Stephen Speaks to the Sanhedrin

Amen. It is good to sing with you today. Welcome to Gospel City Church and as you’re grabbing a seat, go ahead and grab your Bibles and open your Bibles to Acts chapter 6. We’re going to be in Acts 6 and 7 today. We’ve got a big passage of Scripture, 60 verses we’re going to look at today. And so God’s Word is awesome, right?

And I’ve got to say all week long Satan and his army was just trying to do a whole lot to keep me from getting to this spot. And so as you’re opening your Bibles today we’re going to kick Satan and his army in the teeth. And I believe that’s the spirit that Stephen would have went before the Sanhedrin on this particular day in history. And we’re going to look today at Stephen’s speech, his sermon, before the Sanhedrin. And next week we’ll look at Stephen’s stoning.

But have you been noticing the thread that Pastor Tyler helped us see a couple of weeks ago in the book of Acts? That thread of ups and downs, highs and lows, mountains and valleys. You’re seeing this thread of opposition from the world, God’s protection and then the advancement of the local church.

And remember, the entire purpose of the ups and downs, the reason for all of that in the book of Acts is because of the purpose statement of the book of Acts. Jesus gave it to the disciples back in Acts 1:8 when Jesus said, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

So Acts is about the advancement of the gospel and the church to the ends of the earth. And with every valley moment or every seemingly moment of opposition, there is a shift in advancement for the local church taking place. The Holy Spirit continually fills, the disciples continue to be obedient and be witnesses of Jesus Christ, and God continually advances the message of Christ to establish His church.

Now in Acts 6 and 7, there’s another couple shifts taking place in the book of Acts. This is the third time that we’ll look at today where the believers go before the Sandhedrin. The first time, you remember, they were let off with a warning. The second time before the Sanhedrin they were let off with a flogging. And the third time, this time, (spoiler alert) Stephen doesn’t make it out. He dies for the faith in front of the Sanhedrin, seemingly a very low moment.

But as Stephen gives his life as a martyr, the Jews begin to scatter outside of Jerusalem. They run and they go all over the place, thus taking the message of the gospel all over the place and Jesus Christ begins to build His church all throughout the world because of the seemingly low moment of Stephen defending his faith, losing his life.

It’s interesting to note last week we were introduced to these seven deacons. You remember that? Pastor Tyler told us the structure in the church was kind of being formed. You had the teachers and the elders who were teaching and preaching the Word of God. But the widows needed served, and so it wasn’t right that the leaders would give up teaching and teaching. That’s of utmost importance, and yet we don’t want people to not feel served and loved.

And so they appointed these seven deacons. Interesting to note that all of these deacons that we’re introduced to last week, they were Jews but they all have Greek names. So what that means is they were Hellenistic Jews. They weren’t Jews from the city of Jerusalem or within the walls of Israel and Jerusalem. They were from all over the place. They have come to Jerusalem, they have given their lives to Christ, they’re following Jesus and learning what it means to be a part of the faith.

They’re chosen to serve the church, and in choosing them we see that God doesn’t just care about the Jews in Jerusalem but he cares about the Jews all over the world who had been scattered throughout history. And so the spreading of the gospel begins to happen not just to Jerusalem but to the Hellenistic Jews, and it starts with our man Stephen who we will look at today. Ok?

So we’re going to look at Acts 6:8 all the way through 7:53 today. But the big idea in this massive, awesome passage of Scripture is this; here’s the big idea: It’s always all been about Jesus. And to reject Him is to continue in idolatry, sin and death. It’s always all been about Jesus. And if you miss Jesus, if you reject Jesus, you’ll continue in idolatry, sin and death.

So let’s get our eyes on a copy of God’s Word together today. I’m going to read the remainder of chapter 6 for us so that we can get some context, and then we’ll take the rest of chapter 7 as we go, because it’s just really exciting to read this text in that way as we go. You’ll love it today. It’s like a roller coaster going up and then it comes down hard. It’s awesome. Let’s look in 6 verse 8, ok?

Acts 6:8. Now hear the Word of the Lord.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:8-15)

So that’s God’s Word for us today, the beginning of it, getting our context. But let’s talk about this remarkable man Stephen before we get into his speech. Ok? So out of all of the people in Jerusalem who were giving their lives to Christ, out of all the people who were now a part of the local church, the first one chosen to be a deacon was this man named Stephen, to serve the Body as a deacon of the local church.

