Acts 7:1-3 - And Stephen said

7:1

The high priest asked Stephen if the charges were true, and then we get the longest sermon/speech to be found in Acts. So why does Luke give it so much space? Stephen in effect does a run through of Israel’s history, showing how both the Jewish leaders’ reaction is entirely consistent with Israel’s response to God through the ages, and how there is nothing about the gospel that is inconsistent.

7:2,3

Stephen addresses them as “brothers and fathers”, he is showing respect to them. There is an important aspect to note here that applies to all Christian interaction with the world. We are often accused of being exclusive in saying that Jesus is the only way of salvation, we are accused of being bigots when we say homosexual acts are sinful, and that trans ideology is wrong. But we are not exclusive or bigots, but are utterly inclusive. We speak to the world about Christ and about God’s ways because we believe that every single human being is made in the image of God, that every single human being can receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. As it says in Romans 3:23,24, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all can be saved through faith in Christ. Stephen said the things he did not because he wanted to attack the Jews, but because he wanted them to receive the riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Stephen then goes right back to Abraham, as indeed Paul does in much of his theological arguments, especially in Galatians and Romans. Abraham lived in Mesopotamia when God appeared to him, and He called him to go to a better country, “the land I will show you”. We all have our preconceived ideas of what life is like, and what “the good life” is about, but all our ideas are strictly limited. God has a far greater plan, and we are much wiser if we choose to go to the land that God will show us. Note also that God told Abraham to leave before showing him where he was going. The key is not so much where we are going, but who we are following.