Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #10 - 6:8-7:29)
VIII. 6:8-8:3 STEPHEN'S MARTYRDOM
A. 6:8-8:1 HISTORY OF ISRAEL'S PERSECUTIONS INCLUDE STEPHEN
1. 6:8-15 STEPHEN ON TRIAL
a. 6:8 STEPHEN: A CHARISMATIC EVANGELIST
STEpha-nos de, PLEres CHAri-tos kai duNAme-os,
And Stephen, full of grace and power,
ePOIei TEra-ta [5059] kai seMEIa [4592]meGAla en to laO.
did great wonders and signs among the people.
b. 6:9 SYNAGOGUE MEMBERS DISPUTE WITH STEPHEN
aNEste-san DE ti-nes ton ek tes su-na-goGES [4864]
But certain arose of those of the synagogue
tes le-goMEnes Li-berTInon, kai Ku-reNAIon, kai A-le-xanDREon,
:called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians,
kai ton aPO Ki-liKIas kai A-SIas, sun-zeTOUNtes [4802]to StePHAno.
and those of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with :Stephen.
c. 6:10 And they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
kai ouk ISchu-on [2480] an-tiSTEnai [436]te soPHIa kai toPNEUma-ti hoeLAlei.
d. 6:11 FALSE-WITNESSES RESORTED TO
TOte huPEba-lon [5260] ANdras, LEgon-tas [HOti],
Then they instigated men, who said [that],
A-keKOa-men [191]auTOU laLOUNtos 'REma-ta BLASphe-ma [989]eis Mo-uSEN, kai ton TheON.
We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and :God.
e. 6:12-14 SANHEDRIN RESORTED TO NEXT
su-neKIneSAN [4787]te ton laON kai tous pres-buTErous [4245],
And they stirred up both the people and the elders,
kai tous gram-maTEIS [1122], kai e-piSTANtes, suNERpa-san [4884],
and the scribes, and came upon, seized,
auTON kai Ega-gon eis to suNEdri-on [4892], ESteSAN te MARtu-ras [3144]pseuDEIS, LEgon-tas,
and brought him into the Sanhedrin, 13 and set up false witnesses, who said
Ho ANthro-pos HOUtos ou PAUe-tai [4973]laLON 'REma-ta [4487]
This :man ceases not to speak words
kaTA tou TOpou tou haGIou TOUtou, kai tou NOmou: a-keKOa-men gar auTOU LEgon-tos,
against this :holy :place, and the law: 14for we have heard him say,
HOti IeSOUS ho Na-zoRAIos HOUtos ka-taLUsei [2647]ton TOpon TOUton,
that this :Jesus the Nazorean shall destroy this :place,
kai alLAxei [236] ta Etheha paREdo-ken [3860]heMIN Mo-uSES.
and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.
f. 6:15 STEPHEN'S FACE: AS AN ANGEL'S
kai, a-teNIsan-tes [816] eis auTON, PANtes hoi ka-theZOme-noi en tosu-neDRIo,
And all that sat in the Sanhedrin, fastening theireyes on him,
EIdan to PROso-pon auTOU hoSEI PROso-pon anGElou [32].
saw :his face as if an angel's face.
2. 7:1-53 STEPHEN'S DEFENSE AND ACCUSATION
a. 7:1 And the high priest said, Whether these things are so?
EIpen de ho ar-chi-eREUS [749], Ei TAUta HOUtos Echei?
b. 7:2-3 STEPHEN STARTS WITH ABRAHAM'S CALL
ho de Ephe, ANdres, a-delPHOI kai paTEres, aKOUsa-te:
And he said, Men, brethren and fathers, hear:
ho TheOS tes DOxes [1391]OPHthe[3700]to paTRI heMON A-braAM
The God of the Glory appeared to our :father Abraham
ONti en te Me-so-po-taMIa, prin e ka-toiKEsai [2730]auTON en CharRAN,
when in :Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,
kai EIpen pros auTON, Exel-the ek tes ges sou,
3 and said unto him, Come out of your :land,
kai tes sug-geNEIas [4772]sou, kai DEUro eis ten gen hen an soi DEIxo.
and your :kindred, and comehither into the land which I shall show you.
c. 7:4-5 ABRAHAM IN CANAAN WITHOUT INHERITING IT
TOte e-xelTHON ek ges ChalDAIon,
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans,
kaTOke-sen [2730]en CharRAN: ka' 'KEIthen, meTA to a-po-thaNEIN [599]ton paTEra auTOU
anddwelt in Haran: and from there, after his :father's death
meTOki-sen [3351]auTON eis ten gen tauTEN, eis hen huMEIS nun ka-toiKEIte:
Godremoved him into this :land, in which YOU now live:
kai ouk Edo-ken auTOkle-ro-noMIan [2817]en auTE, ouDE, BEma [968]poDOS:
5and he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set hisfoot on:
kai e-pegGEIla-to [1861]DOUnai auTO eis kaTAsche-sin [2697]auTEN,
and he promised to give it to him in possession,
kai to SPERma-ti [4690]auTOU met' auTON, ouk ONtos auTOTEKnou.
