Acts 7:17-60
Extreme anger and incredible forgiveness are the two things that stood out to me from Acts 7:17-60. Stephen has been seized and brought before the Jewish council. For his defense, he tells the history of the Jewish people beginning with Abraham. Things go fine until Stephen gets to Jesus and boldly states "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it" (vs. 52-53). These words absolutely infuriate the Jewish leaders and the end result is Stephen is killed. As he is being stoned his last words are "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (vs. 60).
So what did you learn from Stephen's example? What do the Jewish leaders show us about unchecked anger? Any other take aways from this passage? Tami W.
Acts 7 also shows that they were too comfortable with their positions and that Stephen was upsetting the apple cart so to speak. Being confronted by the truth was painful to them, and the reason they conspired to put Stephen to death. It is also a good example of how Saul was behaving during this time, prior to his being struck blind on the road to Damascus.
It has been my experience that it is Christians that oppose me the most, in particularly leaders. I found great strenght and encouragement in this series with Stephen. One of my greatest challenge is forgiveness but I realised the importance of doing so as God expects that of us,as he is the ultimate example. I am thankful for this reminder.
That anger (especially for the wrong reason!)never solves anything!The pharisees got mad at everyone that never agreed with them!Did it solve anyting in the end?Stephen showed compassion more than those people ever deserved!They thought they knew it all yet they show we dont need anyones opinion if it is different than our own.They did the same thing with Jesus!No wonder Jesus told them "You blind guides"!
This passage reminds me to always speak the truth, do not allow others to influence your decisions based on what the majority believes. The truth is in our hearts and always speaks to us. We must love our enemies. Only God can judge them for what they do. Anger will only eat at you and eventually turn around on you. We must keep and open mind when listening to others, God will tell us if they are correct in what the are saying. We all have that first thought that tells us if it is something we should question.