patriarchs had treated Joseph, and the Hebrews Moses--the pity of it overwhelmed him, and his mingled grief and indignation broke out in words of fire, such as burned of old on the lips of the prophets." (ED: AND WHICH GOT THE PROPHETS KILLED JUST LIKE IT WOULD STEPHEN!) EXCURSUS ON ROLE OF HOLY SPIRIT IN OT HEART CIRCUMCISION Below are notes from Deuteronomy 10:16 (see commentary) where Israel was charged to "circumcise your So circumcise (mul) your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer - While this is not actually a command in the Hebrew, the instruction nevertheless conveys that sense and a parallel passage in Jer 4:4 is definitely a command to the Jews to "circumcise yourselves." Clearly the reference to circumcision of one's heart signifies that this is a figure of speech and not literal circumcision as described and prescribed in Genesis 17. In short, this passage calls for "spiritual surgery," and of the type that only Yahweh Himself could accomplish. Keep in mind that God had given the Israelites five commandments in Dt 10:12+. However God never gives commandments without providing the means to obey His commandments. To say it another way God's commandments always include His enablements! In Dt 30:6+ we see it is the LORD Who says He will "circumcise" their heart. While this latter passage is a prophecy that will be filled at the end of this age, one can deduce that the call for Israel to circumcise their hearts in Dt 10:16 is a call for them to trust God to carry out this transaction. How does this take place? Look first at Stephen's sermon in Acts 7:51+ addressed to his non-believing Jewish persecutors... “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Notice how Stephen's words parallel the words of Moses in Dt 10:16. Specifically notice that they both passages allude to the heart, either uncircumcised and or as a call to circumcise your heart. Notice also that both passages speak of stiff-necked ("stiffen your neck no longer"). So what can we conclude from Stephen's words that helps explain the charge in Dt 10:16? Note that Stephen states that his hearers were always resisting the Holy Spirit and says this is what their fathers had also done. In context the phrase "as your fathers did" is a reference to their Jewish "fathers" in the Old Testament. Compare the continual resistance of the fathers to the Holy Spirit in Nehemiah 9:30 ("You bore with them for many years, and admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, yet they would not give ear.") and Isaiah 63:10 ("they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit"). Based on these observations, one can deduce that in the Old Testament it was the Holy Spirit Who was active in performing the radical spiritual surgery necessary to circumcise a heart. Paul supports the premise that was the Holy Spirit Who was the active Agent in spiritual circumcision, writing in Romans 2:29+ (cf Col 2:11+) "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God." And since we know from Genesis 1:2 (among many other OT passages) that the Holy Spirit was active in the OT, it follows that the charge to circumcise their hearts was a charge that only the Holy Spirit could accomplish. Further, it would seem to fair when comparing spiritual circumcision with other Scriptures, that circumcision of the heart is synonymous with genuine salvation. And so if we look at the "salvation" of Abraham in Genesis 15:6+ we read... Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Abraham was declared righteous by God by faith. It therefore is Biblically logical to say that Abraham had a "circumcised heart" and that the only way the Israelites could "circumcise their hearts" in Dt 10:16 would be by faith, a faith just like Abraham's faith. How many of the Israelites received circumcised hearts? It is difficult to say with certainty but OT history supports that most of the nation had uncircumcised hearts (were not saved, cf Dt 32:20+). One other point that should be made is that while the Spirit was active in the OT and in bringing about "salvation," the Spirit did not permanently indwell OT believers as He does every NT believer. As an aside we know the Spirit did occasionally indwell men in the OT including Joshua of whom God Himself said he was "a man in whom is the Spirit." (Nu 27:18) Did the Spirit indwell Joshua for all or most of his life? The Bible does not say so we will have to wait until we arrive in Heaven to answer questions like that (cf Dt 29:29). Related Resource: What was the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? | GotQuestions.org Horatius Bonar - Beware of grieving this Spirit. There is great danger of this. Israel was continually guilty of this crime (Acts 7:51), and so is the church: “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.” Let us not, by unbelief, or error, or inconsistency or backsliding, or apostasy, grieve or quench this Spirit, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Light and Truth) UNCIRCUMCISED HEARTS: The "uncircumcised heart" pictures religious activity (circumcision being the sign of the covenant with Abraham) with no corresponding internal spiritual reality. Today many religious activities can lull us to sleep. Many will boast of their church attendance, baptism, confirmation, grand building, or large ministry—and yet their hearts have not been "circumcised," that is, touched, changed, converted by God himself. Make sure your heart is devoted to God and that your activities reflect that reality. (Life Application Bible Commentary – Acts) Thomas Watson - Our deplorable condition before we are called....We are in a state of impotency.