The Caldwell Commentaries Podcast

In the first 16 verses of his amazingly brilliant sermon, Stephen covered Israel's history from Abraham in Mesopotamia to Joseph in Egypt (a fascinating way to attack the Jews' proud obsession with the land, as well as their arrogance toward Jews who lived outside the land).  In his second sermon "division," he dealt with the historical period of Moses and the Law.  In verses 17 to 43, he actually covered the circumstances prior to the birth of Moses all the way to the time of the Babylonian Captivity.

As Stephen did with Joseph (Lesson 19), Israel's first deliverer, he did likewise with Israel's next historical deliverer, Moses - he used them both as types of Christ (which they are).  He knew the Jews would not interrupt him as he spoke of Moses, for they thought of no one more highly than him (they elevated him far too much).

The whole idea of picture-types of the Messiah having been prophetically revealed in the lives of their most honored historical figures was a completely new concept to the Jews.  Stephen showed them, via his summary-narration of the life of Moses, that the similarities between Moses and Jesus are nothing short of having been divinely orchestrated.

Take out your Christ-colored glasses as we take a train-ride (not a jet-tour as with Joseph) through the life of Moses!

Stephen had "an irresistible ministry"!  He was a Scripture-scholar, extremely skilled and astute in using the Old Testament to defend his faith in Jesus.  He was a Christian apologist ("apologia" is a Greek word that refers to "a speech in defense of something").

Stephen's POWERFUL message of Acts chapter 7 was basically a last major appeal to the leadership of Israel (the Sanhedrin Council) to accept Jesus as the long-promised Messiah.  Stephen was brought for trial before the Council, falsely accused of four things: speaking blasphemous words (1) against Moses, (2) against God, (3) against the Temple, and (4) against the Law.  While he stood before his opponents and their lying accusations, his face was glowing with the righteousness of truth and the glory of God!  Amazing.  By visibly putting His "glory stamp" on Stephen's face, the Lord Jesus was showing forth His approval of the message he had been proclaiming in the synagogues and which he was about to proclaim in Acts 7.

Stephen's message was his response to the evil high priest's question, "Are these things so?" - referring to the four accusations against him.  In verses 2 to 50, he managed to keep his hostile listeners' attention by talking about their favorite subject: themselves and their heritage!  Yet, as he reviewed the major periods of Jewish history, he indirectly was responding to the false and accusations against him and building his case against them!   His sermon is brilliant on so many levels!  It was completely irrefutable, and cost him his life.  

In this lesson, Stephen began his "history lesson" regarding Israel's period of the patriarchs by speaking about Abraham.  You have to listen to how absolutely clever Stephen was in using "father" Abraham to convict the Jews of their own sinful prejudices!

This is the first of ten messages on one of the most influential men for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ who ever lived, Stephen.  There is a reason why more information is recorded in the eternal Word of God on the martyrdom of Stephen than any other man's death except the Lord Jesus - that reason is twofold.  First, Stephen's words and witness had an IRRESISTIBLE impact on the heart, soul, and mind of Saul of Tarsus (who became Paul, human author of about half of the New Testament).  Second, it was Stephen's martyrdom that resulted in the great First Century persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, which forced Christians into the next two regions of Christ's Great Commission, Judea and Samaria.

Stephen is my ultimate hero when it comes to understanding the importance of using the Old Testament to preach Jesus Christ!  He is my hero when it comes to boldness in proclaiming Christ to a very hostile audience!  He is my hero when it comes to giving his all for his Lord and Saviour and doing it with grace and forgiveness of those who killed him.  Stephen well deserved the STANDING OVATION he received from the Lord Jesus!  I cannot wait to meet him one day.

The Early Church grows both in numbers and in spiritual maturity, which is not without it's "pains"! 

With growth by multiplication comes “growing pains”; more potential problems arise whenever bigger numbers of people are involved.  With growth, there is always the need to make adjustments; there is the need for the spiritual leadership to wisely delegate the workload of the ministry with others who are spiritually qualified. As Moses learned through the wisdom of his father-in-law Jethro, he could not single-handedly “do it all” (Exodus 18:13-26), so the twelve Apostles discovered they could and should not attend to all the multi-faceted aspects of the ministry alone. Fortunately, the Early Church was led by twelve Spirit-filled men, who rightly handled the first threat to the beautiful unity of the Church with God-given wisdom. 

What the problem was and how the Apostles took care of it is the subject matter of this lesson, entitled, “Growing Pains and Gains”. The outline for this look at Acts 6:1-7 consists of two parts:  I.  “Slighted Widows” (6:1-4) and II. “Seven Workers” (6:5-7).

In this lesson, we are brought back to the issue of whether it is right to obey God when His commandments come into direct conflict with those of men in authority over believers.  Peter and John had asked this question as they stood in trial before the High Court Council of Israel, but it had not been answered.  However, the Lord Himself answered the question through the series of events that followed their release!  When the men, with the other Apostles, returned to "preaching Jesus," all twelve were arrested for their disobedience.  But a God-sent angel released them from prison, and they immediately returned to "preaching Jesus" - plus performing all manner of mighty miracles in His name.   The Lord was providing the answer to the question of obeying Him over men when their commandments contradict!  He also gave a direct answer through the mouth of Peter, who spoke on behalf of all the Apostles, when he said (again standing in trial before the Council), "We ought to obey God rather then men" (5:29).

The high priest and others went into a rage and wanted to slay all twelve men!  God intervened by providentially using one of their own members, Gamaliel.  His words spared the men from being killed, although they were each severely beaten.  What the Council members saw after the men were flogged absolutely amazed them!  The men were beaming with joy!  They were thrilled to have been "rewarded" for knowing (in a small way) the fellowship of Christ's sufferings!  They were "Happy to Suffer for Jesus"!

Find out what the Apostles did right after they were beaten and then released!  It is such a strong testimony to us today!