and to his :seed after him, when yethe had no child.
d. 7:6 EGYPTIAN CAPTIVITY FORETOLD
eLAle-sen de HOUtos ho TheOS, HOti EStai to SPERma auTOU PAroi-kon [3941]
And :God spoke thus, that his :seed should be sojourner
en ge al-loTRIa, kai douLOsou-sin [1402]auTO,
in a strange land, and thatthey should bring it into bondage,
kai kaKOsou-sin [2559]Ete te-traKOsi-a.
and ill-treat for four hundred years.
e. 7:7 EGYPT'S JUDGMENT: FOLLOWED BY INHERITANCE IN CANAAN
kai to ETHnos ho an douLEUsou-sin [1398]kriNO [2919] eGO, ho TheOS EIpen:
And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said :God:
kai meTA TAUta e-xeLEUson-tai [1831] kai laTREUsouSIN [3000] moi en to TOpoTOUto.
and after these shall they come forth and serve me in this :place.
f. 7:8 COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION - DOWN TO THE 12 PATRIARCHS
kai Edo-ken auTOdi-aTHEken [1242]pe-ri-toMES [4061]:
And he gave him thecovenant of circumcision:
kai HOUtos eGENne-sen [1080]ton I-saAK, kai pe-riEte-men [4059]auTON te heMEra te ogDOe;
and so Abraham begot :Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth :day;
kai I-saAK ton IaKOB, kai IaKOB tous DOde-ka pa-triARchas [3966].
and Isaac begot :Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.
g. 7:9-10 JOSEPH'S TRIBULATIONS EMERGE INTO GOVERNOR OF EGYPT!
kai hoi pa-triARchai, zeLOsan-tes [2206]ton IoSEPH,
And the patriarchs, jealous against :Joseph,
aPEdon-to [591] eis AIgup-ton: kai en ho TheOS met' auTOU,
sold him into Egypt: and :God was with him,
kai eXEIla-to [1807] auTON ek paSON ton THLIpse-on [2347]auTOU,
10and delivered him out of all his :tribulations,
kai Edo-ken auTOCHArin kai soPHIan e-nanTIon Pha-raO[5328]ba-siLEos AiGUPtou;
and gave him grace and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt;
kai kaTEste-sen [2525]auTON heGOUme-non [2233]ep' AIgup-ton kai HOlon ton OIkon auTOU.
and he made him governor over Egypt and all his :house.
h. 7:11 THE FAMINE
ELthen de liMOS [3042], eph' HOlen ten AIgup-ton kai Cha-naAN,
Now a famine came, over all :Egypt and Canaan,
kai THLIpsis [2347] meGAle: kai ouch HEUri-skon chorTASma-ta [5527]hoi paTEres heMON.
and great tribulation: and our :fathers found no sustenance.
I. 7:12 But when Jacob heard therewas grain in Egypt, he sent forth our :fathers thefirst time.
aKOUsas de IaKOB ONta siTIa eis AIgup-ton, e-xaPEstei-len [1821]tous paTEras heMON PROton.
j. 7:13 JOSEPH REVEALS SELF TO BRETHREN: PHARAOH KNOWS THEM
kai en to deuTEro, eg-noRISthe[319]IoSEPH tois a-delPHOIS auTOU;
And at the second, Joseph was made known to his :brethren;
kai pha-neRON [5318] eGEne-to to Pha-raOto GEnos [1085]IoSEPH.
and Joseph's :race became manifest to :Pharaoh.
k. 7:14 JOSPEPH BRINGS 75 SOULS INTO EGYPT
a-poSTEIlas de IoSEPH, me-te-kaLEsa-to [3333]IaKOB ton paTEra auTOU,
And Joseph sent, andcalled to him Jacob his :father,
kai PAsan ten sugGEnei-an, en psuCHAIS heb-doMEkon-ta PENte.
and all his :kindred, seventy-five souls.
l. 7:15-16 JACOB DIES AND IS BURIED IN SHECHEM
kaTEbede IaKOB eis AIgup-ton; kai e-teLEUte-sen [5053]auTOS, kai hoi paTEres heMON;
And Jacob went down into Egypt; and HE died, and our :fathers;
kai me-teTEthesan [3346]eis SuCHEM,
16and they were carried over unto Shechem,
kai eTEthe-san [5087]en to MNEma-ti [3418]ho oNEsa-to [5608]A-braAM
and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought
tiMES ar-guRIou paRA ton huiON HemMOR en SuCHEM.
for a price in silver of the sons of Emmor in Shechem.
m. 7:17-18 A KING STRANGE TO JOSEPH ARISES IN EGYPT
But as the time of the promise drew nigh
hes homoLOge-sen [3660]ho TheOS toA-braAM, EUxe-sen ho laOS kai e-pleTHUNtheen AiGUPto,
which :God affirmed to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
Achri hou aNEste ba-siLEUS HEte-ros ep' AIgup-ton, hos ouk Edei ton IoSEPH.
