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[Music] welcome to everyone it's good to be in the house of our God on this beautiful beautiful Lord's Day just one announcement we will resume our Bible study on Wednesday night so that begins at 7:30 we're presently in the book of Genesis we'll be starting Genesis chapter 12 which is a substantial section of the book or introduces a substantial section of the book dealing with Abraham specifically well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 52 Psalm 52 I'll begin reading in verse 1 to the chief musician a contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told saul and said to him david has gone to the house of ahem alack why do you boast an evil o mighty man the goodness of God endures continually your tongue devises destruction like a sharp razor working deceitfully you love evil more than good lying rather than speaking righteousness say law you love all-devouring words you deceitful tongue God shall likewise destroy you forever he shall take you away and pluck you out of your dwelling place and uproot you from the land of the living say law the righteous also shall see and fear and shall laugh at him saying here is the man who did not make God his strength but trusted in the abundance of his riches and strengthened himself in his wickedness but I am like a green olive tree in the house of God I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever I will praise you forever because you have done it and in the presence of your Saints I will wait on your name for it is good amen well please turn with me in your Trinity Psalter to Psalm 24 Psalm 24 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] well let us pray our Father in Heaven we gathered together on this beautiful day to sing praises to our great and holy God you are God most high even Father Son and Holy Spirit from everlasting to everlasting the God who made this beautiful world and all things in it and according to the creation account and all very good we know that you govern all your creatures and all their actions that you are in the heavens and you do whatever you please and we know that you are the Redeemer the only Savior and how we praise you Most High that your son the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to live in obedience to that law to die as a sacrifice at Calvary and to be raised the third day we thank you for his current session at the right hand of the Father and we look forward to his returning glory to judge the living and the dead and our desire this morning Lord God is that all of us would be fit and ready all of us would be clothed in that righteousness when we shall see him as he is that we will hear from his blessed lips well done good and faithful servant not because of our virtue or our works or our goodness but because of all the virtue and the works and the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ we know is the that the bride describes in me is all together lovely and he is chief among ten thousand he is that one that is the the blessed link between heaven and earth that second person of the Trinity who who took on our humanity with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof and yet without sin we thank you for the gospel of our salvation we thank you that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him and as we sing and as we pray and as we direct our minds and hearts to a consideration of Holy Scripture may Christ be all in all may we see him as that one that that heaven has revealed as the the splendor and the glory that blessed God of God and light from light true God from True God and may we indeed return our love and worship and praise we ask for any and all who come here this morning that that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ savingly those who have not bowed the knee those who have not confessed him those who have not believed the gospel we pray that today would be the day of salvation that they would hear by the power of the Holy Spirit the Word of God that they would see and meet the reality that they are sinners transgressors against a holy God standing liable to the punishment and wrath of God but may they hear of that one who does safe that one who saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him may this be the day of salvation here we pray that for other churches in our community throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we pray that your word would run swiftly and be glorified we pray that it would go forth conquering and to conquer and that Lord God Most High it would accomplish the purpose for which you send it and our Father we pray now that you would forgive us for our sins as your people we reflect upon your law and we see our waywardness and our proneness to wander or proneness to leave the God that we love and we confess that sin now trusting in that blessed provision in the God's ball that if we do sin we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous so we pray that you had part in our iniquity for your name's sake for our sin is great Lord God cleanse us now in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ wash us and purify us and fit us to come into the presence of the high and lofty and majestic god we pray this morning for the very tangible and practical needs in our congregation we do pray for the goal occur family that you would comfort and strengthen them that you would bless them caused them to reflect upon the promises of scripture upon the promises of God Almighty in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray for our dear sister Linda that as she recovers from this recent bout of chemotherapy that you would grant her strength in her physical man and that you would increase her continual dependence upon and love for the Savior we also pray for little Jimmy still in the hospital we ask that you would undertake on behalf of this little boy that is lungs would work properly that he would eat efficiently and that he would be able to return home and do be with others that are unable to be with us this morning because of illness because of pain because of physical trial and discomfort we pray for our brother mr. Proctor we pray for dawn we pray for others Lord God asking that you would be merciful and gracious unto them even on the Sabbath day may they reflect upon the goodness of of the Savior King be with the ladies in our congregation who are pregnant we don't take these things lightly we know that children are a gift from God and we pray for the the process the the strengthening the growing in the womb we pray that they would be blessed richly both mothers and children would know the goodness of God in this time and that you would watch over them and in your timing bring them forth and for all the children for all of our young people we do long seriously Lord God that they would come to the Savior that they would respond by grace to the preaching of the gospel here and at home that they would reflect upon the written word the reality that all men everywhere are sinners against a holy God and the reality that through Christ there is forgiveness and there is a righteousness given received by faith alone and our God we pray for this nation for the governing authority we know that this is no easy task that God we know that it's certainly a wretched thing when men legislate immorality and wickedness and evil and God we live in a nation where abortion and euthanasia and sodomy are are openly encouraged and oftentimes subsidized by federal government we pray God in heaven have mercy upon these and we pray that you would put the fear of the Lord in the hearts of men in high places cause them to bow the knee to the king of kings and Lord of lords to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to rule and govern in a way that is consistent with biblical law we pray for the spread of your gospel throughout the earth we know that even in the midst of our country where there is such lawlessness nevertheless we have the freedom to meet and worship and the liberty that we do thank you for but our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world do not enjoy such things we pray for the purse to church she would be merciful to your people she would grant them the grace to persevere in times of increasing hostility to the Church of Christ and we pray God in heaven that through these seasons you would cause the word to go forth and that more and more people would come to the Savior that more and more people would lay down their their arms and rebellion against you that more and more people would turn from their useless idols such as Allah or the gods of the false religions we pray that they would come to the God of heaven and earth through the only meteor mediator of your elect even our Lord Jesus Christ do this for your glory do this for the good of souls in this world and may you indeed cause your face to shine upon the nation's and let the nation's be glad and we ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal to number 321 hymn number 321 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of John for our scripture reading this morning we're in John chapter 6 will read the first 21 verses John chapter 6 chapter 6 beginning in verse 1 after these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee which is the sea of Tiberias then a great multitude followed him because they saw his signs