These small group Bible studies of Acts 7:30-60 contain commentary, discussion questions, and practical application. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Acts 7:30-60 Bible Study Guide – The First Christian Martyr
Outline
I. Stephen reviews Israel’s history in the time of Moses’ later life (30-44)
II. Stephen reviews Israel’s history in the kingdom period (45-50)
III. Stephen rebukes the Sanhedrin (51-53)
IV. Stephen is stoned (54-60)
I. Stephen reviews Israel’s history in the time of Moses’ later life (30-44)
Discussion Questions
• What does the story of Moses’ later years teach us about God?
• What does the burning bush encounter teach us about God?
• How might God have used the time in the wilderness to prepare Moses for the mission to lead God’s chosen nation?
• How do you see God fulfilling His covenant promises to Israel even during this difficult time?
• What do we learn about timing?
• How does Moses’ life foreshadow Christ?
• What key lessons can you learn from Moses’ later life?
• How did the people respond to Moses during the wilderness years?
• How did God react to their sin?
• Why did Stephen review this history for the Sanhedrin?
• What applications can you make to your life today based on this passage?
Cross-References
Hebrews 11:28-29 – By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
Psalms 98:3 – He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Psalms 105:8-11 – He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Now when forty years had passed – Moses spent forty years in the wilderness. That is a long time! God used this time to prepare Moses as a man and a leader for the giant task ahead. The Bible is filled with examples of faithful men spending time in the wilderness. David, Elijah, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, and perhaps even Paul are all examples.
Many of the great men of faith in the Bible spent a lot of time in the wilderness and had very important experiences there. Before Jesus started His public ministry, He spent 40 days in the wilderness. John the Baptist spent much of his life in the wilderness.
There is something about the wilderness that makes it a fertile ground for a person to focus on God. There are few distractions. Few worldly pleasures. Few comforts. Few people. A person can be alone with God. Time in the wilderness can cause a person to draw close to and rely on God free from any distractions. It is a testing ground. It is a foundation and character-building ground.
Here are some aspects of spending time in the wilderness that can bring about growth.
A. The wilderness can help develop a thirst for God and God alone.
It can be a time to remember that nothing truly satisfies except the Lord.
Losing all of the extraneous things in his life can show what is really important. Even in the desert with little food, no comfort, and no roof over his head, one can be happy because God is there with you. When David was in the wilderness, he realized this.
Psalms 63:1 – A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Joy is not dependent on circumstances but on your relationship with the Lord.
Example: Looking back at my life, I can remember the times when I thirsted for God the most. Two times I experienced serious pain issues. One time was when I had appendicitis. But it wasn’t the worst. The worst was an infection that caused such pain, that I couldn’t do anything besides lay in bed and cry. It was a constant 24/7 raging pain that almost prevented me from thinking of anything else. During those moments, I could do nothing but cry out to God.
Sometimes God takes us through times of great trial to remind us that we need Him, to remind us that we should seek Him alone to satisfy our souls, and not this world.
Application – What are you thirsting for? Can you say that you are earnestly seeking Him? That you thirst for Him?
Too often, the world satisfies us. We seek after materials and things. We seek pleasure and entertainment. We set our minds on food, sports, games, movies, leisure, shopping, gadgets, investments, bank accounts, and clothing.
It could be that if we keep doing that, God will take it all away and lead us through the wilderness to train us to thirst for Him. We need to make sure that we are thirsting for God Himself and not just the things that He blesses us with.
Let us pray that the Lord will give us new hearts and new desires. Let us stop being easily satisfied with trivial things in this world and look to our heavenly Father to satisfy us with His presence and His Spirit.
B. The wilderness could help a believer meditate on God without distraction.
Cities are loud and filled with hustle and bustle. There is noise everywhere. And there is stuff to do. Errands. People to see. There are lots of people and lots of distractions.
Modern-day cities are even louder than ancient ones. Once I was recording a Bible study video and four times during the recording a security guard on a motorcycle came around with a loudspeaker reminding us to take our Covid test.