—“When we were without strength.” Rom. 5:6. No strength to resist a temptation, or grapple with a corruption; sin cut the lock where our strength lay. Judg. 16:20 Nay, there is not only impotency, but obstinacy, “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.” Acts 7:51. Besides indisposition to good, there is opposition. (A Divine Cordial) A W Tozer - We’ve Crucified the Holy Spirit - Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. —Acts 7:51 It is time for us to repent, for our transgressions against the blessed Third Person have been many and much aggravated. We have bitterly mistreated Him in the house of His friends. We have crucified Him in His own temple as they crucified the Eternal Son on the hill above Jerusalem. And the nails we used were not of iron, but of the finer and more precious stuff of which human life is made. Out of our hearts we took the refined metals of will and feeling and thought, and from them we fashioned the nails of suspicion and rebellion and neglect. By unworthy thoughts about Him and unfriendly attitudes toward Him we grieved and quenched Him days without end. The truest and most acceptable repentance is to reverse the acts and attitudes of which we repent.… We can best repent our neglect by neglecting Him no more. Let us begin to think of Him as One to be worshiped and obeyed. Let us throw open every door and invite Him in. Let us surrender to Him every room in the temple of our hearts and insist that He enter and occupy as Lord and Master within His own dwelling. (The Pursuit of Man) Robert Neighbour - Resist Not the Spirit "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts 7:51). The Lord Jesus Christ stands outside the life of each individual man, seeking to enter in. He is willing to save; He is unwilling that any should perish. To His own people, Israel, Christ said: "How often would I....and ye would not" (Matt. 23:37). Christ seemed to be saying, "I would, ye would not, I could not." We are now about to consider the fact that man may refuse the work of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God convicts him of his sin, but he will not hear. These things may be said. 1. The sinner may resist Christ. The scene in Acts is a solemn one. Stephen was a man full of faith and power. He preached a plain, positive, pungent message, to Israel, concerning her treatment of the Prophets, and of the Saviour. Those who heard Stephen were pricked in their hearts. They knew that he spoke of them; they knew that they were a stiffnecked and an uncircumcised people, both in their heart and in their ears. Stephen told them plainly: "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51). Then the men, cut to their heart, gnashed on him with their teeth; stopping their ears and crying with a loud voice, they ran upon him with one accord, "and cast him out of the city, and stoned him" (Acts 7:58). This is the attitude of many a lost man toward the Lord Jesus Christ. They will not come unto Him that they might have life; they stubbornly and steadfastly set their hearts against Him; and they will not hear. 2. The sinner may do despite unto the Holy Spirit. "He that despised Moses' Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:28, 29). The passage above seems to speak of "doing despite unto the Spirit of grace," as a climax of sin. Does "doing despite" mean more than "hardening the heart, and stiffening the neck?" Does "doing despite" mean more than "neglecting so great salvation," and "refusing Him Who spake?" (see Heb. 2:3). Is there not carried in the Word "despite" almost the depth of that sin against the Spirit, elsewhere called "blasphemy"? One thing we know — it is a sin of terrible results. Let no one do despite unto the Spirit of Grace. Greg Laurie - SIX SINS The New Testament mentions six offenses that can be committed against the Holy Spirit. Some specifically apply to unbelievers, while others apply to believers. Still others apply to both. 1. We lie to the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:1–5 tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira, two so-called Christians who tried to cheat the church out of some money. Peter caught them in the act and rebuked them, telling them in lying to the Holy Spirit, they had lied to God. Immediately, Ananias dropped dead. 2. We grieve the Holy Spirit. This offense applies to believers. Ephesians 4:30–31 tells us, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” The phrase “to grieve” means “to make sad or sorrowful.” When we allow bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and any type of malicious behavior to take place in our lives, we grieve the Holy Spirit. Are you harboring a grudge against someone? Have you been slandering (speaking lies about) anyone lately? Have you been flying into fits of rage? All of this grieves the Holy Spirit. 