Stephens speech to the sanhedrin then the high priest asked stephen, are. Acts stephen manley 37 50 minute sessions through saturation bible study we will look into the book of acts. The sanhedrin was not authorized to impose the death penalty, but the stoning appeared to be the result of mob action. The stoning of stephen when the members of the sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. This morning i have a rather difficult duty, and that is that the sermon in chapter 7 is 53 verses long. Stephens final words were similar to jesus last words on the cross. In this book we see the first mention of the dispensation of the holy spirit and jesus command to take his gospel to all the world. In the new testament, in the book of acts, you will learn how the members of the church in jerusalem gave their money freely to help the poor. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. He was also full of gods grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people acts 6. In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation.
Acts 7 new international version niv stephen s speech to the sanhedrin. Here is a quiz on the book of acts from the new testament. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. They chose stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy spirit, as well as philip, prochorus, nicanor, timon, parmenas, and nicolas from antioch, a convert to judaism. His defense of his faith before the rabbinic court enraged his jewish audience, and he was taken out. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. Acts 7 niv stephens speech to the sanhedrin bible gateway. Peter and his mission to the jews is the main focus in this first part of the book of acts. With the appointment of the first seven deacons in acts 6. 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. Stephens being full of grace means that he was a gracious man.
We will journey through the complete book in an overall survey and then. Stephen s final words were similar to jesus last words on the cross. At the club meeting each week, a different member told a little about his job. Yet stephen is the first martyr and his speech summarizing some important theological points in the transition between peters ministry in jerusalem and pauls mission in acts. Acts 7 new international version niv stephens speech to the sanhedrin. His listeners always reject the saving message of god. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. If anything, stephens words are an indictment, not a defense. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Most of us know that he was the first christian killed for his faith, but do we know what led up to that. The hellenist converts, who probably formed a minority in the early christian community, complained that the care of their elderly widows was neglected by the hebrewspeaking majority. In the book of acts, why was stephen stoned to death.
The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. The god of glory appeared to our father abraham while he was still in mesopotamia, before he lived in harran. The book of acts, which continues the narrative that luke began in his gospel, is especially important because it was the first written history of the christian church. A chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 6 acts 1 50 days 1. His martyrdom was witnessed by saul of tarsus, a pharisee who would later become a follower of jesus and. As for this fellow moses who led us out of egyptwe dont know what has happened to him. May 10, 2014 please watch this film to find out how the holy spirit worked amazing and incredible signs and wonders through the apostles in the name of the lord jesus christ. Mar 23, 2020 acts stephen manley 37 50 minute sessions through saturation bible study we will look into the book of acts. Stephen, traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of christianity, was according to the acts of the apostles a deacon in the early church at jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Acts of the apostles portrays stephen as a devout member of the early. Luke had written to him before and had told him about the things that jesus did and taught. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to be responsible over the distribution of food to widows in the early church after a dispute arose and the apostles recognized they needed help. Bradd words in boldboldbold and underlined are the answers to the blanks on the acts study guides acts 1 the book of acts was written by luke to a man named theophilus. In acts, after the early church begins to convert thousands of people to the christian faith in a matter of days, we meet for a brief time a man by.
Jul 08, 20 three great themes in the book of acts acts 1. Jan 02, 2020 acts 7 is the record of stephens testimony, which is perhaps the most detailed and concise history of israel and their relationship to god of any in scripture. It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel. Please take a moment to register your free funtrivia id. Stephens sermon is twice as long as peters sermon delivered at pentecost acts 2. 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. Answer stephen is mentioned only in acts of the apostles, first in chapters 68, where the story of his saintliness and martyrdom is used as an introduction to saul, then as an aside in 11. But stephen, full of the holy spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of.
The story of stephen, the first martyr the wonder book of bible stories logan marshall in the new testament, in the book of acts, you will learn how the members of the church in jerusalem gave their money freely to help the poor. He was mentioned in the acts of the apostles and is considered to be one of the first martyrs, having been stoned to death. The only primary source for information about stephen is the new testament book of the acts of the apostles. Stephen as his name and his relations in the church at jerusalem seem to imply acts 6. Look through stephens sermon and you will see clearly what he wanted the people to know. Aug 31, 2015 stephen as his name and his relations in the church at jerusalem seem to imply acts 6. A person who understands and lives gods grace as seen in the cross also becomes a person who shows grace to others.
Turn in your bibles to the 7th chapter of the book of acts. Luke was from antioch but traveled with paul all over southern europe and the middle east. Points you earn from this quiz will then be saved, and you can also participate in our trivia games, tournaments, teams, and. Please watch this film to find out how the holy spirit worked amazing and incredible signs and wonders through the apostles in the name of the lord jesus christ. Stephens speech differs sharply from previous speeches in acts. Of the numerous speeches in acts of the apostles, stephen s speech to the sanhedrin is the longest. The name stephen is greek, and chapter 6 of the acts of the apostles 6 tells us that he was a hellenist a foreignborn jew who spoke greek. 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 stephen s speech shows a distinctive personality behind it. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english.
The existence of the jewish nation was no coincidence or human contrivance. Some scholars consider the scene involving stephens trial and death as significant, not only because stephen is. Stephen wanted the people to remember their heritage vss. Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts. The beautiful, amazing, powerful, weak, dysfunctional church a chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 5 first ten years. The beginning verses of acts make it clear that acts is a sequel of the story started in luke and written to the same man named theophilus, generally a title ascribed to highranking roman officials. In addition, stephen was also the first martyr of the church. But stephen, full of the holy spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of god, and jesus standing at the right hand of god.
No, its not as fun as hopping along in outer space getting crushed to death with rocks never is, but. This seminarylevel study also retains its depth and uses an engaging interactive format. Up to this point, our focus in the book of acts has been upon the twelve and upon peter and john. Some scholars consider the scene involving stephen s trial and death as significant, not only because stephen is. Stephen was an otherwise unknown martyr mentioned only in acts of the apostles. Stephen was the first christian to be put to death for his faith. Several questions can be answered from the first 2 verses. Stephen, under attack and facing likely death, spoke the truth recorded by luke, acts 7. Both are hellenistic jews and neither is numbered among the 12. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to egypt. 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. M any people who are familiar with the bible are not familiar with stephen who was one of the first deacons in the bible. Jun 29, 2018 under roman law, stephen s death was illegal. Yet stephen is the first martyr and his speech summarizing some important theological points in the transition between peters ministry in.
Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. Complete bible timeline links interlinear bible bible commentaries bible lexicon topical bible bible summary bible outline bible timeline childrens bible bible hub homepage. These verses describe how seven men were chosen as special ministers, and one of them, stephen, fell foul of the authorities. Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the author. He is the first christian speaker to challenge jewish institutions, the law and the temple.
But stephen boasted in the grace of god, freely bestowed on undeserving sinners. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. There is no mention in acts of anyone being punished for the death of stephen. An inward experience of grace flows outward into a gracious spirit toward others. Stephen was not concerned about his earthly existence, determining instead to stand firmly on the side of jesus christ, no matter the consequences. Book of acts versebyverse bible study and indepth commentary of the acts of the apostles in plain english for everyone to understand. For my wednesday night bible study class for kindergarteners6th grade, i decided to do an overview of the life of stephen.