Horns. Music. Shouts. And we have even more distractions with smartphones in hand.
There is a reason that Jesus often went out to the wilderness to pray.
Application – It is hard for us in the city with full schedules and annoying smartphones to get that time free of distraction. We need to prioritize it and make a way. Jesus found a way. He snuck away from the crowds. You need to find a way to have that quality, quiet time with the Lord as well. We need that each day. And we also should have occasional times of intentional retreat where we can spend more extended time with Him.
Perhaps today, your application is simple. Give your spouse or a roommate your phone and tell them, “UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO GIVE THIS BACK TO ME FOR THE NEXT 30 MINUTES” and then have your quiet time with the Lord free of distraction.
Moses met God in the wilderness. Will you take time away from your busy and perhaps comfortable life to meet with God?
2. Moses met God at the burning bush –
The burning bush was a miracle, the first of many miracles witnessed by Moses. The Bible doesn’t mention any specific reason why God chose this way to appear to Moses. Clearly, He knew it would attract Moses to go over there so they could have a conversation.
Fire is a symbol of holiness and a purifying force. Besides the spiritual imagery, the burning but not burning bush showed Moses that God is in control over nature. He has a supernatural ability. Probably Moses had grown up around many so-called gods, who were really idols with no power. Seeing the true God display power over the elements would have helped convince Him that God was true, a faith that would be foundational if Moses were to accept the task given to him.
3. God introduced Himself to Moses –
While Moses doesn’t know who or what is going on in the bush, God knows everything about Moses. Moses didn’t know God’s name, but God knew his. This is true about every person who turns to God. Moses thought he was taking initiative and he was in control, but in reality, God was. God had been watching over him and directing the events of his life for eighty years to bring him to this exact point and give him this exact task. God is the one who takes initiative. God is the one who chose Moses for this task.
Moses didn’t even want this task, but God had chosen him. There really wasn’t anything Moses could do about it. This can be a comforting doctrine for us. God is always watching over us. He knows our future before we do. He has a good plan for us. He will prepare us for everything we will face in life, sometimes long ahead of time and even without our knowledge.
Think of Moses. He probably laid in bed confused many times. “Why could my real parents not keep me.?” “Why did that guy I shoved have to hit his head and die?” “Why couldn’t I just be born into royalty?” “Why do I have to live way out here in the wilderness so far from all the action?” “Why couldn’t the Israelites see I was stepping up to save them?”
He didn’t know why all these things happened to him, but God had a reason. That should build our faith in God.
Application – Even when we don’t understand why things are happening to us, know God has a reason. Make up your minds to have faith in Him and let nothing sway you. He knows what you need, what you will do, and what you need to do what you need to do.
4. I have seen their affliction… I have come down –
God sees. He cares. He knows what is going on down here. He has not and will not abandon us. Our Creator continues to be involved in the world and in answering our prayers.
5. A prophet like Moses –
Moses prophesied that God would raise up another prophet like him. The Jews even at the time of Christ were still waiting for this prophet. They asked John the Baptist if he was it.
John 1:21 – And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus, of course, is not only a prophet. He is also a priest and a king as well as the sacrificial lamb.
Jesus would be a prophet like Moses. So what was Moses like?
Deuteronomy 34:10-12 – And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Moses knew the Lord face to face.
In addition, the Israelites were afraid to interact directly with the LORD. They wanted a mediator to go in between. That was because of God’s awesome power and holiness.
Deuteronomy 18:16-17 – Just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, They are right in what they have spoken.
Therefore, the immediate context here as well as the extended context in Deuteronomy give us the answer as to what it means to be a prophet like Moses. Moses knew God face to face and directly represented God to the people. He was the mediator to bring God’s law, the Old Covenant, to the people. In addition, he interceded for the people to the Lord. His plea for their lives to be spared resulted in their salvation (Exodus 32).
Now how is Jesus similar? Jesus was in the very throne room of heaven face to face with the Father from eternity. He directly represented the Father to the people. He was the mediator to bring the New Covenant. He intercedes for us. And indeed, His mediating on our behalf results in our salvation.
