Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Acts
Book: Acts
Chapter: 7
Overview:
Stephen's defence.
(1-50) Stephen reproves the Jews for the
Death of
Christ.
(51-53) The martyrdom of
Stephen.
(54-60)
1-16 Stephen was charged as a blasphemer of
God, and an
apostate from the
Church; therefore he shows that he is a son of
Abraham, and values himself
On it. The slow steps
By which the
promise made to
Abraham advanced toward performance, plainly
show that it had a spiritual meaning, and that the land intended
was the heavenly.
God owned
Joseph in his troubles, and was with
him
By the power of his
Spirit, both
On his own mind
By giving
him comfort, and
On those he was concerned with,
By giving him
favour in their eyes.
Stephen reminds the Jews of their mean
beginning as a check to priding themselves in the glories of
that nation. Likewise of the wickedness of the patriarchs of
their tribes, in envying their
Brother Joseph; and the same
Spirit was still working in them toward
Christ and his
ministers. The
Faith of the patriarchs, in desiring to be buried
in the land of
Canaan, plainly showed they had regard to the
heavenly country. It is
Well to recur to the first rise of
usages, or sentiments, which have been perverted. Would we know
the nature and effects of justifying
Faith, we should study the
character of the
Father of the
Faithful. His
Calling shows the
power and freeness of Divine
Grace, and the nature of
Conversion. Here also we see that outward forms and distinctions
are as nothing, compared with separation from the world, and
devotedness to
God.
17-29 Let us not be discouraged at the slowness of the
fulfilling of
God's promises. Suffering times often are growing
times with the
Church.
God is preparing for his people's
deliverance, when their
Day is darkest, and their distress
deepest.
Moses was exceeding fair, "fair toward
God;" it is the
beauty of
Holiness which is in
God's sight of great price. He
was wonderfully preserved in his infancy; for
God will take
special care of those of whom he designs to make special use.
And did he thus protect the
Child Moses? Much more will he
secure the interests of his holy
Child Jesus, from the enemies
who are gathered together against him. They persecuted
Stephen
for disputing in defence of
Christ and his
Gospel: in opposition
to these they set up
Moses and his
Law. They may understand, if
they do not wilfully shut their eyes against the
Light, that
God
will,
By this
Jesus, deliver them out of a worse slavery than
that of
Egypt. Although men prolong their own miseries, yet the
Lord will take care of his servants, and effect his own designs
of
Mercy.
30-41 Men deceive themselves, if they think
God cannot do what
he sees to be good any where; he can bring his people into a
Wilderness, and there speak comfortably to them. He appeared to
Moses in a
Flame of Fire, yet the
Bush was not consumed; which
represented the state of
Israel in
Egypt, where, though they
were in the
Fire of affliction, yet they were not consumed. It
may also be looked upon as a
Type of
Christ's taking upon him
the nature of
Man, and the union between the Divine and human
nature. The
Death of
Abraham,
Isaac, and
Jacob, cannot break the
Covenant relation between
God and them. Our
Saviour By this
proves the future state, Mt 22:31.
Abraham is dead, yet
God is
still his
God, therefore
Abraham is still alive. Now, this is
that
Life and
Immortality which are brought to
Light By the
Gospel.
Stephen here shows that
Moses was an eminent
Type of
Christ, as he was
Israel's deliverer.
God has compassion for the
troubles of his
Church, and the groans of his persecuted people;
and their deliverance takes rise from his pity. And that
deliverance was typical of what
Christ did, when, for us men,
and for our
Salvation, he came down from
Heaven. This
Jesus,
whom they now refused, as their fathers did
Moses, even this
same has
God advanced to be a
Prince and
Saviour. It does not at
all take from the just honour of
Moses to say, that he was but
an instrument, and that he is infinitely outshone
By Jesus. In
asserting that
Jesus should change the customs of the ceremonial
Law,
Stephen was
So far from blaspheming
Moses, that really he
honoured him,
By showing how the
Prophecy of
Moses was come to
pass, which was
So clear.
God who gave them those customs
By his
servant
Moses, might,
No doubt, change the
Custom By his Son
Jesus. But
Israel thrust
Moses from them, and would have
returned to their
Bondage;
So men in general will not obey
Jesus, because they
Love this present evil world, and rejoice in
their own
Works and devices.
42-50 Stephen upbraids the Jews with the
Idolatry of their
fathers, to which
God gave them up as a
Punishment for their
early forsaking him. It was
No dishonour, but an honour to
God,
that the
Tabernacle gave way to the
Temple;
So it is now, that
the earthly
Temple gives way to the spiritual one; and
So it
will be when, at last, the spiritual shall give way to the
eternal one. The whole world is
God's
Temple, in which he is
every where present, and fills it with his
Glory; what occasion
has he then for a
Temple to manifest himself in? And these
things show his eternal power and
Godhead. But as
Heaven is his
Throne, and the
Earth his
Footstool,
So none of our services can
profit Him who made all things. Next to the human nature of
Christ, the broken and spiritual
Heart is his most valued
Temple.
51-53 Stephen was going
On, it seems, to show that the
Temple
and the
Temple service must come to an
End, and it would be the
Glory of both to give way to the
Worship of the
Father in
Spirit
and in
Truth; but he perceived they would not
Bear it. Therefore
he broke off, and
By the
Spirit of
Wisdom, courage, and power,
sharply rebuked his persecutors. When
Plain arguments and truths
provoke the opposers of the
Gospel, they should be shown their
guilt and danger. They, like their fathers, were stubborn and
wilful. There is that in our sinful hearts, which always resists
the
Holy Ghost, a
Flesh that lusts against the
Spirit, and wars
against his motions; but in the hearts of
God's elect, when the
Fulness of time comes, this resistance is overcome. The
Gospel
was offered now, not
By angels, but from the
Holy Ghost; yet
they did not embrace it, for they were resolved not to comply
with
God, either in his
Law or in his
Gospel. Their guilt stung
them to the
Heart, and they sought relief in murdering their
reprover, instead of sorrow and supplication for
Mercy.
54-60 Nothing is
So comfortable to dying saints, or
So
encouraging to suffering saints, as to see
Jesus at the right
Hand of
God: blessed be
God,
By Faith we may see him there.
Stephen offered up two short prayers in his dying moments. Our
Lord Jesus is
God, to whom we are to seek, and in whom we are to
trust and comfort ourselves, living and dying. And if this has
been our care while we live, it will be our comfort when we die.
Here is a
Prayer for his persecutors. Though the
Sin was very
great, yet if they would lay it to their hearts,
God would not
lay it to their charge.
Stephen died as much in a hurry as ever
any
Man did, yet, when he died, the words used are, he fell
asleep; he applied himself to his dying work with as much
composure as if he had been going to sleep. He shall awake again
in the morning of the resurrection, to be received into the
presence of the
Lord, where is
Fulness of joy, and to share the
pleasures that are at his right
Hand, for evermore.