which he performed on those who were diseased and Jesus went up on the mountain and there he sat with his disciples now the Passover a feast of the Jews was near then Jesus lifted up his eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward him he said to Philip where shall we buy bread that these may eat but this he said to test him for he himself knew what he would do Philip answered him two hundred denarii I worth the bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may have a little one of his disciples Andrew simon Peters brother said to him there is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish but what are they among so many then jesus said make the people sit down now there was much grass in the place so the men sat down in number about five thousand and Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks he distributed them to the disciples and the disciples to those sitting down and likewise of the fish as much as they wanted so when they were filled he said to his disciples gather up the fragments that remain so that nothing is lost therefore they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten than those men when they had seen the sign that Jesus did said this is truly the prophet who is to come into the world therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him a king or to make him King he departed again to the mountain by himself alone now when evening came his disciples went to the sea got into the boat and went over the sea toward Capernaum and it was already dark and Jesus had not come to them then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing so when they had grew a road about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat and they were afraid but he said to them it is I do not be afraid then they willingly received him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going amen well this obviously is a miraculous event in the life and Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ where he feeds the multitude with only a little bit of bread and fish this morning we considered in our study in the confession of faith the doctrine of creation and God made all things out of nothing by the word of his power in the space of six days and all very good but understanding that what's called creation ex nihilo out of nothing nets does not preclude from the reality that God then made stuff from other stuff in other words he took Adam out of the dust of the ground and he formed II from Adam so we see that sort of thing in this particular instance there were these fish there were these loaves and Jesus from that made a great multitude in order to feed this great multitude now it's really interesting in the history of theology and interpretation the liberal approach and by liberal I don't mean liberal politically but liberals in terms of theology liberals deny the supernatural in the Bible liberals deny the resurrection liberals deny all those sorts of expressions of miraculous power by our Lord and in a common or famous sort of interpretation of this passage is that when they the multitude saw the willingness of this young boy to share his loaves and has his fish it really worked on each of the persons there and and they then PO need up the food that they had and so it was this this time of feasting and banqueting based on the generosity of this boy now that's really outlandish it's really far-fetched but that's really the lengths people go to to try and deny what is obvious in terms of the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so Christ deals with them grace with mercy with kindness and then we ought to notice as well specifically with reference to verse verse 15 it says therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him King he departed again to the mountain by himself alone there's an older form of what's called dispensational theology that taught that Jesus came and he offered himself as king to the Jews but they rejected him and as a result he then turned his attention to the Gentiles that's not what happens they wanted to take him and make him a king dispensationalism falters on what the scripture says concerning the purpose and work of our Lord Jesus it was always his intention to build a great church from every tribe tongue people and nation Jew and Gentile he doesn't have separate plans for the Jews and separate plans for the Gentiles he has one plan and that is to redeem to secure the salvation of and to rescue all the elect whom the father had given him from every tribe tongue people and nation to build one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church Catholic their meaning universal not Roman istic and then finally Jesus walks on the water and what Jesus says to to these disciples is very intriguing notice in verse 20 he said to them it is I do not be afraid now for the Greek scholars in our church he uses the terminology ego Eimi which literally means I I am now some would suggest that that's not really significant it was the best way to answer the question who he was but in terms of John's Gospel that little phrase I I am is very powerful and very significant and I think we ought to appreciate verse 20 in that light Christ is the ruler over the waves Christ is the sovereign of the universe Christ is not only the maker of all things but he is the one who while he assumes our humanity walks on the very thing that he made he is the great I am he is the God of heaven and earth and he is the one we ought to bow to and confess Lord and Savior well let us pray our Father we thank you for this blessed Christ we thank you for his mercy his goodness his kindness and feeding hungry bellies we thank you for his power displayed and walking on the water and we thank you for his work revealed in the entirety of Scripture to say both Jew and Gentile through his work on the cross at Calvary may you indeed extend that mercy even here and may you draw sinners unto yourself by Jesus Christ the Lord and we pray in his most blessed name amen well let's sing finally before the preaching 631 631 again will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well please turn with with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts we're in Acts chapter 6 in the latter half of the chapter remember that last week in chapter 6 verses 1 to 7 we see seven men appointed by the church recognized by the church appointed by the elders or rather the Apostles to be what would later be identified as deacons in the church servants in the church and one of the men that was chosen is described in more detail in verse 5 that man is Stephen and most likely Luke gives that description in verse 5 because of what will follow in chapter 6 we see Stephen arrested we will see Stephen give his defence before the Sanhedrin and then ultimately will see the martyrdom of Stephen and so this section dealing with the arrest of Stephen in verses 8 to 15 but all read beginning in verse 1 to remind us of the context now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Helenus because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said it is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables therefore brethren seek out from among you seven men of good reputation full of the holy spirit and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business but we will give ourselves continually to prayer into the Ministry of the word and the saying please the whole multitude and they chose stephen a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit and Philip procuress McCann or Tim on parmenas and nicolas a proselyte from antioch whom they set before the apostles and when they had prayed they laid hands on them then the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith and Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and signs among the people then there arose some from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen Cyrenians Alexandrians and those from Silesia and Asia disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke then they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God and they stirred up the people the elders and the scribes and they came upon him seized him and brought him to the council they also set up false witnesses who said this man does not seek to speak blasphemous words against this holy place in the law for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us and all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him saw his face as the face of an angel Amen well let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for the written word of God we know it's given by inspiration of God and that it profits our souls and we pray even now that you would profit then she would cause us to receive with thankful hearts the Word of God that we would magnify the grace of God that we would see your kindness to your servant Stephen throughout this section of Holy Scripture and God may we learn very valuable lessons from this section as well to that end we pray for the Ministry of the Spirit of God himself that he would illumine our minds and hearts again forgiving us of all of our sins and transgressions and help us now to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ our Lord and we pray in his most blessed name amen well if you look back for just a moment at Acts chapter one I want to remind us of the outline of the book Acts chapter one specifically at verse 8 this is Christ's