3. We quench the Holy Spirit. This, too, applies to believers. The apostle Paul exhorted the Thessalonians, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thess. 5:19). Unbelief certainly can hinder the working and moving of God’s Holy Spirit. This happened in Jesus’s hometown as the people questioned his authority. We read that “He did not do many mighty miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matt. 13:58). Quenching the Spirit can occur when the Holy Spirit is leading you to do a certain thing, such as sharing your faith with someone, praying more, or taking a step of faith in a certain area, and you flatly refuse to do it. Has God called you to serve him with your life? Has he led you to do something? Are you doing it? If not, then you’re quenching the Holy Spirit. TURNING OUR BACKS ON GOD The list continues with sins that involve pushing the Spirit away. 4. We resist the Holy Spirit. Stephen, as he spoke to the unbelieving Sanhedrin, said, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51). The Holy Spirit seeks to speak to the heart of the unbeliever and lead him or her to God. The Holy Spirit is incredibly patient and persistent, but it is possible to resist all the Spirit’s pleadings, as we discover from Genesis 6:3, where God said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever.” Apparently the spiritual leaders of Israel whom Stephen was addressing had resisted the Holy Spirit. It seems they were convinced of the truth of what Stephen was telling them, yet they would not yield their hearts. 5. We insult the Holy Spirit. When someone refuses to accept Jesus Christ, he is denying the very mission of the Holy Spirit. He’s saying he doesn’t need salvation or doesn’t believe Jesus Christ can save him or that Jesus’s work on the cross was unnecessary. Hebrews warns, “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb.10:29). Therefore, to resist the Holy Spirit’s appeal is to insult God and cut off all hope of salvation. The Bible poses this alarming question: “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” (Heb. 2:3). THE MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE 6. We blaspheme the Holy Spirit. This is the unpardonable sin, which can be committed only by unbelievers. In speaking of this sin, Jesus said, And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:31–32 This is the most serious offense against the Holy Spirit, because there is no forgiveness for the one who commits it. So what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Again, the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin and bring us to Jesus Christ. To blaspheme the Spirit is similar to insulting the Spirit by resisting the Spirit’s work altogether. This sin should not be the concern of any Christian because it is not a sin a believer can or will commit. But for the person who is playing some silly religious game, there is great cause for concern, because this is a point of no return. Where and when this would occur in an individual’s life, only God could say. So instead of lying to, grieving, quenching, or insulting and resisting the Holy Spirit, we should be open to the Spirit’s work in our lives. The Spirit wants to show us our need for Jesus Christ and then fill and empower us to be the people God wants us to be. (Walking With Jesus) Robert Neighbour - "Grieve Not, Quench Not, Resist Not" • The Mission of the Indwelling Spirit (II Cor. 3:18). • Grieve Not the Spirit (Eph. 4:30). • The Mission of the Enduing Spirit (Acts 1:8). • Quench Not the Spirit (I Thess. 