Brothers and Fathers, Listen to Me

In one paragraph

Ray walked the congregation through Stephen's speech in Acts 7, the longest single address in the book of Acts, showing how it was not really a legal defense but a carefully constructed sermon delivered before the Sanhedrin. The charge against Stephen was blasphemy against Moses and against God, a capital offense, and his response was to take his accusers through their own history in a way they...

Read together

1. Acts 6:8-15 introduced as the passage about Stephen's persecution and unjust accusation
2. Acts 7:1-2 Stephen's introduction to his speech: 'Brothers and fathers, listen to me'
3. Acts 7:2-8 read aloud covering God's appearance to Abraham in Mesopotamia, the promise of the land, and the covenant of circumcision
4. Acts 7:9-16 read aloud covering Joseph sold into slavery, God's favor on Joseph, and Jacob's family coming to Egypt
5. Acts 7:17-43 read aloud as a long passage covering the oppression in Egypt, Moses's birth and calling, the burning bush, the exodus, and Israel's idolatry
6. Acts 7:44-50 read aloud covering the tabernacle in the wilderness, David's desire to build a temple, and Solomon building it
7. Acts 6:15 noted that the Sanhedrin saw Stephen's face shining like that of an angel
8. Isaiah 66:1-2 quoted by Stephen to argue that God does not live in temples made by human hands: 'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool'
9. Amos (unspecified verses) quoted by Stephen asking Israel whether their wilderness sacrifices were truly offered to God, referencing Molech and exile to Babylon

Talk about it

1. Ray pointed out that Stephen gave a sermon instead of a defense when he had the chance to answer the charges against him. Why do you think Stephen made that choice, and what does it tell us about what he cared about most in that moment?
2. Stephen traced a pattern through Abraham, Joseph, and Moses of God appearing and working outside of Israel, and of God's chosen messengers being rejected by their own people. What did you make of that pattern, and where else do you see it?
3. Ray asked the congregation to think about the 'locus' of their religion, whether there is a specific place, building, or object they have mentally tied the presence of God to. How would you answer that question honestly for yourself?
4. Stephen shifted from saying 'our ancestors' to addressing the Sanhedrin directly as 'you people' when he reached his application. Ray described that shift as moving into 'you people mode.' What do you think made that moment so dangerous for Stephen, and what made it necessary?
5. Stephen's last words were a Jewish bedtime prayer with one change: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,' and then he prayed for the people who were stoning him. What stands out to you about how he faced that moment, and what do you think made it possible for him to respond that way?