In theological terms, God is described as being transcendent. He is unknowable and incomprehensible unless He makes Himself known to us. In the Old Testament, He did that through Moses. In the New Testament, He did that through Jesus. That highlights another aspect of God’s nature, His immanence. That means that
He draws close to us. As we see at Mt. Horeb, if He does that directly it is a terrifying and potentially deadly encounter. Therefore, He does it through His intermediary. That is Jesus, a prophet like Moses.
5. Our fathers refused to obey him –
A key point of Stephen’s sermon is that even when God clearly was working, the Israelites had a long history of rebelling. Stephen’s generation greatly revered Moses. However, the Israelites of Moses’ generation did not. They personally witnessed all the miracles that God performed through Moses. It was clear that Moses was God’s chosen instrument. No one could rationally deny that God was real and at work. Even so, the people rebelled and cast off the Lord’s appointed authority. They went as far as to worship Moloch and Rephan (Acts 7:43).
Stephen will make the point that in a similar way, the religious leaders rebelled against Jesus, who was the fulfillment of the promise to send a “prophet like Moses.” He is making the same point that Jesus made before.
Jesus accused their generation of rebelling in spite of the many obvious signs they had seen that God was at work.
Matthew 11:20-24 – Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
Many claim that if they could only see proof of God that they would believe. If God would only do some signs and show Himself, then they would follow Him! Yet time and time again, when God has done that, people still rebelled. Lack of seeing God is a convenient excuse people use, but not the real reason they don’t follow Him. He has made Himself known, but people don’t want to follow Him because they prefer a sinful lifestyle.
Romans 1:19-21 – For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.
Application – Some applications are very simple. This is one of those. Don’t rebel! Trust in God and follow Him.
V. Stephen reviews Israel’s history in the kingdom period (45-50)
Discussion Questions
• What does the “it” refer to in verse 45?
• Why does Stephen mention the tabernacle and temple? What is his point?
• Where is God’s dwelling place? How does that relate to the Old Testament temple? Where is the temple now?
• What do you think is Stephen’s main point here?
• How did Jesus say about the Jews’ incorrect focus on the temple?
• How might the temple and rituals associated with it distract people from developing a real relationship with God?
• How might traditions or rituals distract us from a relationship with God today?
Cross-References
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. God is greater than the temple –
They had accused Stephen of blaspheming the temple. However, in his sermon, he demonstrated his respect for and understanding of it historically. God allowed them to build a tabernacle and later a temple as the place where His presence would come down with His people. That was important. Yet God is greater than the temple and always has been.
Stephen quotes Isaiah 66:1 to remind them that God is present everywhere. Psalm 139 teaches us the same lesson.
The religious leaders’ infatuation with the temple and its beautiful stones and architecture made them feel spiritual and religious. It puffed them up but did not solve their sin problem or help them develop a relationship with God through Jesus.
Stephen wants them to lift up their eyes from the temple and look at God, whose presence is not restrained to any one location.
Jesus also sensed that his disciples were too enamored with the temple and that it wasn’t helping them form a real relationship with God.
Mark 13:1-2 – And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
The temple would be destroyed (it was in AD 70). Their hope should be in God and not in the temple.
Now, believers are temples of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). His Spirit dwells in us and we are to reflect His light and love to the world around us and draw people to Him through our words and deeds.
2. Relationship versus ritual –
Throughout history, people have gravitated toward religious rituals as a way to draw close to God as the religious leaders did with the temple and temple ceremonies.
Many in the church have turned to rituals as a way to seek salvation.
In the monastery, Martin Luther was driven to find acceptance with God through works. He wrote: “I tortured myself with prayer, fasting, vigils, and freezing; the frost alone might have killed me.”
Elsewhere he recalled: “When I was a monk, I wearied myself greatly for almost fifteen years with the daily sacrifice, tortured myself with fastings, vigils, prayers, and other very rigorous works.
I earnestly thought to acquire righteousness by my works.”