command to his disciples his apostles these twelve that would serve Him in acts 1:8 that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth so up to this point we have seen the men confined to Jerusalem but that's not all that acts 1:8 stipulates the gospel must go from Jerusalem to Judah met Judea Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth well it was persecution that God ordained to make that happen the persecution of the church that occurs here in Jerusalem is that which moves the gospel to Judea and Samaria and interestingly that's what will move the gospel as we follow the the trajectory of the career of the Apostle Paul to the uttermost parts of the earth we'd like to think that God will just cause his MOOC gospel to move without our suffering or without our persecution but more often than not it is the persecution of the church that is used by God for the Advancement of his kingdom on earth and that is precisely what we find here in these narratives concerning our dear brother Steven I want to look at two things this morning first the opposition to Stephen in verses 8 to 12 and then secondly the formal charge against Stephen in verses 13 to 15 we cannot miss that and we cannot under appreciate that Stephen is brought to the council that is the Sanhedrin that is the highest religious and political court there in Israel at the time it was made up of 71 members they would hear certain things capital offenses for instance which blasphemy was so the things that were charged with reference to Stephen were very serious and so we need to understand what's happening in verses 8 to 15 let's note first the opposition to Stephen in verses 8 to 12 notices ministry it's already been identified or introduced to us in the first section he was one of those seven men that the early church identified as having a good reputation as being full of faith being full of the Holy Spirit and so Luke reminds us of that in verse 8 Stephen full of faith some manuscripts or translation might have grace I think pretty much the same Stephen full of faith or grace and power did great wonders and signs among the people so the highlighting of the giftedness of Stephen here isn't simply to say what a great guy he was but - connection between the previous verses wherein Steven is identified by the church in Jerusalem with what we find here because of his giftedness because of his ability because he preached the gospel because he preached the truth and in Jesus Christ it attracted the opposition they hated him they despised him and we'll see that as we move through the particular narrative John Calvin says for so soon as the force and grace of the spirit doth show itself the fury of Satan is by and by provoked in other words if Stephen hadn't been the man that Stephen was if he had it been full of faith or grace and power if he hadn't been doing great wonders and signs among the people then they would have left him alone I think this is one of the things that ought to encourage our hearts as we read say voice of the martyrs and the various accounts of what's happening in other countries Christianity is being persecuted Christians are being persecuted why because they're making a dent because they're having an impact because they are speaking the truth and that truth is met with great hostility and opposition so on the one hand we lament the trials and afflictions that our brothers and sisters endure but on the other hand we rejoice because they are being targeted as enemies of the state enemies of false religious systems enemies of those things that are not God so on the one hand sympathize and agonize and lament but on the other hand rejoice the gospel is going forth the gospel or word of god is is conquering the gospel is from promoting in the in the hearts of the opposition this great enmity and notice that Stephen himself did these great wonders and signs among the people up to this point it's only been ascribed to the Apostles I think Luke is trying to highlight for us that while not an apostle Stephen was an apostolic man he had been with those men he had given or had been given the gifts in the graces that God gave to his apostles and so he does these signs he does these wonders but more importantly he is preaching the truth and you need to understand that in terms of the opposition and ultimately the formal charge against him at the Sanhedrin it's not the great wonders in the science it is his doctrine it is the truth concerning Christ and him crucified it is the truth that scandalized the Jews to the Jews a stumbling-block but to the Greeks foolishness or into the Greeks foolishness but to us Christ is the wisdom and the power of God you see that operative in the early church they didn't have a problem ultimately with the wonders and the signs they had a problem with his testimony concerning Jesus now notice these opponents of Stephen in verses 9 and 10 we see their identity the synagogue was a place of instruction worship prayer and scripture that's what you did at synagogue some have observed that the church modeled in Saul's and law in large part after the synagogue not after the temple this is not a place of sacrifice it's not a place of incense it's not a place that that was ultimately shut down by God in 80 70 through the Roman armies but rather the synagogue was a place where religious people gathered together and where they met for instruction and this one is identified as a synagogue of the freedmen and the freedmen were most likely sons of slaves those who had been freed there was a great move by Pompey in 63 BC he enslaved a bunch of Jews most likely this was a synagogue that was founded by them and it was a synagogue that was populated not just by or by by Helenus remember we saw that Helenus were were Jews that didn't come from Judea they were Jews that came from other parts of the world and they settled here in Jerusalem and we see those specified or mentioned in verse 9 some were Cyrenians Alexandrian and those from Cilicia and Asia now remember the chief city of Silesia was Tarsus some reckon that the Apostle Paul would have been amongst this particular lot it is the Apostle Paul that ultimately guards the garments of those whose stone Stephan to death was Saul of Tarsus one of these men I don't know but it certainly wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility but the one thing that we need to appreciate is that wherever these Jews were whether it's North Africa whether it's Asia Minor wherever they find them they are consistent in this they oppose Jesus Christ they oppose Christ's servant they oppose the truth of the gospel they neglect to reject rather that Jesus is the Messiah and essentially that's what Jews are today Jews have a messianic expectation Jews think that a messiah is coming they rejected the Messiah that had come they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ that's what differentiates us from a Jewish synagogue today they're living in expectation of a coming Messiah and I guess we are too but not the same coming we're living in expectation of his coming in glory to judge the living in the deck they're living in expectation of a messiah that would ultimately vindicate the Jewish people in the Jewish nation and give them prestige and honor in the world around them and so at this particular juncture they are opposed to Stephen they are opposed to Christianity and when we continue in the book of Acts you'll see the same opposition to the Apostle Paul anybody who would claim that Christ is Messiah Christ did what Christ said he would do is a heretic any demands or deserves to be punished swiftly Alexander comments because some say was it just one synagogue was it three synagogues was it five synagogues Alexander makes the point the essential fact affirm is still the same whether it's one three or five to wit that the opponents of the gospel here described were chiefly or entirely foreign Jews or Helenus and from the two great regions of North Africa and Asia Minor this is no small thing in redemptive history the martyrdom of Stephen was basically a drawing a line in the sand this is when you see that great rupture occurred between Judaism and Christianity Christianity began being recognized as a subset of Judaism now I don't think Christians ever recognized themselves that way they saw themselves as the inheritors of the promise of God and the fulfillment as it related to the Lord Jesus Christ Jews rejected that but from thence forward you see this rupture up until this point you see the Sanhedrin upset about the Apostles up to this point you see the throughout ten up to this point you see them tell them not to preach in the name of Jesus we've even seen physical beating inflicted upon the Apostles in Acts chapter five 40 but here they're going for blood here they're going to martyr Stephen here they're going to execute him here they're going to shed his blood for their cause and to try to neutralize the cause of Jesus Christ now with reference to these opponents note their inability I've always wondered this if Christianity is so fake and it's so false and it's so far outlandish then why aren't people better at refuting it in other words if we are the kinds of people that are looked at as the kinds of people that believe in the existence of unicorns it ought to be able to best us or it ought to be very easy to best us in argument and yet no one can beginning with this synagogue