The Surprises of God
- Mark Lauterbach
- Mar 5, 2008
- Series: Home page
Acts is not the story of human brilliance. There are no strategic plans. There are no meetings of the Board. What is clear is that Jesus is building his church. When there is opposition, he triumphs. He cannot be stopped.
In Acts 6-7, the Lord of the church takes up an unexpected instrument. It is Stephen, a Hellenic Jew, called to serve widows in the daily distribution of food. But God has other plans. He graces Stephen with apostolic witness. Stephen does signs and wonders. The Spirit of God is upon him with such power that his enemies cannot deal with his argumentation.
The Jews of the day thought that the coming of the Messiah would mean a new and improved Israel - a better temple and better sacrifices and better application of the Law to life. God gives Stephen grace to see the implications of Jesus death and resurrection in a new way. Stephen preaches that since Jesus fulfills the promises of the prophets, he displaces the temple and the sacrifices and the law with something greater.
His enemies hear "blasphemy" in his teaching. They think he is against Moses and the Temple. They accuse him of such. This is what they did with Jesus. He defends himself.
The sum of his defense is in Acts 7. First, God has never been bound to a temple. He has been present and active throughout Jewish history - in Mesopotamia, in Egypt, in the Sinai desert. Even when the temple was built, it was clear that God did not dwell in houses made by human hands. The Jews were wrong to localize God to the temple.
Second, they had always resisted God and his messengers. They rejected Joseph and Moses and all the prophets. The law and the temple had done nothing to change their hearts. This is not anti-Semitism; this is a diagnosis of all humanity.
In sum, Stephen assaults their self-righteousness. They were people who lived to impress others and to be good. They labored to keep the law. They were moral and religious. Stephen calls them sinners. He proves his case by citing their murder of Jesus. The temple was not a sign of being God's favorites. It was a mark of grace and the larger purpose of God to fill the earth with his glory.
As is always the case, self-righteousness finds the Gospel abhorrent. Those who are good in their own eyes cannot abide the thought that the kingdom of God will include people who have been sinners. The self-righteous who hear Stephen are enraged - and kill him.
Stephen, as one who has known great mercy, asks for God to show them mercy. His prayer for their forgiveness is a mark of his grasp of grace.
At Grace Church in San Diego we believe the Gospel is good news to the evil person and the good person. It offers both of them the perfect righteousness of Jesus to cover their shame. We want to live in the good of the Savior's righteousness. Listen HERE to learn more.