“He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25 ESV).
Stephen’s defense before the Jewish council was amazing in its breadth and understanding of Jewish history. He offered a condensed version of the Old Testament story starting with Abraham and steadily progressing to the 1st Century time of Jesus. But it wasn’t just a summary. It offered profound spiritual insights on the ancient faith story.
Consider the Moses part of the story. Here, Stephen described not only the facts of Moses’ life, but his motivations. Stephen described Moses as being aware of his God-given calling to be the deliverer of Israel when he was only 40 years old. So, when he fled to Midian after killing the Egyptian, he wasn’t just fleeing Pharoah’s judgment, he was fleeing God’s call.
Stephen tried to help the Jewish council understand that Jewish history, and the story of Moses, had always pointed to Jesus as Messiah and that He was the fulfillment of their Hebrew Scriptures. Yet, just as the people of Moses’ day did not understand his message of salvation, neither did those of Stephen’s day. For just as they had rejected and killed Jesus, so they rejected Stephen and sentenced him to be stoned to death.
Stephen’s commentary on the Old Testament helps us understand the storyline from God’s perspective. He establishes the best practice for our reading today. For the best way to understand the Old Testament is through the lens of the New Testament and through the person of Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the testimony of Stephen and how Your Spirit inspired him to interpret the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus. For his testimony helps us to read and understand. Thank You for giving us this understanding of Your salvation through Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.