of the freedmen look at their futility when they meet with Stephen according to verse 10 they were not able to resist the wisdom in the spirit by which he spoke brethren we ought never fear the truth wins the truth always wins certain adherents of the truth may get their throats cut certain adherents of the truth may be stoned to death certain adherents of the truth may be imprisoned they may lose their businesses they may lose their families they may lose their livelihood but the truth always wins you cannot stop it it is unstoppable it is uncomfortable and that is what we find here in this account with reference to Stephen this fulfills what Christ had spoken in Luke's Gospel for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist notice that verse 10 they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke and most likely this was formal debate most likely this was an academic setting most likely there was an interchange of ideas there was probably rules in terms of the procedure and Stephen won Stephen won hands down these men hanging their heads in shame now have to to resort to subterfuge they have to resort to violence they have to resort to closing the mouths of Stephen not by their wisdom or by their rationality or by their arguments but they have to close Stephens mouth by stoning into death again I think this is the nature of the battle that exists or obtains between Christianity and non-christian thought why are Christians hated so much why is it again if it's just a an idea that unicorns exist somewhere they exist in my backyard we just kind of write those people off as believing in fairy tales or they didn't really graduate from you know grade two and you know we Pat them on the head and we say okay just you know have your juice and your your Cheerios and and sit still and quiet see Christianity's posts as perceived as a threat why it's Christianity tells you if you don't believe Christianity says if you don't come Christianity says if you don't look under Jesus Christ Lord and Savior you will go to hell it's that that offense it's that that arouses the opposition it's that claim to exclusivity that really bothers people many years ago we had a young fellow in our church and he used to go to Simon Fraser University and he and I would go on club's day and set up a little booth and try to pass out Christian literature and one time we always post a provocative question to try to get people to stop and to talk to us and we said this is a marketplace of worldviews to whom do you subscribe and you know people would say that's an interesting thought that's an interesting contemplation the world is a marketplace of worldviews isn't it you take the Hindus you take the Buddhists you take the ATS you take you know whoever they have a view of the world well Christianity essentially comes along and says you're all wrong and we're right see that's what's offensive today in this tolerant culture to be intolerant a false religion is looked at as a high crime against society against thinking rational people you know in our religion it's not stipulated that we kill you if you don't convert in our religion it's not stipulated that will force you to convert in our religion it's not stipulated that will be a threat or menace to the governing authority but that thought that ideal that exclusivity that insistence that we're right that mindset of the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill looking at the various religious appendages of those those pagans says the thing you worship in ignorance Tim I proclaim to you see that's what bothers people today and it certainly bothered these people because Steven bested them when it came to the presentation of ideas now note terms of the opposition to Steven their allegation of blasphemy in verse 11 now these men foolish as they may have been by not being able to contradict her or resist even their wise and their shrewd the tactic that they employ here to try to turn the popular mind against Steven this is I mean diabolically shrewd will convict him or will accuse him of blasphemy you see this they did with reference to the Lord Jesus as well in fact if you think Steven think Jesus because the similarities between Steven and Jesus are incredible and we'll investigate some of those as we move on this morning but notice how they go about this according to verse 11 then they secretly induced men to say they secretly instigated according the ESV or they secretly persuaded the NIV the point is is that they were not able to best even in debate so now they have to go around to people whispering in their ears and telling them I want you to report him for blasphemy again it's exactly what happens in the Ministry of our Lord Jesus what does the Sanhedrin do they seek out false witnesses so they can execute the Lord Jesus Christ see brethren that's what men do when they can't best us by reason and logic they try to secretly induce that were bad were evil were wicked were ratchet were a threat or a menace to society they can get the populace in that particular mindset that everything we see happens here with Steven will follow necessarily Matthew Poole makes the comment being overcome by reason and arguments they be take themselves to all the evil arts imaginable they suborn witnesses against Saint Stephen as was done against Namath some have seen a big connection between this account in Steven acts chapter 6 and nabe off in first Kings 21 so tonight we're gonna look at that murder of Namath just out of a you know curiosity to see the similarities there and to see how government can liquidate you if they don't like you you know that that should terrify us that should scare us remember that this Sanhedrin is not only a religious council it's a political council remember at the time of the Lord Jesus they needed Pilate didn't they they had to have Pilate give the kill order for Christ what do they do is Steven they just run him out of the city and execute him I mean what at one time they weren't authorized to do they were certainly not authorized to do it at the murder of Stephen and yet they do it the persecution against the people of God doesn't get better it gets worse it escalates they go from threatening to physically beating to ultimately murder a this godly holy Steven so notice their tactic and then the allegation verse 11 then they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God now that may seem an odd order Moses and God well I think the obvious should be apparent if you blaspheme Moses the lawgiver appointed by God your blaspheming God who used Moses to convey his word so it's not weird it's not odd it's not what look that they're getting that all wrong their their blasphemy or he says their blasphemy Moses and God again the seriousness of the charge Leviticus 24 Deuteronomy 13 I think by implication indicates this is a capital offense they're not just saying revoke his library card they're not just saying we don't want him to get parking spots we don't want him to be looked upon as favorably as us in the sand that's not what they're saying we want this man's blood we want him dead we want him done we want him over we couldn't best him in the synagogue we couldn't rational rationally engage him his his wisdom his spirit was such that the power the presence of the Holy Spirit was such that we've had to go out and secretly instigate men to testify against him that he's engaged in a capital offense see brethren Christianity lived out may result in this in some sense some of these passages in the book of Acts are so hard to preach in the North American context because we're so unaware of the kinds of suffering that people actually go through for the cause of Jesus Christ we don't know that claim to discipleship that Jesus speaks of in Matthew's Gospel one of all the Gospels anyone who comes to me let him take up his cross daily and follow me you know what we do we take the cross out of that context and we say well I have a difficult son that's my cross to bear I got a difficult spouse that's my cross to bear I got a bit of a pain in my hip that's my cry that's not the cross Jesus is talking about cross in the first century meant crucifixion cross in the first century meant ignominy cross in the first century meant curse cross in the first century meant the the most reprehensible form of capital punishment he realized that not even Roman citizens could be executed by crucifixion without express permission from the Emperor they were saying that this is such a beastly form of execution one of the rights and privileges of citizenship within the Empire is that you'll never be liable to it unless you're particularly notorious or worthy then we'll execute you brethren in the first century they wouldn't have wore crosses around their necks I'm not picking on anybody for doing that I'm not here to debate the the proclivities or the the ability to do such things but it just wasn't the way it was the cross meant death the cross meant shamed the cross meant savagery the cross meant something unspeakable the cross was horrific it wasn't something you you used us as sort of jewelry now again I realized we associate cross with Christianity I'm not here to rain on anybody's parade the seriousness of the charge was blasphemy and again the shrewdness of the charge if we can get the populace to think that he's got a problem with Moses then it's in the bag this is the reason for