Acts 6:8 tells us that he is full of grace and he is full of power. He has Christ-like character. Stephen had a love for people and he was filled with the Spirit of God. And he was indeed a Hellenistic Jew. We see that he didn’t just serve the Body, but he began to speak with boldness the good news of Jesus. And wherever he was sharing the gospel we see Cyrenians and Alexandrians and Cilicians and those from Asia none too happy with his message.

In Acts 6:10 you just read, they said they couldn’t withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. So this guy could defend the faith. He was being debated, but he was shutting them down. And whenever they would ask him a question, he would refute it. And they couldn’t stand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.

Stephen, chosen to be a deacon, to serve the widows of the local church. It’s a great kind of example to all of us that regardless of our title, regardless of our status in the church, we all have a responsibility, don’t we, to be able to defend the faith, speak boldly the words of the gospel and in the Bible, and we should be led by the Spirit of God. Stephen was a great example of that. May we all have a deeper reliance on the Spirit. May we all have a deepening deepened understanding of Scripture.

But what happens when you can’t refute someone? What happens when you can’t refute someone? You either have to receive that their message is true or you reject them. You accuse them like these people did back in Acts chapter 6. And Stephen here, he’s accused of four charges, ok? So they come together, they start coming up with some stuff to bring Stephen down, who’s boldly defending the faith. And they charge him with four charges of blasphemy.

Now the word blasphemy is to speak sacrilegiously about God or sacred things. This was like one of the highest charges for the Jewish people, the Jewish community, the Jewish leaders. If you were charged with blasphemy, you were going to go before the Sanhedrin; you were going to have some trouble. That word doesn’t hold a lot in our culture today, in our world today, because our culture blasphemes everything that is sacred. Our culture tears down everything that’s sacred.

But in this day, Stephen, he’s preaching the gospel. He’s charged with four charges of blasphemy. First, blasphemy against Moses. Second, blasphemy against God. Third, blasphemy against the temple. And fourth, blasphemy against the law.

And I want you to look at verse 15. So they bring these charges. They come together; they arrest Stephen. They bring him before the Sanhedrin, which we learned was like going before the Supreme Court in our country. It’s a big deal. If you go before the Sanhedrin, you’d better be able to defend yourself.

And verse 15. And gazing at him, all who sat in the counsel saw that his face was like the face of an angel (Acts 6:15). Like Jesus, Stephen is accused of being a threat, and yet he does not appear to be threatening. Stephen, standing before the Sanhedrin, is radiating the holiness and the glory of God. Essentially, God Himself was validating the teaching of Stephen by putting his own glory on his face.

I believe the Jewish leaders of the Sanhedrin could have simply looked at Stephen and known he was from God. They could’ve just looked at Stephen and known that this was God’s man for this time. And yet their hearts were hard to the real God. The Jewish leaders, their stance with God was validated by their works or their keeping of the law rather than by faith in the Son of God. And so God’s glory on Stephen’s face is God’s approval that a new covenant has come and is now established.

Look in 7 verse 1. And the high priests said, “Are these things so?” (Acts 7:1) You’ve been accused of blasphemy under four charges. Are these things so, Stephen? And then Stephen begins to address the Sanhedrin in this masterful speech that we’re about to read and look at.

We see a pattern. First he deals with the accusation at hand by aligning with the Jews and acquitting himself of each charge. But then he turns the accusation back onto the Jews of old, indicting the Jews throughout history of precisely of what he’s being accused of ultimately so then he can then insight those he was standing in front of. Stephen’s entire defense is to show that he has not blasphemed anything, but that his accusers were indeed the real blasphemers. It’s masterful, ok?

So we see these four defenses and accusations. The first one is this, defense and accusation number one: Stephen’s defense against blaspheming God. He deals with the most important one first, blaspheming God.

Let’s read about it in Acts 7:2. And Stephen said, “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Huron and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’

Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others who would enslave them and afflict them 400 years later (talking about the Egyptians).
“But I will judge the nation that they serve,” said God. “And after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.” And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. (Acts 7:-8)

So Stephen, standing before the Sanhedrin, questioned, “Are these charges true?” And he starts out, “Brothers, fathers.” A term of endearment. He aligns himself with the Jewish people and then notice he starts with the reference. The God of glory, the God of glory. Stephen uses a name for God that has some real weight behind it.

Psalm 29:1 is the only reference in the Old Testament where the God of glory, the term, the name, is used. And the Jewish leaders, they would have known exactly who he was talking about when he said the God of glory. Psalm 29:1 says, The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The God of glory thunders. Stephen aligns himself with Yahweh, God the Lord. He says, “Your God is my God,” before the Sanhedrin.

