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Bible Dictionaries
Stephen
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
or When some of the Greek-speaking Jews in the early Jerusalem church complained that their widows were being neglected, Stephen was one of seven men chosen to help sort out the problem. He was a man full of the Holy Spirit, strong in faith, gifted in the working of miracles and brilliant in debating with the opponents of Christianity (Acts 6:1-10).
Being a Greek-speaking Jew himself, Stephen went to the synagogue for Greek-speaking Jews in Jerusalem to try to turn his fellow Jews to Christ. But instead, they turned against him (Acts 6:11). Stephen saw that Christianity was not simply a remodelled Judaism. Through the life and work of Jesus, everything had changed. The Jewish laws, ceremonies, temple and priesthood had fulfilled their purpose and were no longer necessary. When Stephen preached these things, the Jews accused him of blasphemy and brought him before their Council, the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:12-15).
In defending his preaching, Stephen gave an outline of Israel’s history, his aim being to demonstrate two main points. He showed firstly that God had never limited himself to one location (Acts 7:2; Acts 7:9; Acts 7:30; Acts 7:44; Acts 7:48), and secondly that the people of Israel had always rejected God’s messengers (Acts 7:9; Acts 7:25; Acts 7:35; Acts 7:40). He applied these two points to the Jews of his time by saying that they were mistaken in thinking God dwelt in the Jerusalem temple, and that their rejection of Christ was in keeping with the stubbornness of their forefathers (Acts 7:48-53).
Furious at Stephen’s words, the Jews rushed upon him, dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death (Acts 7:54-60). They then drove all the other Greek-speaking Jewish Christians out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-3). The result, however, was that Christianity spread throughout the region, as the expelled Christians preached the gospel wherever they went (Acts 8:4; Acts 11:19).
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Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Stephen'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/bbd/s/stephen.html. 2004.