5:19). • The Mission of the Convicting Spirit (John 16:8). • Resist Not the Spirit (Acts 7:51). The Holy Spirit has a threefold mission. He is sent to indwell the believer, He is sent to endue the believer, and He is sent to convict the unbeliever. Individuals may express a threefold attitude toward the Holy Spirit. Believers may grieve Him, and quench Him; and unbelievers may resist Him. There is, of course, another attitude which believers and unbelievers also may take toward the Holy Ghost. Instead of grieving Him, they may please Him; instead of quenching Him, they may yield to Him and obey Him; instead of resisting Him, they may open their hearts and receive Him. The first two divisions will discuss how the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, with the express purpose of transforming his life into the image of Christ, and how the believer may grieve Him. The third and fourth divisions will discuss how the Holy Spirit desires to serve and magnify Christ through the lives of His children; and how the believer may quench Him. The fifth and sixth divisions will show how the Spirit deals with the unsaved, seeking to bring to them the knowledge of the crucified and risen Lord, and how the unbeliever may resist Him. Paul Enns - THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN BE REJECTED Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4.30) The question of whether the Holy Spirit is a person can be answered by the fact that He can be resisted and rejected. In the much debated statement in Mark 3:29 Jesus says, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." That warning could only be made about a person. I can stand at an electrical outlet and vehemently ridicule it, but there are no repercussions because I am ridiculing an inanimate object. When I ridicule a per-son, there are repercussions. The unbelieving Jews were attributing to Satan what Christ had done through the power of the Holy Spirit-and that was unforgivable. Rebellious children resist the admonitions of their parents. A lazy employee resists the exhortation of his employer. A student resists the assignments of the teacher. We resists persons. The Holy Spirit may be resisted because He is a person. Stephen chastened the unbelieving Jews, "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). The One who had worked in their history by granting grace and lending leaders to the nation was the very One the people rebelled against-the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can also be lied to. When Ananias and his wife, Sap-phira, sold their land and deceptively kept back part of the money, Peter told them that they had lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). We do not lie to inanimate things. I cannot lie to a radar beam. A spoken matter becomes a lie when someone has heard and received a false message. The Holy Spirit can also be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). 1 may express my displeasure concerning a building when I do not appreciate the architecture. But I do not grieve the building. I grieve the person of the Holy Spirit when I sin by speaking unkind and uncharitable words (Eph 4:29). God has graciously provided His Holy Spirit to direct the spiritual path of people. It behooves us to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. LESSON: The Holy Spirit is a person, seen in that He can be blasphemed, resisted, lied to, and grieved. (Approaching God - Reflections for Growing Christians) READ: Acts 7:51-60 PEOPLE who announce bad news sometimes get blamed for causing it. It is difficult to be the one who bears unwelcome news. The meteorologist can upset people by predicting rain on the Fourth of July. It's not the forecaster's fault, yet he or she still takes the heat for bringing the message. On a much more serious note, when Stephen addressed the religious leaders of Israel, he incurred their wrath because he boldly told them the truth about themselves. He criticized their ancestors and implicated the whole council in the murder of Jesus Christ. Everything he said was true. So what did they do with this indictment? They "gnashed at him with their teeth" (Acts 7:54). They threw him out of the city and killed him. Because he told the truth, Stephen died under a barrage of stones. When we speak out for purity, righteousness, and godliness in a sinful, pleasure-loving world careening toward destruction, we too will be criticized. But no matter what happens to us, we belong to God, and ultimately He will vindicate us, if not in this life, in the life to come.—J D Branon James Smith - Handfuls of Purpose - APOSTOLIC CHARACTER. Acts 7:51-60 Stephen's defense is a masterpiece of spiritual policy and power. He did not begin his address by saying, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart." No; but with these very courteous words—" Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken." He who wins souls is wise. We might observe here:— 1. His Knowledge of Scripture.—This Spirit-filled man had a clear and comprehensive grasp of the doing and purposes of God in Old Testament history. The knowledge of the will of God will always be a mighty weapon in the hand of anyone full of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God will have but little to work on, unless our hearts are filled with the words of God. This is the secret of successful prayer (John 15:7). It is the honest heart which hears the Word and keeps it, that brings forth fruit (Luke 8:15). 