And then he goes on and he says, Our father Abraham. I went through the passage and I circled every time Stephen uses the word “our” or “we” or “us.” He’s aligning himself with the ones who are accusing him all throughout his speech. And it’s as if to say, “You’re accusing me of blaspheming things that I love. I hold dear our Jewish heritage. I’m not against God. I love the God of glory, the God of our Father Abraham.”

And as he shows his allegiance to the God of glory, he starts to unpack Israel’s history. And that’s what we just read. He unpacks Genesis 12 all the way through Genesis 50 about how this God, the God of glory, made a covenant with Abraham that if he would walk by faith and not by sight from this landless, childless man would come a blessed nation that belongs to the Lord.

Stephen shows that he’s not anti-God. He’s not anti-God’s people. But as Stephen continues in verse 9, it’s as if he says, “But you know who was anti-God? You know who was anti-God’s people, purpose, plan?”

Look in verse 9. And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt, but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all of his household. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.

And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers and Joseph’s family became known to Pharoah. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, 75 persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt and he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor and Shechem. (Acts 7:9-16)

Stephen brings back to their attention that Joseph indeed was God’s chosen one. And yet the patriarchs, our forefathers, who we hold in such high regard, they were the ones that rejected God’s man. But God was with Joseph and God kept Joseph. And when his brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph was preserved and made king. And when it came time for his brothers, the forefathers, the patriarchs who sold him into slavery to find help, God used Joseph, the rejected man, to help his own brothers who sold him into slavery. “The patriarchs who we hold in such high regard, they are the ones guilty of blasphemy,” Stephen says before the Sanhedrin.

And then he moves swiftly into defense and accusation number two. Stephen’s defense against blaspheming Moses. Notice that the Jewish leaders, they accused him of blaspheming Moses even before God. They hold Moses on a high pedestal. Moses, who delivered them from their first exile, who delivered them from slavery with Egypt. Like if you were blaspheming Moses, you had a real problem. Let’s see what Stephen does with it.

Verse 17. “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’
But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.
Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ (Acts 7:17-34)
Let’s pause there. So Stephen here begins to sum up the entire book of Exodus and the history of the Israelite people being delivered from the Egyptians under the highly regarded Moses. Just as Stephen showed his allegiance to God and to Joseph in his first allegiance, he shows his allegiance to Moses here.

In verse 20 he says Moses is beautiful in God’s sight. He shows how God protected and blessed and preserved Moses all throughout history so that he could make way for the Israelite, for the Israelite people. He says that Moses was mighty in word and in deed. Stephen describes him as a deliverer of God’s people. If Stephen wanted to blaspheme Moses he just simply would have said what the Israelite brothers and sisters of old said. “He’s a murderer!” They would have rejected him as they did.

And yet it’s here that Stephen says, “I have not blasphemed Moses, but you know who did. Our Israelite brothers and sisters.” Not only did they reject him when he challenged their arguing, but they rejected him even after deliverance from the Egyptians.

Look in verse 35. Verse 35: This Moses whom they rejected saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” This man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bushes. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Isralites, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. (Acts 7:35-37)

There is no question that God was with Moses. There is no question that Moses was a ruler and redeemer, and yet there’s also no question that our forefathers rejected him as both. And yet even after overwhelming proof that God’s hand was on Moses, the Israelites rejected God’s man time and time again. “Our forefathers,” Stephen says, “whom we hold in high regard are the ones guilty of blaspheming Moses.” And he moves into his third defense and accusation, Stephen’s defense against blaspheming the law.

Pick it up in verse 38. Stephen goes into his defense against blaspheming the law. This is the one who is in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mt. Sinai with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. Our fathers refused to obey him, but they thrust him aside and in their hearts they turned to Egypt saying to Aaron, “Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (Acts 7:38-40)

Stephen describes Moses getting the law here. Stephen describes the law as living oracles. But the people rejected it. Israel didn’t want a god that they had to obey. Israel wanted a god that would deliver them from their problems, that would deliver them from slavery. They didn’t want a god that would tell them what to do even as they’re delivered, even as they’ve been graciously and miraculously taken across the Red Sea here in the midst of the trials and tribulations of life. They don’t want to obey God. They begin to turn back to the gods of Egypt where they were slaves.