Matthew 5:17 the 20 brethren Matthew 5:17 to 20 the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives the Beatitudes and then he says in 5:17 do not think that I came to abolish the law I didn't come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill on profits but rather to fulfill why does Jesus do what he does there he wants to show his connection to Moses he wants to show that he's not anti Moses he wants to show that he has not got the problem with Moses but ultimately it's them that have the problem with Moses and I think that's how you need to appreciate the procedure here when we move through the narrative it's not Stephen that as issues with Moses it's the Sanhedrin that has issues with Moses because as Jesus said to his opponents you search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life these are they which testify of me he says I don't need to rise up and indict you because there is one who does that it's Moses Moses wrote of me and yet you don't believe him see there's a fundamental shift going on here and redemptive history and I think these Jews understand it and certainly Stephen understood it and we need to understand it as well now notice the arrest of Stephen in verse 12 they secretly induce men to say verse 11 we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God and they stirred up the people this has to be the classic example our case on how to get rid of Christians in your society right first of all we try to debate them if that doesn't work we'll secretly induce people to speak ill of them and if they and then on that basis we'll will stir up the people what will rouse the rabble well get everybody in this this fury and then when we get to the formal charge they introduce false witnesses now again I don't think we understand this because we're meeting here nobody's you know outside with machine guns nobody comes in and says you know you know confess Jesus and you die we just don't know what this kind of oppression and persecution looks like but I may suggest or I will suggest that we need to start being aware of it society keeps going away it's going with all this super tolerant stuff guess who's ultimately gonna lose its us because by nature of the case we're intolerant of others not based on their ethnicity not based on the fact that they're this gender that's not what we're in tolerant of we're intolerant of idolatry we subscribe to our Lord's words when he says I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to me except or no one comes to the Father except through me brethren by necessity the people of God are intolerant just like Israel of old should have been intolerant to bail they should have been intolerant to Astra they should have been intolerant to all those idols around them now on our situation it doesn't demand we go up and kill everybody but at the same time we're not supposed to compromise our commitment to the truth claims of Jesus Christ we don't say it with the prevailing winds of opinion in society well I guess this sin that was condemned is now okay this sin that was condemned is now okay this procedure that was then condemned as is now now we need to hold fast and toe the line we need to be faithful we need to be Stephens what does Stephen do Stephens defenses marvelous Stephens defense in Chapter seven essentially says I have a problem with Moses Moses wrote about the very things we're seeing Moses wrote about Jesus and I have a problem with the temple the temple was a type the temple was a shadow the time that the temple was an announcement pointing us to Jesus now that Jesus is here why would we go back to the temple his response in Chapter seven is is masterful it's glorious such that they're just so upset and infuriated they have no other recourse but to kill him I mean again we read church history for instance and and we see how people shed blood over over the sin of Harris we think wow that that's just bizarre and armed in our mind but it wasn't bizarre in this first century contact I mean this was this was total Allegiance either either God or bail and thankfully Stephen took God verse 12 they stirred up the people the elders and the scribes and they came upon him seized him and brought him to the to the council John Calvin made this observation I think it's appropriate we are specially taught by this example this this stirring up the people we are specially taught by this example how dangerous the color of good zeal is Lorde's these would be zealous actions right zeal I mean its zeal to go out and stir up this kind of Pete and this amount of people zeal is only as good as the truth that's driving it oh that guy's really zealous yeah but he's wrong you get that right well he's really zealous and he really think it doesn't matter if he thinks he's right if he's wrong his zeal is bad it's it's misdirected Jesus spoke to that when he thought or when he said in John 16 that they'll kill you thinking they're doing service to God that's exactly what's happening here for Calvin again we're specially taught by this example how dangerous the color of good zeal is unless it be governed by the Spirit of God for it breaketh out always into furious madness and in the mean season it is a marvelous visor to cover all manner of wickedness see these guys didn't think they were wrong these guys thought that they were doing right they even get to the point where they drive Stephen out of the very city itself they gnashing him with this with their teeth and they pick up stones to throw him they did not have that authority they did not have that prerogative they're going against everything they say they believe with reference to the law of Moses that zeal untempered by the truth of God's Holy Word just because someone is zealous doesn't necessarily mean they're right they have to be right that may be said well that guy really believes what he says but he's nuts don't follow him truth is absolutely paramount the people of God must be the thinking people of God just because someone can Hooten Howell doesn't mean they're right just because you can get 15 people that to prevail upon a Stephen doesn't make you right you have to be right and that's the word of the living and true God now notice they arrest Stephen think about this he's recognized in the church at Jerusalem of having a good reputation he's full of faith and grace will use both traditions they're full of grace and faith and he's full of the holy spirit if ever there was the the retort what's a nice guy like me being arrested by the Sanhedrin for this was it he'd do anything wrong see when we read these accounts or we hear these reports about our brothers and our sisters in other countries being imprisoned there oftentimes therefore not having done anything wrong the this tragedy of justice is just it's horrific and that's what's happening in this particular instance they they see Stephen and they take him to the council they bring him before the Sanhedrin the Geneva Bible makes the observation the first bloody persecution of the Church of Christ began in sprang from a council of priests by the suggestion of the university dr. synagogues being the university these men that are disputing with Stephen being the doctors coming to this council of priests saying we want you to neutralize this threat we want you to silence him we want you to stop him he is a menace to our society and as a result he deserves to die now let's look at the formal charge in verses 13 to 15 I want to break this down in two sections the charge and then the defendant the charge is verses 13 and 14 and then it closes with a view of the defendant in verse 15 but note the charge again we're at the Sanhedrin highest religious / political Council in Israel at the time 71 people ruled over by the high priest hearing this particular case the same sort of situation that our Lord Jesus faced in Matthew 26 same sort of situation that the Apostles face in chapters four and five remember they are brought before the Sanhedrin they are brought before this council they have to give a defense of their actions not necessarily their actions but their preaching their teaching their doctrine they have to testify what it is they're doing this is a formal situation they've moved from the secret inducement they've moved from the the stirring up the multitudes they've moved to the very seizing or arrest of Stephen and now they have brought Stephen before the Sanhedrin to formally charge him now notice the charge in verse 13 says they also set up false witnesses now this is language that could be innocuous in other contexts but the way it's worded here it suggests a rigged trial it's the observation of CK Barrett and I think he's right the grammar of the tax suggests that what's happening here is what we would call a kangaroo court this is what a rigged trial they've got the false witnesses remember they've already secretly induced they've got guys to actually say this now they're before the Sanhedrin Stephen is in the defendant box and they set up false witnesses against him they are perjuring themselves these people they're going to say something that is inaccurate and untrue about an innocent man so the foundation as I said very similar with Jesus in Matthew 26 59 to 61 we'll look at that in just a moment to see those similarities but the assertion verse 13 they also set up false witnesses who said this man this man it's probably that way that this man like