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Stephen: Indictment of our Founding Fathers
All who sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face like it was the face of an angel.
ACTS 6:15 :: Hebrew Names Version (HNV)

Another Trial before Judah’s Ruling Fathers

7 Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
ἀρχιερεύς – archiereus

Let’s be clear who Jerusalem’s fathers, in charge of these trials, are:
- A new trial now of Stephen
- Two previous hearings or trials of Peter and John
- And most controversial of all, their trial and crucifixion of Jesus, of whom these Jews now preach as risen from death!
And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to put Him to death

Gospel of Luke 19:40 NASB20 – Describing Jesus’ opposition by the chief priests.

After Jesus, they next tried to discredit Peter and John

Arrested AND Released

Yet an angel had released Peter and John from the prison of the High Priest

And now, Stephen

Stephen, not one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus, but a newly appointed disciple of the Disciples. A leading man among seven, overseeing multitudes of these ‘Christ’ followers in Jerusalem’s growing congregations – an overt challenge to the authority of its religious-political leaders responsible for their Roman ‘peace.’

How will Stephen defend Christ before Jerusalem’s political fathers?

Not betrayed, but like the Apostles falsely accused.

Acts of the Apostles 7: (and here, ACTS of Stephen)
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Stephanos will reply to the Hebrew High Priest of the Sanhedrin in the common Hellenized Greek of Roman-occupied Jerusalem:
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7:2 ὁ δὲ ἔφη ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πατέρες ἀκούσατε ὁ θεὸς τῆς δόξης ὤφθη τῷ πατρὶ ἡμῶν Ἀβραὰμ ὄντι ἐν τῇ Μεσοποταμίᾳ πρὶν ἢ κατοικῆσαι αὐτὸν ἐν Χαρράν

“Hear me, brethren and fathers!

Stephen now begins his defense with their common history, recorded in Scripture and supposedly taught by Jerusalem’s fathers, shepherds of Judah, in their synagogues. He includes himself as their Jewish brothers, born to a line of their own patriarchs.

Abraham

The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and He said to him,

Leave your country and relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.

4 Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.
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Here's Stephen's first point about the Patriarchs (ruling fathers):
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“But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land.
ACTS 7:5a NLT – Stephen’s defense to the fathers of Jerusalem trying him for following the Messiah Jesus

6 But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years…
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We know that Stephen is leading up to Moses leading them from Egypt (in ancient times).
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.. and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.
ACTS 7:8b NASB
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Nothing too controversial in Steven's opening argument to these contemporary patriarchs of the Sanhedrin, right?
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Ἰωσήφ – Joseph – יוֹסֵף

“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him..

11 “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers..
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Joseph's brothers, patriarchs of Israel DID NOT RECOGNIZR their rejected brother, whom these eleven fathers had  thought would be brought down by slavery.
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14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all.

15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought..

Joseph saves Israel (Jacob) and its Patriarchs (his brothers, who finally had bowed down to Joseph)
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Jerusalem's fathers (who sit in judgment of Stephen) continue to listen intently to the disciple of Jesus' Disciples they indicted for speaking against the Law. 
The innocence of an angel shines from his face as God-breathed words flow forth from his tongue.
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Stephen reveals God’s Promise through Abraham

“But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt..
Acts 7:17 NASB – Stephen’s history of the Patriarchs of Israel
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FOUR HUNDRED YEARS WILL ELAPSE (as we know) between this first part of Stephen's story about the blessings of the patriarchs and the second part of his history of slavery in Egypt.
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.. until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
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To be continued...
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January 7, 2022
A Church Seized by Signs and Wonders
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
ACTS of signs and wonders by the Apostles 5:11 NIV

ACTS of Signs and Wonders

What has just happened?
- Ananias and Saphira – followers of the Apostles struck dead at Peter’s feet!
At this point in Luke’s account of the ACTS of the church we encounter an unexpected sign and wonder which struck great fear into the church.

Two believers lied to the Holy Spirit, after which each immediately met withthe judgment of God – death.

Don’t miss this:

Peter Replied: Signs Preached from Solomon’s Porch

.. God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Acts of the Apostles 3:26 ESV

In addition to the tongues of fire, a lame man made to walk and the Apostles walking out of a locked prison without explanation, EVERYONE begins to see signs of the power of GOD at work though them. When reports of the deaths of two disciples of the Apostles reach the ears of Jerusalem, MANY fear what could happen as these signs and wonders continue.

Acts 5:

12 Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

Signs and Wonders since Pentecost have already caused a stir in Jerusalem

Speaking the Word of God with Boldness

parrēsia -all out-spokenness, i.e. frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication, assurance:—bold confidence, × freely, × openly, × plainly

Jerusalem’s officials also fear the Apostles, not only because of their own wickedness, but since undeniable signs and wonders already performed in their midst in Herod’s temple threaten their tenuous political leadership of the temple..

Arrested AND Released

from ACTS 5 – AFTER GOD STRUCK DOWN ANANIAS AND SAPHIRA

“Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

[Peter has convicted them of their complicity in Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross; however the Apostle had also stated that God the Father had allowed it AND that JESUS had been raised from the grave!]

But Peter and the apostles answered,

“We must obey God rather than men.

Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
ACTS 4:30 NIV + Prayer of the Apostles

Signs and Wonders from GOD!