Stephen says, “I don’t reject the law of God. I love the law of God. But our Israelite brothers and sisters have certainly rejected the law of God. Look in verse 41. And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven. As is written in the book of the prophets, “Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?” You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship, and I will send you tino exile beyond Babylon. (Acts 7:41-43)

Stop there. Israel proved to blaspheme the law by not even getting past law number one. You shall have no other gods before me. And then they start fashioning a calf out of gold. And the going got tough and they turned back to the gods, the worthless, dead idols of Egypt.

Interesting like Moloch and Rephan, they would sacrifice their newborn babies in fire to appease these gods because that felt a lot more religious, that felt a lot more holy, than trusting the God of the universe who simply gave them the law so that they could love him and so that they could love one another and be in unity and harmony with one another.

But even after the miraculous deliverance from the God of glory through the Red Sea, the Israelites preferred sight over faith. They preferred the flesh over the law. And Stephen says, “You’ve accused me of blaspheming the law, but you can’t deny that Israel has always blasphemed the law of God.

(25:07)

And he moves into his fourth and final defense and accusation. Stephen’s defense against blaspheming the temple. Verse 44 says, Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness. Just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, our fathers in turn bought it with Joshua and they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers.

So it was until the days of David who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the most high does not dwell in houses made by hands. As the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?” says the Lord. “Or what is this place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” (Acts 4:44-50)

And you’ve gotta hear me. Imagine if you loved justice and you’ve been accused of something that you didn’t do. Imagine defending yourself before the Sanhedrin. Like he’s cordial and he’s loving and he’s gracious. And yet as he’s unpacking all of this, I mean he’s emotionally riding up the hill of the roller coaster as he’s standing before his accusers. And the same defense and accusation is given regarding the temple. Our people have always worshiped the gift over the giver. The temple has always been meant to direct our worship to God who cannot be contained, and yet Israel has continually tried to contain Him. I do not blaspheme the temple, but Israel always has. And after all of this defending, after all of this redirecting of the accusation, after all of Stephen’s aligning with Jewish history and his rich unpacking of the Old Testament, Stephen shifts his speech toward the Sanhedrin.

Verse 51. He’s no longer saying “our” and “us” and “we.” His emotions are up as he defended himself, and rightfully so. And with the power of the Spirit he looks at the Sanhedrin, his accusers, right in front of him. And verse 51 he says, You stiff necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 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. (Acts 7:51-53)

Stephen moves from aligning with the Jewish leaders to separating himself in a really bold way. He looks at them and he says, “You stiff necked people, you stubborn, obstinate people. You’ve missed it all along! You’ve continually missed it. And you charge me with blasphemy? Someone who is a worshiper, a follower, of the God of glory. They bow to the God of glory. They lift their eyes to the hills. For where does our help come? Our help comes from the Lord.

But someone who’s stiffnecked, they don’t bow the head to anything. They don’t lift their head to anything. They’re locked and loaded on what they want to. And so when he calls them stiffnecked, it’s as if he’s saying, “You idolaters. God’s continually proven His faithfulness to you and you continue to elevate the idols of this world.” He says, “You’re uncircumcised in heart and ears. Your sins have never been forgiven. You’re unclean. You’re impure.”

And the Jews, they pride themselves in their physical circumcision and their ritual behavior. But Stephen here, it’s as if he says, “You’re as unclean as an uncircumcised Gentile. It holds some weight in that Sanhedrin that day. He says, “You always resist the Holy Spirit just as your fathers have.” Israel’s history is proof that the Jews have continually missed God’s rescuer and redeemer, time and time again.

And finally, he looks at them and he says, “You’ve persecuted the prophets of old and you’ve missed the righteous one whom they were all pointing to. You betrayed and murdered Jesus and in doing so you’ve blasphemed your own law, you’ve blasphemed your own temple, you’ve blashpemed your own Moses and you’ve blasphemed the God of glory here today. And it’s here that we see the genius of Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin. We see the masterful unpacking of the Old Testament as he stands and defends the faith in front of the Sanhedrin. And I believe if Stephen was giving his message here today he would want us to take four things from it, four major points from this message.

The first one is this: Jesus is the better Joseph. Jesus is the better Joseph. Stephen proclaims before the Sanhedrin. The patriarchs were jealous of Joseph. They hated him. They wanted him dead. So they sold him into slavery for pocket chagne. But guess what, Sanhedrin? You were jealous of Jesus. You hated Him, and Judas sold Him to you for the price of a slave, for forty shekels, and you delivered him over ot the Romans. Joseph suffered and was falsely accused, but Jesus suffered and was falsely accused and you crucified HIm on a cross.