they do with this Jesus of Nazareth you know what they're their lips raised and a sneer in their their tone that this man remember they want blood they've suborn false witnesses to go in and perjure themselves against Stephen I doubt it's a rational debate or interchange at this part it's this man how dare this man do the very things that we will allege before your your wonderful tribunal mr. and miss a person's on the sanhedrin notice the Jewish opposition to Christianity ultimately rested on this foundation if you read Acts properly and you read Acts the way you want to read it the first great opponent of Christianity is not the Roman Empire the Roman Empire is the one who initially saw Christianity as a subset of Judaism for the most part the Roman Empire left Judaism alone and so therefore they left Christianity alone later the Roman Empire would ramp up their opposition to Christianity specifically under Nero but at this time the first great persecutor of the church was Jewish unbelief it was the religion of Judaism the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Messiah the rejection of him being the one in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen they are the ones who are seeking to silence him and so the Jewish opposition to Christianity rested on this very foundation verse 13 this man does not seek to cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place I don't think that means the sanhedrin's chambers it means the temple he doesn't ceased to speak blasphemous words against temple and law that's it right there for the Jew if you spoke anti temple or you spoke anti law that was it blasphemy done over it's it's it's just it's a done deal it's a slam dunk you see those two sentiments were everything in Judaism it was temple law so if you can make the the allegation stick that he speaks anti temple in anti law then his execution should readily follow so again this is diabolical shrewdness on their part later on in acts 21 28 it'll be set up all men of Israel help this is the man Paul who teaches all men everywhere against the people the law and this place again temple this place temple and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place now here's what I'm gonna ask you to put on your thinking caps give yourself a pinch and wake up because you need to follow the argument here in verse 14 this is their proof of their geisha so verse 13 is the charge verse 13 they say this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law verse 14 is a proof it is exhibit a it is the evidence for the prosecution this is how we know we're right because of verse 14 now look at what they say for we have heard him say this is Stephen we have heard Stephen say that this again I think it's this Jesus of Nazareth it's not innocuous it's not respectful it's not kind it's this man Stephen and this Jesus of Nazareth for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place temple not sanhedrin's quarters temple everybody needs to be on board with that he will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us you see that's their charge or proof for their charge he doesn't see see speaking these blasphemous words against this place and against the law how do we know this because he doesn't stop reminding us that Jesus said that Jesus would destroy the temple and that he would change the customs of Moses now this isn't outlandish this isn't wow we've never heard this before this is precisely what they got Jesus on go back to Matthew 26 Matthew chapter 26 verse 57 and those who had laid hold of Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest where the scribes and the elders were assembled Sanhedrin Council that group of men that were going to hear this particular case but excuse me verse 58 Peter followed him at a distance to the high priests courtyard and he went in and sat with the servants to see the end now the chief priests the elders and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put him to death you really want your government doing that let's find some false testimonies we put this guy to death nobody ever just stops and says man that's not the way justice should should proceed that's really not the way this should work right you know they showed justice that statue lady justice she's holding the scales and her she's got a blindfold on why is that because justice is blind it's no no respecter of persons it's on oh he's poor so therefore he's innocent or he's rich therefore he's innocent it's blind so why messiah's described that way and there was somewhat of an expansion expectation with reference to Messiah that he himself would be blind because of that very principle he doesn't govern or he doesn't judge by the appearance of the eye he does it according to justice and and righteousness see see this is a tragedy what occurred to our Lord and what is occurring to Steven verse 59 the chief priests the elders and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put him to death but found none even though many false witnesses came forward they found none but at last two false witnesses came forward and said this fellow said I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days look over at Mark's Gospel in mark chapter 14 mark chapter 14 want to show you the similarity with what's happening with Steven and show you why they're using this argument against Steven in Acts chapter 6 mar 14 2015 4 well remember Luke's writing to Gentiles that would really fire up Gentiles if this man said don't pay taxes to Caesar well then he deserves to die but with reference to Matthew specifically and Mark to some degree it's the Jewish offense that has to stay it's the Jewish claim that that he blaspheme that would have to stick and so it's this anti temple rhetoric it's this antique law rhetoric it's those things they hinge their case on or found their case on now one other passage you can turn to is in John chapter 2 John chapter 2 just to show you that what they said is not accurate but it's not so inaccurate that we don't know why they even said such a thing I'm gonna explain what I mean in just a moment notice in John chapter 2 verse 18 so the Jews answered and said to him what sign do you show us since you do these things jesus answered and said to them to destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up then the Jews said it is it has taken forty-six years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days but he was speaking of the temple of his body therefore when he had risen from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this to them and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said now I want you to appreciate what the false witnesses do at trial the first place they misquote Jesus this is big now you might think well these are all little details men's lives are hanging in the balance on little details so please pay attention they misquote him he doesn't say I will destroy this temple and of course you're gonna say Butler you preach 10 sermons on all of it discourse where in Jesus promised to build or to destroy his temple he does it through the agency of the Roman armies he doesn't take sea for walk into the temple complex and you know say see on the other side he's not an insurrectionist he's not a terrorist he's not going to plant TNT at key places in the in the temple and bring it down in John 2 he says destroy this temple this temple that's made with hands and in three days I will raise it up the temple not made with hands namely Jesus so you could see why in the popular mind they had this connection Jesus and no more temple Jesus in Matthew 12 6 says that one greater speaking of himself than the temple is here now Jesus relationship to the temple isn't one of replacement as has been mischaracterized of a covenant theology position Jesus is the realization for which the temple stood was there's no need for a temple when Jesus has come I share the illustration often that you know my kids will come over and they'll bring the grandkids and I'm playing with the grandkids and rolling around on the floor with them and then one of the kids says oh did you see this picture of them and try to show me the phone you can text me the picture during the week when I'm rolling around on the floor with these kids I got the substance we don't need the snapshot when we're in the presence of the substance we don't need the temple when the greater than the temple comes this antique temple rhetoric was not rhetoric calculated to infuriate the Jews it was the fulfillment of God's Word the first temple constructed was the Garden of Eden the second being probably Noah's Ark and then you've got the tabernacle the mobile temple in the wilderness and then you have Solomon's Temple Solomon's temples destroyed they rebuild that temple that temple served its purpose Jesus comes we no longer go back to Temple this is the point of the book of Hebrews yes there's been a transition yes there's been a change in terms of the positive law or the ceremonies associated with the law of God because no longer after the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus did we bring goats to the tabernacle or temple to try and sacrifice them in a means of atonement Christ the Lord was speaking of the temple of his body but the false witnesses misquote he said I will destroy they also misinterpret see it's not enough to just quote the Bible properly the devil does that