18 till another king arose over Egypt, who knew not :Joseph.
n. 7:19 A NEW PHARAOH PERSECUTES ISRAEL
HOUtos ka-ta-so-phiSAme-nos to GEnos heMON, eKAko-sen tous paTEras heMON, tou poiEIN
The same dealt craftily with our :race, andill-treated our:fathers, as to make outcasts
ta BREphe [1025]EKthe-ta auTON eis to mezo-o-goNEISthai [2225].
of their :babes to the end they might not live.
o. 7:20-21 MOSES BORN AND ADOPTED BY PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER
en ho kaiRO[2540]e-genNEtheMo-uSES, kai en aSTEIos [791]to TheO;
At which season Moses was born, and was fair unto :God;
hos a-neTRAphe [397]MEnas treis en toOIko tou paTROS:
andhe was nourished three months in the house of his:father:
ek-teTHENtos [1620] de ouTOU, aNEIla-to [337] auTON hethuGAter [2364]Pha-raO,
21and when he was cast out, the daughter of Pharaoh
kai a-neTHREpsa-to [397] auTON he-auTE eis huiON.
took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
p. 7:22 THE EDUCATION AND DEEDS OF MOSES
kai e-paiDEUthe [3811]Mo-uSES PAse soPHIa Ai-gupTIon;
And Moses was instructed in all thewisdom of theEgyptians;
hen de du-naTOS en LOgois kai ERgois auTOU.
and he was mighty in his words and works.
q. 7:23 MOSES AT 40 VISITS HIS BRETHREN
hos de e-pleROUNto [4137]auTOtes-se-ra-kon-ta-eTES CHROnos, aNEbe ePI ten karDIan auTOU
But when he was forty years old, it came into his :heart
e-piSKEpsas-thai [1980] tous a-delPHOUS auTOU tous huiOUS Is-raEL.
to visit his :brethren the sons of Israel.
r. 7:24-25 MOSES RESISTS OPPRESSION, BUT MISUNDERSTOOD
kai iDON ti-na a-diKOUme-non [91], eMUna-to [292],
And seeing one being wronged, he defended him,
kai ePOIe-sen ekDIke-sin [1557]to ka-ta-po-nouMEno[2669], paTAxas [3950]ton AiGUPti-on:
and avenged the one oppressed, smiting the Egyptian:
eNOmi-zen [3543] de su-niEnai [4920] tous a-delPHOUS
25and he supposed that his:brethren understood
HOti ho TheOS diA cheiROS auTOU DIdo-sin so-teRIan [4991]auTOIS; hoi de ou suNEkan.
that :God by his hand was giving them deliverance; but they understood not.
s. 7:26 MOSES SEEKS TO BE ISRAEL'S PEACEMAKER
tete e-piOUse heMEra OPHthe[3700]auTOIS ma-choMEnois [3184],
And the day following he appeared to them as they strove,
kai suNELlas-sen [4900]auTOUS eis eiREnen, eiPON,
and would have set them at one again, saying,
ANdres, a-delPHOI es-te; HIna te a-diKEIte [91] alLElous?
Men, you are brethren; why do youwrong one another?
t. 7:27 MOSES REJECTED BY ISRAEL AS JUDGE
ho de a-diKON ton pleSIon [4139aPOsa-to [683]auTON, eiPON,
But who did his :neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying,
TIS se kaTEste-sen [2525]ARchon-ta [758kai di-kaSTEN [1348]eph' heMON?
Who made you ruler and judge over us?
u. 7:28 Would you kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?
mea-neLEIN [337]me su THEleis, hon TROpon [5158]aNEIles echTHES ton AiGUPti-on?
v. 7:29 MOSES FLEES TO MIDIAN.
Ephu-gen [5543] de Mo-uSES en to LOgoTOUto, kai eGEne-to PAroi-kos [3941]
And Moses fled at this :saying, and became a sojourner
en ge Ma-diAM, hou eGENne-sen [1080] huiOUS DUo.
in Midian land, where he begot two sons.
NOTE: We should take encouragement from this speech of Stephen. Jesus had foretold to His disciples, the following words: “Lo, I send you forth as sheep amidst wolves: become therefore wise as the serpents, and harmless as the doves. 17 But beware of :men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their :synagogues they will scourge you: 18yes before governors and kings shall you be brought for my sake, for a witness to them and to the nations. 19But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that :hour what you shall speak.20For it not you that speak, but the Spirit of your :Father that speaks in you” (Matthew 10:16-20). Is this not an exact fulfillment of these prophetic words of Jesus?
Then note how the Spirit of the Father in Stephen carefully crafted his argument - to show how God's people Israel and her leaders, constantly and consistently resisted God and His servants. Then, just as Jesus showed to the leaders in a parable, He foretold how they would take God's Son, Himself, and crucify Him.
This first part of this speech indeed lays the foundation for what follows, and produces the first martyr for the church. Jesus Himself was not a martyr. He was born to die. In the past eternity, the Father and the Son worked out the plan for the Son to take on humanity, and as the Son of Man, He would reconcile lost humanity to God through His great Redemptive act. He embraced all 5 of the Levitical offerings in the first few chapters there, and worked out on Calvary plenteous Redemptionfor you and me. J.A.W.
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