NOTES for Act 7:1-59
Today's reading helps us better understand the preaching of the apostles and of the first Christians in general. It presents Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin, delivered in his own defense against charges of offenses against the people, the Temple, and the Torah (Acts 6:11–14). It is unsurprising that Stephen begins with an extensive historical survey, apparently intended to clarify his attitude toward the Temple and the Torah (vv. 2–50). He recalls the close connection between Jewish history, Revelation, and the Torah, pointing to the continuity of the tradition that links the Temple, through Solomon and David, to earlier times—a tradition rooted in the time of Moses and the Exodus. Given the charges brought against Stephen, such a beginning was entirely natural and logical. The same logic called for him to move from this historical review of the Temple and Torah to a subject familiar to everyone at the time: the inward Torah and the human being as a living Temple. Stephen was evidently already prepared to speak precisely about this (vv. 48–50). From a discussion of the inward Torah and the human being as a living Temple, it would have been easy to turn to the Kingdom, undoubtedly the central theme in the preaching of both the apostles and the first Christians generally. Such preaching was probably quite characteristic of Stephen, whom the evangelist describes as a “wise” man (Acts 6:10). According to the understanding of wisdom current in the Gospel era, such a person could not fail to be a good orator as well. Undoubtedly, the accusations Stephen hurls in his listeners' faces (vv. 51–53) do not fit his preceding speech, either in meaning or in their accusatory direction. Perhaps they were unexpected even to Stephen himself. This could well have happened, for in speaking Stephen was guided not only by his own plans and intentions but primarily by the revelation he received from God. Apparently, it is God's direct intervention that interrupts his speech. But why does this happen? Surely Stephen's speech in his own defense would have developed into a proclamation of the Kingdom. Perhaps we face a situation similar to those that sometimes caused Jesus Himself to remain silent or not to answer a question. There are situations and circumstances in which the questioners will hear no answer except the one they already know. Then accusing such bad-faith questioners becomes the only possible form of witness, regardless of the consequences for the person who dares to bear it.