God was with Joseph, God delivered him and exalted him to reign as a king in Egypt, and God was with Jesus. He rose from the dead. And what you meant for evil God meant for good. The rejection of Jesus is the redemption and the deliverance for all who will repent and believe. As your fathers did, so also do you. And then he moves on to his second point. Jesus is the new and better Moses. Jesus is the new and better Moses. You’ve got to check out these similarities that I’m about to give you, ok? It’s mindblowing how masterful the God of glory is throughout history.

When Moses was born, the Pharaoh ordered that all the children under the age of two be slaughtered. When Jesus was born, King Herod ordered that all male children under the age of two be slaughtered. Yet God preserved them both by providing a place of refuge. The place of refuge for Jesus was the land of Egypt. The place of refuge for Moses was the home of the king in Egypt. Both Moses and Jesus spent time in the wilderness, Moses for forty years, Jesus for forty days.

Both Moses’ and Jesus’ ministries were inaugurated through the passing through of water- Moses through the Red Sea, Jesus through the waters of baptism. And as awesome as all of that is, it’s clear in Scripture that Jesus is the true and better Moses. Moses received the law on the mountain, but Jesus gives the law from the mountain in the sermon on the mount. More than that, Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of the law and the Word incarnate.

Moses protected his people by instructing them to slaughter the Passover lamb, and Jesus is indeed the slaughtered Passover lamb. Moses delivered His people from lsaverty to Egpyt, Jesus delivers His people from slavery to sin and death. And on and on and on all throughout history God has been orchestrating that Jesus is the Rescuer and the Redeemer. And all of it is validated.

All of it is validated as Stephen points it out in verse 37. Moses said so long ago, this is the Moses who said to the Israelites, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.” That prophet was Jesus. Just as Moses delivered Israel from Egypt, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. And Stephen looks at the Sanhedrin and he says, “You rejected him. As your fathers did, so also do you.”

And he moves into point number three. Jesus is the true law and the greater temple. Jesus is the true law and the greater temple. Israel rejected the law, but you have rejected the law incarnate, the word who became flesh and dwelt among us. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. And you’ve rejected the very word of God who came and dwelt among us. The Israelites missed the point of the temple, but you have missed the true and greater temple. Just as your fathers did, so do you.

And what man has continually throughout history meant for evil, God has continually meant for good, and still you reject His plan. Still you reject His messenger. Not only does history prove you’ve continually rejected and blasphemed the God of glory, but you are blaspheming the God of glory here today. You’re the real blasphemers, and as you’ve done away with Jesus you’ve blasphemed Moses, you’ve blasphemed God, you’ve not kept the law.

You’ve missed the true and better temple, and all of it has been about Jesus whom you’ve betrayed and whom you murdered on a cross. It’s always all been about Jesus Christ, and to reject Him is to continue in idolatry, sin and death. It’s an amazing passage, an amazing speech, an amazing defense of the faith from Stephen.

But I believe if he was here today giving this exact same speech to Gospel City Church, he would want us to not just point the finger at the Sanhedrin. He’d want us to turn that finger and point it back at ourselves because we can be guilty of the very same things.

The fourth point this morning is this: I am a stiff-necked, unclean idol-worshiper when I miss the Rescuer and the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I am stiff-necked. I am unclean. I’m an idol worshiper when I miss and reject the person, the Rescuer, the Redeemer, Jesus Chrirst.

You know there is two kinds of people here. There are two kinds of people here today. Some of you have yet to surrender your life to follow this Jesus. Some of you have been in and out of church for a long time. Some of you have walked and heard these things for a long time. Some of you have been trusting in what you can see rather than trusting in faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Some of you have been trying to earn favor with God through your works and through your rituals, through saying the right things, through doing the right things, through acting the right way as you get into a certain setting.

And the truth is today that the gospel is proof that you can’t do it on your own. The gospel is proof that you could never earn it. You don’t deserve it. The gospel is truth that you can give up control. The gospel is not a message of self-fulfillment. It’s a message of self-denial. You deny yourself and you put your faith in the only thing that can save: the blood of Jesus Christ who all of history has pointed to and who the Bible continues to point to.