Later Luther would travel to Rome and ascended the Scala Sancta, supposedly the same steps Jesus climbed when he appeared before Pontius Pilate. Luther crawled up on his knees and kissed each step, saying the Lord’s Prayer at every step. When he arrived at the top, he said, “Who knows whether this is true?” It didn’t make him feel any closer to God.
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/fortress-truth-martin-luther
The temple does not bring us to God. Religion does not bring us to God. Ritual does not bring us to God.
The religious leaders at the time of Jesus performed many ceremonies at the temple but ignored the “Way, Truth, and Life” right in front of them (John 14:6).
God is not pleased by religious rituals and never has been. He wasn’t pleased when people brought sacrifices with their hearts far from Him.
Matthew 15:8-9 – ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
He wasn’t pleased with the rich people who made significant, public offerings to get praise from men.
But a rules-based approach to religion is not just a thing of the past. It is still common today.
It is popular for several reasons:
• Satan pushes this agenda as one way to keep people from having a real relationship with Christ.
• It makes sense to people. We like checklists. We like to-do lists. We like achieving things. We want to have a simple and easy-to-understand list of what a good Christian should do. It somehow makes sense to us.
• It appeals to our fallen nature. Some part of our nature thinks that we can make up for our sins, that we can somehow earn salvation. That is pride. We want to rely on ourselves instead of others. Telling people there is nothing you can do to earn salvation turns many away.
Every religion in the world, except for what we learn in the Bible, is about rules. When people make up a religion, they make up lots of rules because it seems to make sense.
This mentality often creeps into the church. Many unwritten or sometimes written rules are added to Scripture.
Here are some:
• Christians must tithe 10%.
• When the church doors are open, you should be there.
• Men should wear suits and ties to church (we have a rule that speakers should wear ties).
• Women should always wear dresses.
• King James Version is the only version Christians should use.
• Christians should not drink any alcohol.
• Real wine should be used for communion.
• Real wine should not be used for communion.
• Christians should not watch movies.
• You should not dance.
• Christmas is sacred. We should religiously celebrate it.
• Christmas is pagan. We should religiously avoid it.
• Christians should celebrate the Old Testament festivals like Passover, Feast of Trumpets, Feast of Booths, etc.
The list can go on and on. Are these rules good? Are they bad? Most of these are conscience issues, preference issues, or personal conviction issues. None of the rules above are actually listed in Scripture.
You need to come before the Lord and earnestly seek His guidance in forming your own convictions.
Our faith is about a relationship with Jesus, not rituals or rules. Celebrating an Old Testament festival can be very helpful for drawing close to Jesus and seeing Him foreshadowed in those Old Testament events. But we should not be legalistic about it or require others to make the same choice we do.
VI. Stephen rebukes the Sanhedrin (51-53)
Discussion Questions
• How did Stephen end his sermon?
• Do you think he had more planned or was he interrupted from finishing?
• Why did Stephen accuse them so strongly?
• How might his accusation have affected the trial and the coming verdict?
• Was it wise for Stephen to infuriate them at the risk of his own life?
• What character quality can you see in Stephen here?
• Why does he say that the law was delivered by angels?
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Stephen concludes his sermon with “you” –
Stephen had reviewed God’s work in Israel’s history. Now his message transitions to talking directly to the religious leaders. Remember that Stephen was in front of the Sanhedrin, the seventy judges on Israel’s leadership council.
He harshly accuses them of rebelling against God the same way their ancestors had repeatedly done. Just as their ancestors had killed the prophets, so they betrayed and murdered Jesus.
Every good preacher should talk directly to the people he is sharing with. A sermon should not just be facts for someone out there. But it should be directly relevant to the listeners. There should be a call to action to the audience.
A preacher friend told me to ask “So what?” about my own sermons. I should evaluate why I have said all the things I have. What difference does it make? What do I hope they will do with the information? The call to action is where life change is encouraged.
I believe that Stephen’s call to action was interrupted. Like Peter in Acts 2:38, Stephen would have called them to repent. However, they were enraged and rioted before he could finish.
