The Climax of Jewish Opposition - Stephen's Defense, Part One

Like his Master before him, Stephen was presented before the Sanhedrin and ordered to give an account for the charge that he was speaking against Moses, the Law and the holy place. Stephen's response was to rehearse Israel's history with his accusers, not to defend or exonerate himself, but to confront them with their own unbelief. Israel's rulers and elders - not Jesus or His followers - were the ones who were guilty of opposing Moses, the Law and the sanctuary: They opposed them, not by attempting to overthrow them and their authority (as they accused Stephen of doing), but by seeking to preserve them intact. Stephen's defense highlights the crucial truth that now, in the "fullness of the times," blasphemy consists in the refusal to acknowledge the fulfillment and transformation of all things in Jesus the Messiah and embrace Him in faith.