And so my advice for you today if you’re here and you’ve yet to put your trust and faith in this Jesus sent by the God of glory, give up control. Stop running. Stop trying to do it on your own like the Jewish leaders and the Sanhedrin. Don’t miss Jesus by grabbing onto things that feel so much more tangible or religious by the world’s standards. Just put your faith in the Son of God who gave up everything for you.

How do you do it? Scripture is clear. It says repent of your sins and believe in HIm. Turn from your sins. Put your trust and faith in Jesus. Romans says to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God is Lord, that Jesus is Lord, and God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. Trust in Him today. Stop running. Stop missing God’s man, God’s plan. It’s all been done at the cross.

But I would venture to say that while there are some here today that have yet to do that, there are many here today who have put their hope and trust and faith in Jesus. And the truth is you know it. Every single day we wake up with a proneness to be stiff necked and unclean, to be idolaters in our worship, to elevate things in the place of Jesus Christ. It may be comfort. It may be pleasure. It may be money. It may be possessions. It may be people. It may be our circumstances even.

And so every single day is an opportunity to de-center ourselves in the midst of whatever is going on, right? Like Israel didn’t have it easy. They’re in the wilderness probably because of their complaining. But they’re in this place and God was still sovereign and God was still good and God was working on their behalf. God was providing for them.

And yet they chose to elevate and exalt their circumstances rather than the God of glory. And when that starts to happen in our lives, that’s when we reach for way lesser things. That’s why it’s easier to turn to the god of Moloch and Rephan and do things that are obviously heinous and wrong, and yet it feels like I’m appeasing something so that I can get what my flesh wants. It’s walking by sight rather than walking by faith in the Son of God who gave it all up.

And so we have a challenge as the people of God. My challenge is the same as yours. I have to wake up every single day. I have to re-preach this glorious good news, this glorious gospel to myself that God is holy and that God is in control and that I’m just a sinful broken human being that I fall short of the glory of God.

but Jesus Christ, who is rich in mercy, who is great in His steadfast love, He gave His life up on a cross. His blood, His innocent blood, was shed for me and for you so that I don’t have to trust in what I can see. I can just simply trust in the saving grace of our God. And by repenting and by believing, my stiff-neckedness goes away (if that’s a word) and I turn and I look to God. I bow my head.

I lift my eyes to the hills for where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord. So regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the situation, regardless of the things that you hold so tightly and so dearly, give up control. Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow this Jesus who’s been faithful since the beginning of time. Everything has pointed to Him up until this day and we want to continue to exalt Him in His rightful place.

C’mon, stand to your feet. Let’s just bow our heads together. Would you just take a moment, bow your head, and respond and confess anything to the Lord that you need to surrender to Him? Cast down your idols. Cast down your idols today. De-center anything that is not Jesus Christ now.

Ask Him to reveal himself to you. He already has in His Word. Ask for forgiveness for missing it, for denying it, for returning to things that feel more tangible. Ask Him to strengthen your faith today.

Oh God of glory, we come. How sufficient is your Word? How glorious is Your plan? And Lord, we just confess that so easily and so often we miss the Rescuer and the Redeemer Jesus Christ. When we wake up in the morning and we feel like we’re in a valley moment, in a low moment, God, we have a tendency to elevate things that are so much lesser than Jesus.

God, forgive us. Would you forgive us for being stiff-necked? Would you forgive us for being obstinate in our faith? Would you forgive us for being unclean and impure and for continuing in sin? God, would You break the patterns of sin in your people? God, would you help us not to cling to them any longer, but would you help us to cast them down, to smash our idols and to follow Jesus.

All the work has been done by Jesus. And so we put our hope and our trust in the precious blood of the Lamb of God who was slain to take away the sins of the world. We don’t trust in ourselves. We trust in You. And we exalt You. We elevate You. We lift You King Jesus.

And so Lord, I pray for every person here. I know that when they wake up on Monday and Tuesday, all the way through Saturday, they don’t wake up with a bunch of believers surrounding them who are stirring them up and helping them see that this is all about Christ. Thank God for Sunday, but Lord, in the midst of the battle Monday through Saturday may we never forget that it’s always all been about Jesus.

May we not make it about ourselves. May we not make it about our stuff. But God, may we make it always constantly about You. Remind of us the glorious good news of the gospel that saved us and that is continuing to save people who trust in You, who look to You and repent and believe. You alone be exalted. You alone deserve the highest praise. May we walk out of this place today saying how awesome Jesus is and nothing else. Not a band, not a song, not a message, not a messenger, but Jesus, it’s all about You, King Jesus. In Your name we pray, amen.

(44:10)