Title: Stephen's Sermon and Martyrdom (Acts 07:1-60)
Contents Acts 7:1-60 When the high priest was brought to the conference hall to arrest Stephen, his face looked bright like that of an angel.
When Stephen was stoned and martyred by the crowds, he said: “Lord Jesus, receive my soul. Do not hold this sin against them.” These were the voices of the saint (Saint) Stephen, who endured the martyrdom of thrilling joy.
Stephen was one of the seven deacons selected by the Jerusalem church for the relief work and was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. He knew in detail all the history of salvation in the Old Testament, and he proclaimed the history of salvation to the Jewish dignitaries in the form of a sermon. The crowd who heard the sermon were astonished.
As a result, Stephen suffered martyrdom, the believers in Jerusalem were scattered, and Saul came forward to persecute the Greek brothers and sisters.
Stephen developed a high-level theology throughout the history of Israel and delivered sermons. He explained why he chose Abraham as his father. It tells the story of how Jacob's family of seventy-five moved to Egypt and received salvation because of Joseph's suffering. Joseph was innocent, but he suffered. This was a type of Jesus. It was a model of the Jewish priests who killed Jesus because of jealousy, but was resurrected and restored to glory.
Ancient Egypt enjoyed a high level of cultural life as the birthplace of world civilization. In particular, natural sciences, astronomy, geography, and medical mathematics have developed significantly. Moses was brought up and educated in the court, and he grew up to be an Israeli leader.
At the age of forty, he decided to save the persecuted Jewish people. The life of Moses was 40 years in Pharaoh's palace in Erub, 40 years in the wilderness of Midian, 40 years in the exodus from Egypt.
Stephen proclaims the church in the wilderness through his sermons. They gather in the wilderness to receive the law and to listen to its meaning. That is, the group of people living in the wilderness was gathered into the church of Israel. Through this wilderness church, the Jewish people will be saved.
Using this lengthy history of Israel as an example, Stephen pointed out the sins of the unbelieving Jews and lamented. “You stiff-necked men and uncircumcised in heart and ears!” The crowd was outraged at this accusation.
It was a sermon that said that he had been circumcised formally and physically, but not in spirit, so he could not receive the inheritance promised to Abraham. When they heard this sermon, they did not repent and stoned Saint Stephen to death.