and he's absolutely wrong in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4 he cites scripture in his combat with the Lord Jesus Christ but he misses the point see that's another thing we as God's people need to be we need to be careful exegetes careful interpreters of God's Word we need to know what the truth of Scripture is it's not enough to just quote scripture Jehovah's Witnesses do that Mormons do that when I mentioned that we set up this this table at clubs day for Simon Fraser University one year the question was named six of the Ten Commandments and we'll give you a free pop the only person that could name all 10 of the Ten Commandments in King James English was the president of the freethinkers Association Christians couldn't do it Christians couldn't mumble out one two or three of them it was the free thinker as I said in King James English that rattled off all ten brethren we need to not only know the scripture and be able to recite the scripture but we need to interpret it it's not enough that free thinker knew the ten commandments they didn't really know the Ten Commandments and it's the same thing here they misquote him he said I will destroy and they misinterpret they thought he was a terrorist that was going to plant c4 or dynamite or some other way to knock down their temple and to change the customs of Moses so going back to Acts chapter 6 it's the same trajectory it's the same sort of argument as John Gill says they so perverted his sense as well as miss recited his words that's what these false witnesses do in verse 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us very thankful that Stephen breach that very thankful that Stephen highlighted that very thankful that Stephen mentioned these particulars so these themes are represented or repeated by Stephen this does include a the abrogation of the ceremonial law the reality is that after the once-for-all sacrificer no longer called upon to bring a goat from your flock a pigeon from your flock a lamb from your flock the sacrifice has been paid brethren to engage in a bloody sacrifice that this particular point is absolutely it's useless it's worthless this is the book of Hebrews there's been a change in terms of the customs of Moses that Moses wrote about Moses wouldn't say oh no don't do that Moses would say he's the one that all these things pointed forward to now that the one that all these things pointed forward to is here you don't utilize the things that pointed forward to you have him you don't look at the iPhone when your grandkids right there yeah you have him and see that's the point in the book of Hebrews that's the point of early Christian preaching and that's why they were brought into such conflict but I want to just suggest one more thing I know our time is closing but I want to suggest one more thing that when Stephen is accused of speaking against this holy place and certainly the laws of Moses the customs of Moses you know the law of Moses is abiding the moral law so the law of Moses abides the Ten Commandments do not change they're not you know alterable they're not viable they're not you know something that come and go it's that that ceremonial law that that priesthood law that temple law that sacrifice law all that stuff doesn't go away because it was bad it is fulfilled in Jesus it was good for the time until the days of Reformation that Hebrews nine speaks about not this 16th century or 17th century Reformation 15 16th century Reformation one other thing though the Jewish leadership to hear that there was antique temple rhetoric it would have been understood as anti Jewish leadership rhetoric - in other words for the popular Jewish mind the leaders included as long as the temple was standing gods happy with us in fact I want to prove this to you with the prophet Micah you can turn to Micah chapter 3 Micah chapter 3 maika three versus one to twelve is basically the leaders of israel are guilty the political leaders the religious leaders everybody involved in the leadership in israel is guilty for sinning against Yahweh and notice specifically in Micah 3:8 but truly I this is Micah truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord and of justice and might to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin now hear this you head to the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel who abhorred justice and pervert all equity who build up Zion with bloodshed in Jerusalem with iniquity her heads judge for a bride her priests teach for pay and her prophets divine for money yet they lean on the Lord and say is not the Lord among us no harm can come upon us probably because they had with their eye the temple in view Micah says these are your issues your judges or your heads judge for a bribe your priests teach for pay your prophets divine for money and yet they lean on your way and say it's not Yahweh among us no harm can come upon us probably because temple is standing if Temple is standing everything's great temple standing gods happy with us if temple standing then everything's cool but notice what Micah goes on to say in verse 12 therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest you see he says this judgment is coming upon you now intriguingly micah 3:12 saves jeremiah the prophet about a hundred years later in his second temple sermon Jeremiah tells Judah your temple is going to be destroyed so what do they do Oh Jeremiah you're open to freedom of speech you could say whatever you want we're tolerant bunch around here now they arrest him they threatened to kill him why because of his anti temple rhetoric they want to neutralize the threat but then it was this passage from Micah 3:12 where they said Micah spoke this in the days of has Kyah and Hezekiah didn't have him killed so that freed up Jeremiah but you have to appreciate his anti temple rhetoric inflamed and infuriated the people of Judah at that time fast-forward to Jesus before the Sanhedrin with what was perceived to be anti temple rhetoric back fast forward from there and acts chapter six with what they perceived to be anti temple rhetoric and you'll know precisely why they drummed up the charges they did he doesn't speak to a doesn't cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and against the law it's a done deal for Stephen if they agree he's dead and I would imagine that Stephen knew this all too well and that's why he responds the way that he does in acts 7 he doesn't say the temple is a horrible bad place he doesn't say the law of Moses is a horrible bad place he speaks well of those things but he says that they had a goal they had a function they had a purpose and Jesus was that purpose so that's why Stephen faces the fate of the trials that he faces look finally at verse 15 and all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him saw his face as the face of an angel now this conception or convention is used a couple of times in the Old Testament I think the most noteworthy one would be Exodus 34 I agree with Alexander when Alexander said the comparison with an angel is not intended to convey a definite idea of the actual appearance as we know neither how an angel looks nor whether all angels look alike but merely to suggest the thought of something superhuman and celestial so as I said it's seen in in Genesis 33 10 it's seen in 1st Samuel it's seen in 2nd Samuel where persons look upon another person and their face shone like an like an angel or some celestial or supernatural being but I think the comparison that probably most obtains is that with Moses in Exodus 34 now I don't want to go beyond what Luke is doing here but maybe Luke is suggesting this countenance reflects connection with Moses by Stephen not by the Sanhedrin he's accused of speaking ill against Moses well he's the one that looks like Moses not literally beard facial struggling no he's got the countenance that that holy man of God had so as we move into his defense as we listen to his biblical theology of temple and law as we understand what it is he's saying he is the right interpreter of Moses not the Sanhedrin the Jews today who reject Jesus Christ as Messiah miss read Torah they say we adhere to Torah but it's the Torah that explains Jesus of Jesus the Messiah it's the Torah that Christ says in John chapter 6 that Moses witnesses against you because Moses wrote about me perhaps now again I don't want to jump too far over and say well that countenance link but it is seen there in Exodus 34 in a very powerful way with reference to Moses it wouldn't be out of line to think that Luke is at least subtly saying as we go into this defense Stephen before the Sanhedrin we need to think that he is the one that's Moses like and not them well in terms of some practical observations I would suggest in the first place we have the faithfulness of Stephen we don't want to moralize the text and say dare to be a Stephen but dare to be a Stephen he's not only given gifts by God to him but he utilizes those gifts it's recognizable among the people there in the church at Jerusalem that he is a man of good reputation that he is a man full of faith and grace that he is a man full of the Spirit but he doesn't just sit on those gifts he utilizes those gifts he goes and he interacts with the synagogue of the freedmen he interacts with those from North Africa and in Asia Minor he goes and he shuts the mouths of these men in debate he utilizes the gifts and skills