Atos 7
G. Campbell Morgan · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 7
Morgan - Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7.55 This attitude of the Lord arrests us. The New Testament references to Him as having entered the heavenlies describe Him as having sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Here He was seen by Stephen standing. The two figures of speech remind us of two aspects of His work on behalf of man. When He had made the one offering which provided perfect and plenteous redemption, He sat down. This is the attitude which speaks of the completion of His redemptive work. But that work is being continued in its administration through all His witnesses who have fellowship with Him in the fulness of the Spirit. They are making up that which is behindhand in His afflictions. His having completed His work does not mean that He is in any sense separated from them, or that they endure the Cross in loneliness. He is with them in sympathy and in service. Thus Stephen, having completed the testimony of life and speech, and being about to consummate and crown that witness in agony and death, saw the Lord standing. It was to him the assurance of his Lord's co-operation and fellowship. The result is seen in that Stephen passed as his Lord had passed, commending his spirit to his Lord, and praying for his murderers. For the assurance of my soul as to its salvation, I see Him seated at the Father's right hand. For the assurance of my soul in its service and suffering, I see Him standing. (Life Application from Every Chapter of the Bible). Acts 7:56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (NASB: Lockman) KJV Acts 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. I see Acts 10:11,16; Ezek 1:1; Mt 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:21; Rev 4:1; 11:19; 19:11 Son of Man Da 7:13,14; Mt 16:27,28; 25:31; 26:64,65; John 5:22-27 Acts 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SPECIAL REVELATION OF THE SAVIOR FOR STEPHEN! And he said, "Behold - Behold is idou is the second person singular aorist imperative middle voice Stephen calling on his executioners look for themselves. "Do it now! Don't delay!"
Atos 7
Morgan has an interesting comment that "“The fires…in the olden days never made martyrs; they revealed them. No hurricane of persecution ever creates martyrs; it reveals them. Stephen was a martyr before they stoned him. He was the first martyr to seal his testimony with his blood.” Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! - Normally we think of prayer "in His Name." While Jesus Himself instructed us to pray beginning with "Our Father," (Mt 6:9), we see here that prayer to Jesus Himself is not forbidden. Receive (1209)(dechomai = middle voice) means to be receptive to someone, to welcome, to accept, to show hospitality, to take a favorable attitude toward something. Stephen is asking Jesus to put the "welcome mat" out for him! What a great picture! Stephen's works recall his Lord's similar words And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.(Luke 23:46+) David's words would be apropos to Stephen... Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth. (Ps 31:5) As an aside clearly Stephen believes the moment he falls asleep, he will enter into eternal life in the presence of Jesus. He would have believed Paul's words we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:8+) There was no waiting in queue (a line of people waiting to see Jesus!) In a word, there is no such thing as the non-Biblical teaching of Purgatory nor of "Soul Sleep." Related Resources: What does the Bible say about Purgatory? What does the Bible say about soul sleep? What does it mean to be absent from the body? What happens after death? What does the Bible say about Limbo? Blind Chang - The Boxer Rebellion in China was the largest massacre of Protestant missionaries in history, with 188 adults and children being killed. Thirty thousand Chinese Christians also perished during the summer of 1900 at the hands of the Boxers. Among them was Chang Shen, the best known evangelist in Manchuria. Chang had been a notorious character prior to his conversion—a gambler, thief, and womanizer. At midlife he lost his eyesight, and neighbors considered it a judgment from God. Hearing of a missionary hospital in a distant area, Chang traveled hundreds of miles only to find all the beds full. The hospital chaplain kindly gave him his own bed, and over time, doctors partially restored Chang’s vision. In the process they introduced him to Jesus Christ. When Chang asked for baptism, missionary James Webster told him, “Go home and tell your neighbors you have changed. I’ll visit you later, and if you are still following Jesus, I will baptize you.” When Webster arrived in Chang’s village five months later, he found hundreds of inquirers. Chang’s eyesight didn’t last, but his evangelistic zeal did. He traveled from village to village, winning hundreds to Christ. Missionaries followed in his wake, baptizing and organizing churches of the converts he had won. When he was finally arrested by the Boxers, he was put in an open cart and driven to a nearby graveyard while singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know. …” At the cemetery, he was shoved into a kneeling position. Three times he uttered the words of Stephen, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then the sword sliced through his neck like a knife through butter. The Boxers were so deeply shaken by Chang’s quiet authority that they had his body drenched in oil and burned, so as to prevent, they thought, his resurrection. But still apprehensive, they retreated from the area altogether, thus saving other Christians from being butchered to death. (Robert Morgan - From this Verse) David Reed - Acts 7:59–60 Jehovah’s Witnesses never address Jesus in prayer. They have been taught that their prayers must be directed only to the Father and that they must call him “Jehovah.” If a Witness were overheard praying to Jesus, he would be put on trial by a judicial committee and would be disfellowshiped unless he repented of his “sin.” But the Scripture passage above clearly shows Stephen praying to Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. (The JW Bible changes “Lord” in v. 60 to “Jehovah,” but v. 59 still says “Jesus.”) A Witness may try to claim that Stephen was not praying to Jesus; he was merely speaking to him face to face, because he saw him in a vision. In that case, ask the JW to read the context. The vision in verse 56 took place when Stephen was in Jerusalem, standing trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin court. When he told the Jews that he saw a vision of Christ in heaven at the right hand of the Father, they were filled with fury. They ended the trial, dragged Stephen out of the court chamber, led him through the city streets, took him all the way out of the city (v. 57), and then stoned him. This naturally took a considerable amount of time. There is no indication that Stephen’s vision as repeated again outside the city at the time of his stoning. Rather, he was, as the Scripture states, praying to Jesus. (Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse) Acts 7:60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep. (NASB: Lockman) KJV Acts 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. falling on his knees Acts 9:40; 20:36; 21:5; Ezra 9:5; Da 6:10; Luke 22:41 Lord Mt 5:44; Luke 6:28; 23:34; Ro 12:14-21 fell asleep Acts 13:36; 1 Cor 11:30; 15:6,18,20,51; 1 Th 4:13,14; 5:10 Acts 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DYING WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT Then falling on his knees - Literally placing his knees on the ground (common idiom by Luke - (Lk 22:41; Acts 7:60; 9:40; 22:36; 21:5). This change of posture suggests Stephen must have been standing, which is surprising and amazing as he is already being pounded with stones! I like A T Robertson's thought that "Jesus was standing at the right hand of God and Stephen knelt before him in worship and called on him in prayer." He cried out with a loud voice - This small detail is amazing. He is being stoned and yet the Spirit of God empowers him to cry out with a loud voice (megas phones ~ like a "megaphone"!). It is no coincidence that the same verb (krazo) is used of the last words of Jesus from the Cross And Jesus cried out (krazo) again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (Mt 27:50) Lord, do not hold this sin against them! - Literally "Place not to them or against them this sin." or "fix not this sin upon them." This is Stephen's second prayer. As an aside it is always worth being at the beside of a godly person when they die as you will likely hear words of utmost wisdom and truth. And here Stephen shows us that he reserves his last breaths for prayer! Does this have any significance in regard to the priority of prayer for us who have more than a last breath left? I'll leave that one for you to answer for yourself! David