2. Stephens’ boldness –
Proverbs 28:1 – The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Stephen was extremely bold. He held his own life in little regard compared to the opportunity to preach the truth to his leaders who desperately needed it. He was clearly a smart man. He had to have known that his sermon ending would enrage them and would make it unlikely that he would receive a positive verdict. Yet he pushed ahead out of love for his countrymen. He wanted to see them saved.
We see in Stephen a similar attitude to what Paul said in Romans 9:3.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Reflect – Would you have risked your life to rebuke the councilmen as Stephen did or instead live to fight another day?
VII. Stephen is stoned (54-60)
Discussion Questions
• What contrast do you see between the murders and Stephen?
• What does this passage show you about the power of the Holy Spirit?
• Why do you think God gave Stephen a vision of His throne room at that moment?
• What can you learn from Stephen’s last moments?
• What parallels are there between his death and Jesus’?
• Were these similarities a coincidence?
• What does Saul’s (later Paul) first appearance in Scripture show you about him?
• Short of being martyred, how can we follow Stephen’s example in our everyday lives?
Cross-References
Hebrews 1:3 – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Luke 23:46 – Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Luke 23:34 – And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. The contrast between Stephen and the mob – The religious leaders were supposed to be religious. They were supposed to be holy and godly. Their clothing would have been fancy and religious-looking. These were the top leaders in Israel, the very models of Scripture knowledge and spirituality.
But look at them. None of the fruit of the Spirit was present in them. Rage and hate filled their hearts. Pride blinded them to the truth. There was no decorum in this trial. It was a disgusting perversion of justice akin to a lynch mob from the 1900s. The ones with seemingly all the power had no security or peace. The murderers were the ones afraid.
Stephen stands in stark contrast. He is about to be murdered. But you do not sense any fear or panic (1 John 4:18). Neither is there any hatred for his attackers. He is filled with the supernatural peace that “passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:6). Stephen is the calm in the middle of the storm.
That is only possible because of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in him.
Application – What situations cause you to lose your cool? Unfair coworkers? Annoying drivers? Unruly children? During those moments, ask God to fill you with the peace and self-control to respond the right way, to be calm in the storm. If Stephen can be calm in the face of this mob, you can be calm when your children argue in the back seat of the car.
2. Stephen’s vision of Jesus – The Lord blesses Stephen with a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This vision would have surely been a huge comfort to Stephen right when he needed it. It reminded him that God was with him. God was faithful. He had not abandoned Stephen. Soon Stephen would be home with Him.
At the same time, it reminded Stephen that Jesus was even then actively interceding for him. Even now, Jesus is not passive in heaven. He is aware of our struggles and is petitioning the Father on our behalf.
Romans 8:34 – Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Application – Next time you face a grave difficulty, remember that Jesus is interceding for you. Let that thought give you the strength to persevere.
3. Stephen’s last words –
Acts 7:59-60 – And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Stephen is a model example of someone who finished well. He was the first martyr after Jesus. Future generations of the persecuted could look to Stephen for an example of how to face their persecutors with peace, boldness, and reliance upon the Lord.
Yet Stephen didn’t invent these responses. He took them right out of Jesus’ playbook.
Jesus told the Father, “Into your hands, I commit my spirit,” (Luke 23:46) and also proclaimed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34).
Stephen copied these expressions almost word for word. It wasn’t plagiarism. It was learning and following Jesus. A disciple of Jesus is supposed to follow His example. A disciple is a follower, an imitator. Stephen clearly knew how Jesus responded on the cross. He intentionally responded in the same way.
Thus Stephen was a very early implementor of the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) movement. Let us also regularly ask ourselves what Jesus would do in a given situation and do likewise.
Application – What is a challenging situation you are currently facing? It could be at work, school, or the family. Take some time to consider what Jesus might do in your situation. Can you go and do likewise?
4. Saul’s first appearance – The first time Saul (later Paul) appears in the Bible he is a willing accomplice to Stephen’s death. That makes him an accessory to murder. Luke records this because it highlights God’s grace in forgiving Paul as well as the transformation he will go through.
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