that God gave him in order to advance the cause of Jesus Christ we need men like Stephen as well he is composed before the Sanhedrin if the link to Moses is not the canoe II was thought in verse 15 certainly conspicuous is the fact he's not a basket case he's not falling apart he's not coming unglued at the seams he's not saying I can't believe you guys are engaged in this kangaroo court no they're looking at him steadfastly and they see his face like the face of an angel he's composed under pressure God's people may suffer but God gives the grace so that they suffer well and I think we need to appreciate that as well his defense before the Sanhedrin we'll see that in chapter 7 verses 1 to 53 I don't know how many Sundays it's going to take us I don't want to promise a lot I don't want to promise a little we'll see where the spirit leads us if I can borrow a phrase an overworked phrase from our charismatic fellows but but the point is it is a masterful defense to the specific charges that are leveled against him that shows decisively that the purpose for which the temple was constructed instead was to give way to the Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah as well the opposition to Christianity I think we should appreciate that and I think we ought to appreciate we may be at the early stages of this and we certainly are at the early stages in terms of the disputatious in terms of the exchange of ideas in terms of the unwillingness or inability of those who disagree with Christianity to just deal with it they don't like to just deal with it it's not enough that we are are silent we have to be removed we have to be marginalized you can't be a a Christian and hold Tanner it that at a university can't be a Christian to have decidedly Christian views and actually be looked at with any degree of respectability and unfortunately the the Christian Church or academic world is is responding by by marginalizing those Christian distinctives we're not supposed to do that we're supposed to be distinctively Christian in all that we do so we see this opposition to Christianity in a failure to silence Christianity by reasoned and argument see Steven wasn't as screaming and yelling and blather Stephen wasn't just saying but it's the the warmth that I feel from Jesus it's the it's the burning in the bosom they were unable to resist or contradict the wisdom with which he spoke that's the kind of men we need today men that know the Bible men that have exceeded the Word of God men that don't misquote men that don't misinterpret but men that will stand fast declaring the truth shared with you several times we're gonna see it someday when we get to act 26 the Apostle Paul before fastest he said they said much learning is driving you mad Paul he say I'm not mad most noble Festus but I speak the words of truth and reason that's been a subtle shift in in North America for sure Christianity has not looked at as the words of truth and reason science or science says has all but replaced thus sayeth the Lord why is that one because atheists are vociferous and they're loud and they're obnoxious and they're not going to go away but two Christians are passive they stop studying they stopped exogeni they would respond well he gives me a good feeling he may give you a good feeling but reason and rationalize and argue argue from the text of Scripture that's the way we silence the opposition it is the truth of Christianity that prevails so this failure to silence Christianity by reason and argument leads to this secret inducement of false testimony it then leads to the stirring up of the population to oppose Christianity and ultimately the setting forth a false witness is if all these things are true in the history of the church aren't they this is what happened with our Lord this is what happens with Steven this is what happens today you get in there at the very foundation and you upbraid you know a man's reputation all he's a nut he's a religious nut he's a wing nut eat up he doesn't know what he's talking about it's all about feelings it's all about emotions you do what you can to to disarm your opponents and that's precisely what they do here with Steven and that's precisely what they're trying to do today and then finally with reference to escalation of persecution I've already referred to they initially threatened that was enough at at first and acts for we don't want you to preach anymore in this name and just see them the sanhedrin with their long collective finger looking down their noses shaking it at these apostles saying don't you dare preach in this name well the apostles say okay we'll do whatever you say no they say we must obey God rather than men we're gonna listen to you shaking your finger at us we're the ones that are actually interpreting the Bible properly and they move then to beating them they scourge them the Great Council of gamma leo the the Sanhedrin says oh yeah that's great but let's scourge them anyway come on that's horrific gamma wheels right he prevails and yet and you agree with him this is chapter 5 I know it was a long time ago but in chapter 5 they say well nevertheless let's let's scourge them let's beat them let's bruise them let's open their back let's make them bleed let's let them know that they better never cross us again and now not very long after that they're to the point were just completely disregarding the lack of authority that they possess to engage in capital a capital execution of a criminal offender they run Stephen out of the seat out of the city and I think that's conspicuous why they don't want his unholy dirty blasphemous blood polluting their their their beautiful city these men turn into a mob these men cover their ears these men gnash at him with their teeth just like with Jesus Matthew's Gospel indicates it's the Sanhedrin that smacks our lord they degenerate they devolve they move from the place of the religious elite to thug violence perpetrated against the Son of God and then ultimately his martyr Stephen it's the same thing in Micah they were thugs then to Micah the Prophet if you read Micah through and through they were thugs operating at the same level and so nothing new had changed or nothing new Under the Sun then I said finally finally is you need to come to Christ if you're not a believer this morning believe come look at Jesus and live because this Jesus is worth going through what Stephen goes through right he gets into this debate with these men he bests them with his argument because he has the truth and then they stir up false witnesses they stir up the crowd they plant false witnesses in a court and he's ultimately delivered up to execution you never hear Stephen complaining you never hear Stephen say you know what well what's happening to me again the similarities between Jesus and Stephen are seen at the actual martyrdom of Stephen what does Stephen cry out in that final moments when he's being stoned to death Lord do not charge them with this sin sounds just like the master who said Father forgive them for they know not what they do what does Jesus do and Luke's Gospel father I commend my spirit to you Stephen does the very same thing he commends his spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ he doesn't complain one whit he doesn't complain at all he's not saying well this is a tragedy I can't believe the highest court in Israel is treating me this way no he's saying I'm on trial for my fidelity to the altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand this is where I want to be because Jesus is glorious Jesus is worthy Jesus is most excellent and Jesus is the one who is standing there presiding over this and receives Stephen after he breathes his last that Christ so one of the things we'll see why is he standing doesn't the book of Hebrews make a big comment in terms of of Jesus sinning after he finishes his redemptive work he goes up into heaven and what does he do he says why is he standing there when he's watching this scene because it's them that are on trial it's not Stephen Jesus is the presiding judge he is standing to comfort and to show his willingness to receive his martyr Stephen but he's standing to show that he is in fact the judge that is watching this Sanhedrin engage in a gross felony of of justice you see brethren that Jesus is worthy to be believed in that Jesus is worthy to be followed that Jesus is worthy to be defended defied to that Jesus worthy to be engaging in in rational discourse and the synagogues and the churches and the universities wherever you find yourself that Christ is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 well let us pray father we thank you for your word and we thank you for the Lord Christ we ask God that you would give us something of the determination the faith of Stephen this man who found himself in terrible circumstances but found himself even equally so in blessed circumstances as he's filled with the Holy Spirit he gazes into heaven he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand father we thank you for the the grace the blessing the protection that you give to your people and I pray these things would encourage us to go thou and do likewise to testify concerning our blessed Savior we ask that you would be with us today help us sanctify the day bring us together tonight that we may worship you and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then we'll be dismissed