2. His Faithfulness. "You stiff-necked... you do always resist the Holy Spirit" (vv. 51-53). A man filled with the Spirit cannot but be courageous, for the Kingdom of God; the truth burns like a fire in his bones, while sin, and the things of eternity, stand out before his anointed eyes in the clear light of Him who sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. They are in an awful condition who resist the Holy Spirit by the stiffness of their wills and the hardness of their hearts. They may be "cut to the heart" (v. 54) by a faithful testimony, but unless they are "pricked in the heart" (vv. 11-37) they will "gnash with their teeth," and die in their sins. 3. His Vision. While "they gnashed on him with their teeth," he saw the "glory of God." Our heavenly Father has always rich compensation for His suffering children. Seeing "Jesus standing on the right hand of God" is a wonderful balm for the wounds made by the teeth of the enemy. This revelation to Stephen is the vision that is ever before the mind of those who, like him, are enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit, through faith, to look up "steadfastly into Heaven." It is the work of the Spirit to reveal the things of Christ to the believing heart (John 16:14). To have the vision of the soul filled with the glory of the exalted Redeemer is to have the life consciously "hid with Christ in God." 4. His Martyrdom. "They stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying. . . Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (vv. 57-60). This first martyr for Christ was a witness to that overcoming grace of God in the heart which constrains to pray for them "which despitefully use you." If the death of Stephen was but the means in the hand of God of sending the goads of conviction into the soul of that "young man whose name was Saul" (9:5), then it was a death that has helped to open up a channel of life and blessing to the world. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ never suffers defeat through the killing of His followers. The bloodstained prayers of those saints who suffer martyrdom for His name's sake, God in grace will mightily avenge, "The blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church." 5. His Mercifulness. "He kneeled down and cried, Lord lay not this sin to their charge." The love of a merely natural heart never constrained any one so earnestly to seek the highest good of those who were committing the greatest personal wrong. This last cry of the dying martyr is a convincing proof of the transforming power of the love of Christ in the heart. This merciful spirit manifested in Stephen's last breath toward those sin-blinded murders is the spirit Jesus Christ has sent into the world to seek and save it. "This sin" which they were committing was an awful one. They were destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit. If Stephen had not been filled with the Holy Spirit he would not have been stoned. "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto Me." Acts 7:51 TELL IT LIKE IT IS You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. --Acts 7:51 It is difficult to be the one who bears unwelcome news. The TV meteorologist can upset people just by predicting that it's going to rain on the Fourth of July. It's not his or her fault, yet the forecaster still takes the heat for bringing the message. On a much more serious note, when Stephen addressed the religious leaders of Israel, he incurred their wrath because he boldly told them the truth about themselves. He criticized their ancestors and implicated the whole council in the murder of Jesus Christ. Everything he said was true. So what did they do with this indictment? They "gnashed at him with their teeth" (Acts 7:54). They threw him out of the city and put him to death. Because he told the truth, Stephen died under a barrage of stones. When we speak out for purity, righteousness, and godliness in a sinful, pleasure-loving world that seems destined to self-destruct, we too will be criticized. But no matter what happens to us, we can call on God as Stephen did. We can take comfort in knowing that we belong to Him and that ultimately He will vindicate us. As God's people, let's pray that we will have the courage to tell it like it is. - J D Brannon Lord, give us courage to speak out Against the evils of our day; For only when the truth is known Can sinners choose the better way. --D J De Haan It's better to declare the truth and be rejected than to withhold it just to be accepted. Acts 7:52 "Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; (NASB: Lockman) KJV Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Which one of the prophets 1 Sa 8:7,8; 1 Ki 19:10,14; 2 Chr 24:19-22; 36:16; Neh 9:26; Jer 2:30; Jer 20:2; 26:15,23; Mt 5:12; Mt 21:35-41; Mt 23:29-39; Lk 11:47-51, 13:33,34; 1 Th 2:15 had previously announced the coming Acts 3:18,24; 1 Peter 1:11; Rev 19:10 the Righteous One Acts 3:14; 22:14; Zech 9:9; 1 John 2:1; Rev 3:7 whose betrayers and murderers you have now become