Okay, I admit it. Acts 7 is my LEAST favorite chapter of the whole book. Almost the whole thing is a recital of Stephen’s first – and last – sermon. It’s not even an exciting sermon. Instead, he starts with Moses and the exodus and paints a sketchy history of Israel through the reign of Solomon. And then, without any explanation, he launches into an attack on the Sanhedrin. The attack is so sudden I sometimes wonder if he’d lost a page out of his sermon manuscript because there is no transition whatsoever: history > attack. If he wanted to arrange his own stoning, I’m not sure he could have done it more effectively.
If I had to choose something that intrigued me about this passage, I think it’s about the content of preaching. When Peter preached his two great sermons, both were sprinkled with his witness … “This is what we witnessed.” But Stephen doesn’t do any of that. He doesn’t witness at all. Instead, he essentially uses the pulpit and the scriptures as a weapon against those who refuse to believe. Since the scriptures tell us that Stephen was a man filled with the Holy Spirit, I would probably have to conclude that he was led to say what he said. On the other hand, there’s something about Jesus’ command to be a witness, that is to share your personal experience, that it almost seems Stephen didn’t get … and the results between Peter’s sermon and Stephen’s sermon are striking.
Ultimately, it’s one thing to share what you know about God, the Bible, and the stories of scripture. Theology has its place. But the fact is, you don’t have to know anything about the Bible to be able to share your personal experience with Jesus.
What’s been your experience with Jesus this week? How would you share it if someone asked?
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