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
ACTS 4:31 NKJV
- ACTS 5:14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
  - 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
- 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem,
  - bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits,
  - and all of them were healed.
- 17 Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out..
  - Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
- 42 And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.
- ACTS 6: Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number..
- 7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem,
- and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
To be continued…
December 15, 2021
Arrested AND Released
So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out..
Acts of the Apostles 5:18-19a – CSB

ACTS of Arrests witnessed by the Apostles

Politically motivated religious leaders of Jerusalem now begin to develop a dossier of accusations against Peter, John and the Apostles, because as disciples of the Messiah Jesus they boldly proclaim the Lord’s resurrection from His horrific death on a cross.

As they once again imprison the Apostles, let’s look back briefly at what Annas, Caiaphas and the ruling council of Jerusalem have on them. Herod’s palace records also add evidence.

Simon, a Galilean fisherman, aka Peter, had been a disciple of John the Baptist.

John baptized disciples, even JEWS, to REPENT about three years ago.

Herod had John the Baptizer beheaded.

Pharisees report that Simon and John were part of Jesus’ inner circle of Apostles.

The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Gospel of Luke 5:30 NASB20

Simon Peter identified near Jesus’ trial

Witnessed just three months ago just prior to the Passover feast by a servant of the High Priest:

Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
Gospel of Luke 22:55-56 NKJV

A Noteworthy Sermon from Solomon’s Portico

Just days ago the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s High Court, orders Peter NOT to say anything about Christ Jesus. Although Peter and John were arrested for preaching repentance, Jerusalem’s leaders released them from prison as a politically palatable concession to the crowds who had witnessed Peter healing a man lame from birth.

By what power? Political prowess by the powers that be

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. – ACTS 4:18

Arrested, yet the Apostles boldly remain in Jerusalem

ACTS of the Apostles 5:

12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all together in Solomon’s portico…

And increasingly believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number, to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any of them. The people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed. But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates.. laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public prison.

Previously, the authorities brought Peter and John before the council, however on this occasion the Lord sends an angel to open their prison door!

and leading them out, he said,
“Go, stand and continue to speak to the people in the temple area all the words of the whole message of this Life.”
ACTS of an Angel of the Lord 5:19b-20

Daybreak after another night in prison

At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
ACTS of the Apostles 5:21 NIV

(Of course, these same officials of Jerusalem’s political elite who had seized them believed that the Apostles were still imprisoned as before.)

Not just another day at the office

BIG political victory last evening. Those Apostles opposed to OUR LEADERSHIP of JEWISH JERUSALEM await OUR VERDICT of what to do with them.

(Or so they thought, as these religious officials arrived at work in a Jerusalem guarded by Roman centurions.)
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ACTS 5:21b
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Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,

“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”

(REMEMBER their dilemma of JESUS’ EMPTY TOMB just a couple of months ago?) NOW what?

Who does this Galilean we arrested think he is?
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Narrative of this private conversation is a speculative fiction behind the scenes in ACTS 5.
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On that day when we arrested this Simon of Capernaum the first time what was it I said?

When we released him after he drew crowds to himself in the Portico of Solomon proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead, he challenged our very authority to hold or release him.

So when the others asked, “What are we to do with these men?”

I insisted, DO NOT release them to cause more trouble.

But when they couldn’t find cause to keep these men in prison I said, “You had better start a dossier on them, because we will just have to arrest them again.”

For this Simon Peter had confirmed my distrust when he answered:

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts of the Apostles 4:19b-20 NASB20

Let’s punish them this time!

So I was all prepared to tell you, “I WARNED YOU about these men.”

But what’s this we hear now after having arrested these crowd-stirring Galileans again so soon? Listen to this new report as we assembled this morning:

The Captain of the Temple Guard’s Report

But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
ACTS of the Captain of the Temple Guard 5:22-23 NIV

Even though it seems impossible, these rabble-rousers must have escaped and run home to Galilee.

(Maybe not such a bad thing for us.)

NOW what do we do?

Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.

25 But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple area and teaching the people!”

The Apostles Now have Thousands of Disciples

And Peter, John and the others are preaching boldly as the Angel has commanded them to continue with the words of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they return to preach in the Temple.

IT IS YET ANOTHER SIGN, not to be taken lightly by those who had seized them the previous day, throwing the Apostles into Prison.

26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

(A riot against the capitol police? Roman soldiers in Jerusalem would certainly never condone such RAGE by any Jewish crowd throwing stones at Jerusalem’s politicized religious police.)

Would you, the arrested, convict US?

27 After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and [Caiaphas, or possibly Annas] the high priest asked,

“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name?

Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

[Peter had convicted them of their complicity in Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross; however the Apostle had also stated that God the Father had allowed it AND that JESUS had been raised from the grave!]

But Peter and the apostles answered,

“We must obey God rather than men.

30 The God [theos] of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince [archēgos] and a Savior [sōtēr], to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

GUILTY!

When they heard this, they were furious [diapriō – cut to the quick] and wanted to put them to death.

It is what we should have done the first time we jailed them.

WE know that these men have escaped, but HOW? Never-the-less, WE cannot allow them to continue to sway all of Jerusalem to become disciples of this JESUS we hung on a Roman cross just two months ago.

AWAY WITH THEM!

οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες διεπρίοντο καὶ ἐβούλοντο ἀνελεῖν αὐτούς
But when they heard this, they became infuriated and nearly decided to execute them.
ACTS of the Sanhedrin 5:33

An Appeal Against Rash Reaction

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.
ACTS of Gamaliel 5:34 NASB
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To be continued...
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December 1, 2021