How We Got Here

Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Stephen's speech undoubtedly holds a key place in the text of Acts. It is the longest speech in the book, and thus Luke thought it was important. But what's important about it? How do we understand this speech? Well, it is a record of how we got here. It tells the pre-history of Christ's reign, and especially seeks to defend the change from Levitical Judaism to Apostolic Christianity. Stephen seeks to vindicate Christ's right to destroy the temple and to change the Mosaic customs. In so doing, of course, he is vindicating the reign of Christ in its present, Christian form by linking it to Christ's reign in the past.