1
The high priest said, “Is this so?”

2
Stephen replied, “Brothers and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

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and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the land that I will show you.’

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Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And after his father died, God moved him from there into this land, where you now live;

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and He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his descendants after him, though at that time he had no child.

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This is what God said: that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

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But the nation to which they will be enslaved I will judge, said God, and after that they will come out from there and worship Me in this place.

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Then God 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 became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

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Because of jealousy, our patriarchs sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him,

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and delivered him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Pharaoh appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

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Then a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great distress, so that our fathers could find no food.

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But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there. This was their first visit;

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on their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.

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Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his relatives, seventy-five persons in all.

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So Jacob went down to Egypt. There he died, he and our fathers;

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and their bodies were brought to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

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But as the time drew near for the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

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until another king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

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He dealt craftily with our people and oppressed our fathers, and made them cast out their infants, so that our people might not increase.

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At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. For three months he was brought up in his father’s house.

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And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up and brought him up as her own son.

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And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in words and deeds.

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When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

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And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian.

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He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them deliverance by his hand, but they did not understand.

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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 one another?’

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But the one who was doing wrong to his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

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Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

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At this remark Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

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Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a fire in a bush.

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When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight, and as he drew near to look, the voice of the Lord came:

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‘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.

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Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

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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.’

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This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

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He was the one who led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.

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This Moses is the one who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’

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This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers; and he received living words to give to you.

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But our fathers were unwilling to obey him; instead, they rejected him. In their hearts they turned back to Egypt.

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They said to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us, for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.’

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At that time they made a calf and offered sacrifice to the idol, and they rejoiced in the work of their own hands.

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So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

Did you offer to Me slain beasts and sacrifices
for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

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No; rather, you took up the tent of Molech and the star of the god Rephan, the images you made to worship. So I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.

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The Tent of Witness was with our fathers in the wilderness, just as God commanded Moses to make it according to the pattern he had seen.

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Our fathers received it and, under Joshua’s leadership, brought it in when they took possession of the land from the nations that God drove out before our fathers; and it remained until the days of David.

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David found favor before God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

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But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.

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Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says:

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‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what place will be My resting place?

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Did not My hand make all these things?’

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You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

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Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who beforehand announced the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and killed.

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You received the law as delivered by angels, yet you did not keep it.”

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When those members of the Council heard these things, they were deeply cut to the heart, and they gnashed their teeth at him.

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But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

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Then he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

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Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him together.

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They dragged him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

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As they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

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And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

📖 Acts 7 – Stephen’s Witness and Martyrdom

🧾 Summary of Acts 7

This chapter consists entirely of Stephen’s defense before the Council (Sanhedrin) and ends with his death as the first martyr in Christianity. Its main contents are:

1. Stephen’s defense speech reviewing the history of the people of Israel
2. A sharp rebuke to the religious leaders
3. Stephen stoned to death

1. Stephen’s Defense Speech (verses 1–50)

Stephen responds to the charge of blasphemy by recounting the history of Israel, to show that:

• God works outside the temple and religious rituals, even from the time of Abraham.
• He refers to the stories of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David:

• • Abraham was called by God before there was a temple.

  • Joseph was rejected by his brothers but used by God.

  • Moses was also rejected by his people, though he was used by God as a deliverer.

  • David and Solomon built the house of God, but God does not dwell in houses made by human hands (verse 48).

This shows the pattern that the people of Israel repeatedly rejected God’s messengers.

2. A Rebuke to the Religious Leaders (verses 51–53)

Stephen firmly rebuked them:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so do you!”
— Acts 7:51

He accused them of having killed Jesus, just as their fathers killed the prophets.

3. The Martyrdom of Stephen (verses 54–60)

• The members of the council were very angry and gnashed their teeth.
• Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
• They covered their ears and dragged him out of the city, then stoned him to death.
• As he was dying, Stephen said:

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (verse 60)
(As Jesus did on the cross.)

• Saul (later the Apostle Paul) was present and approved of Stephen’s death.

📘 Main Teachings of Acts 7

1. God works through the history of His people, and is not limited by place or ritual.
2. Rejection of God’s messengers is a repeated pattern in Israel’s history.
3. Courage and truth often invite rejection and suffering.
4. Stephen is an example of forgiveness and faithfulness, even unto death.
5. Stephen’s martyrdom became the spark for a great later conversion (including Saul).

✨ Spiritual Meaning of Acts 7

• Stephen reminds us not to be merely religious in ritual, but to understand the heart of God and His truth.
• In suffering, a person filled with the Holy Spirit can see the glory of God, not only the violence of the world.
• True forgiveness is the mark of someone who truly knows Christ.
• Stephen’s death was not defeat, but a living testimony that burned brightly and bore fruit.