Primary Scriptures: Acts 6-7
Story Summary: Stephen as one of the Seven; Stephen’s trial and death
Location: Roman Empire; Tetrarchy of Judea; Jerusalem
Time: 30 AD. Death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Pentecost. 32 AD (?) Trial and death of Stephen
For the first few years after Pentecost, the apostles and believers in Jerusalem continued to practice Judaism while teaching about Jesus. This allowed them to meet and teach in the synagogues and in the Temple, but as the early Church grew, so did the conflict between Christians and the Jewish leaders.
As the Christians became excluded from Jerusalem’s Jewish society, they began replicating the social services inherent in the Jewish culture, including the feeding of widows and orphans. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to help equitably distribute food and other services. This allowed the apostles to continue spending all of their time in preaching, teaching, and in prayer.
It is quite interesting that the apostles let the people choose among themselves who would be responsible for the food distribution. The people wisely chose men who were among those who felt mistreated.
Stephen’s preaching was so effective that the Jewish leaders put him on trial. Stephen began his defense by recounting the history of the Jews. His words were so articulate and accurate that they had no cause to argue against him. But when he compared them to their ancestors, the leaders exploded and had him put him to death. Apparently, something had changed since the trial of Jesus, when the leaders could not sentence Jesus to death. Whatever changed appears to have been permanent, since it inaugurated a wave of capital punishment by the leaders.
Eyewitness Bible Series
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