Acts 2:23; 3:15; 4:10; 5:28-30 Acts 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JESUS CHRIST: THE RIGHTEOUS ONE Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? - Clearly a rhetorical question and the answer is they persecuted them ALL! Notice that Stephen no longer says "our fathers" (as in Acts 7:2, 11, 12, 15, 19, 38, 39, 44, 45), but your fathers (Acts 7:51, 52). Stephen does not want to be identified with their evil deeds against God's prophets! I like the NLT paraphrase "Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute!" Persecute (1377)(dioko) which BDAG says means "to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective," which is an interesting description as this is exactly what the Sanhedrin would do in order to stone Stephen in a few minutes! And then a few days later Saul who was watching Stephen's stoning would hear Jesus ask “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting (dioko) Me?...I am Jesus you are persecuting (dioko).” (Acts 9:4-5+). Dioko is used by Luke 9 times in Acts - Acts 7:52; Acts 9:4; Acts 9:5; Acts 22:4; Acts 22:7; Acts 22:8; Acts 26:11; Acts 26:14; Acts 26:15 Your fathers - See your fathers repeated by Jesus when He issued a similar scathing rebuke (which some of Stephen's hearers may have heard or at least heard about -- and now it was being cast at them!)... “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 “So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation. ’(Luke 11:47-51+) Here is a similar but expanded denunciation by Jesus in which He alluded to how their fathers had mistreated the prophets of old... “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31“So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men (STEPHEN WAS A MAN FULL OF WISDOM - Acts 6:3,10+) and scribes; some of them you will kill (LIKE THE WERE ABOUT TO DO TO STEPHEN) and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her (SEE Acts 7:58+)! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’” (ED: THEY WILL IN ESSENCE DO THIS AT THE END OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION WHEN JESUS RETURNS - SEE Zech 12:10-14+, Zech 13:1+) (Mt 23:29-39) They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One - Their ancestors had killed the true prophets of God those who predicted the coming of their Messiah. The Moody Bible Commentary notes that this statement "is not an affirmation of the church's long-held Christ-killer charge against the Jewish people as a whole, but rather to identify the Sanhedrin's role (with the Gentiles) in the conspiracy against Jesus." The Righteous One - This Name of God is found 5 times - Ex 9:27, Isa 24:16, Isa 53:11, Acts 7:52, and Acts 22:14. This Messianic title of Jesus would have grated on the consciences of the Sanhedrin for they very likely had heard it used in Isaiah 53 where God referred to Jesus declaring "by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many as He will bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:11+). In any event this title would have emphasized Jesus' innocence and the seriousness of their crime. Righteous (Just) (1342)(dikaios)from dike = right, just) defines that which is in accordance with high standards of rectitude. It is that which is in right relation to another and so in reference to persons defines the one who is morally and ethically righteous, upright or just. Stephen is saying that Jesus is rightly related to God and because of His right relationship, His character was always associated with righteous conduct. This statement would have been especially galling to these self-righteous hypocrites. Peter had uttered a similar accusation against his Jewish hearers... “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.(Acts 3:14-15) Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become - So while their fathers had killed the prophets who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, the prophet like Moses (Acts 7:37+), Stephen's hearers had actually killed the Righteous One! The harsh critique has OT precedent as shown in the following passages... 2 Chr 36:15-16 - The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but (TRAGIC TERM OF CONTRAST!) they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. Neh 9:26 “(Neh 9::24 “So their sons entered and possessed the land") But (ANOTHER TRAGIC TERM OF CONTRAST!) they became disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You, And they committed great blasphemies. Betrayers (4273)(prodotes from prodídomi = to give away, to betray from pró = forth + dídomi = give) describes men who who betray another’s trust and confidence or are false to an obligation or duty. This is the man who delivers a person without justification into the control of someone else. These men betray confidence and trust put in them. Luke describes the prototypical traitor "Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (prodotes) (Lk 6:16+)