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■ 사도행전 7장
1. 대제사장이 가로되 이것이 사실이냐
Then said the high priest , Are these things so ?
2. 스데반이 가로되 여러분 부형들이여 들으소서 우리 조상 아브라함이 하란에 있기 전 메소보다미아에 있을 때에 영광의 하나님이 그에게 보여
And he said , Men , brethren , and fathers , hearken ; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham , when he was in Mesopotamia , before he dwelt in Charran ,
3. 가라사대 네 고향과 친척을 떠나 내가 네게 보일 땅으로 가라 하시니
And said unto him , Get thee out of thy country , and from thy kindred , and come into the land which I shall shew thee .
4. 아브라함이 갈대아 사람의 땅을 떠나 하란에 거하다가 그 아비가 죽으매 하나님이 그를 거기서 너희 시방 거하는 이 땅으로 옮기셨느니라
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans , and dwelt in Charran : and from thence , when his father was dead , he removed him into this land , wherein ye now dwell .
5. 그러나 여기서 발 붙일 만큼도 유업을 주지 아니하시고 다만 이 땅을 아직 자식도 없는 저와 저의 씨에게 소유로 주신다고 약속하셨으며
And he gave him none inheritance in it , no, not so much as to set his foot on : yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession , and to his seed after him , when as yet he had no child .
6. 하나님이 또 이같이 말씀하시되 그 씨가 다른 땅에 나그네 되리니 그 땅 사람이 종을 삼아 사백 년 동안을 괴롭게 하리라 하시고
And God spake on this wise , That his seed should sojourn in a strange land ; and that they should bring them into bondage , and entreat them evil four hundred years .
7. 또 가라사대 종 삼는 나라를 내가 심판하리니 그 후에 저희가 나와서 이곳에서 나를 섬기리라 하시고
And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge , said God : and after that shall they come forth , and serve me in this place .
8. 할례의 언약을 아브라함에게 주셨더니 그가 이삭을 낳아 여드레만에 할례를 행하고 이삭이 야곱을, 야곱이 우리 열두 조상을 낳으니
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision : and so Abraham begat Isaac , and circumcised him the eighth day ; and Isaac begat Jacob ; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs .
9. 여러 조상이 요셉을 시기하여 애굽에 팔았더니 하나님이 저와 함께 계셔
And the patriarchs , moved with envy , sold Joseph into Egypt : but God was with him ,
10. 그 모든 환난에서 건져내사 애굽 왕 바로 앞에서 은총과 지혜를 주시매 바로가 저를 애굽과 자기 온 집의 치리자로 세웠느니라
And delivered him out of all his afflictions , and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt ; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house .
11. 그 때에 애굽과 가나안 온 땅에 흉년 들어 큰 환난이 있을새 우리 조상들이 양식이 없는지라
Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan , and great affliction : and our fathers found no sustenance .
12. 야곱이 애굽에 곡식 있다는 말을 듣고 먼저 우리 조상들을 보내고
But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt , he sent out our fathers first .
13. 또 재차 보내매 요셉이 자기 형제들에게 알게 되고 또 요셉의 친족이 바로에게 드러나게 되니라
And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren ; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh .
14. 요셉이 보내어 그 부친 야곱과 온 친족 일흔다섯 사람을 청하였더니
Then sent Joseph , and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred , threescore and fifteen souls .
15. 야곱이 애굽으로 내려가 자기와 우리 조상들이 거기서 죽고
So Jacob went down into Egypt , and died , he , and our fathers ,
16. 세겜으로 옮기워 아브라함이 세겜 하몰의 자손에게서 은으로 값주고 산 무덤에 장사되니라
And were carried over into Sychem , and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem .
17. 하나님이 아브라함에게 약속하신 때가 가까우매 이스라엘 백성이 애굽에서 번성하여 많아졌더니
But when the time of the promise drew nigh , which God had sworn to Abraham , the people grew and multiplied in Egypt ,
18. 요셉을 알지 못하는 새 임금이 애굽 왕위에 오르매
Till another king arose , which knew not Joseph .
19. 그가 우리 족속에게 궤계를 써서 조상들을 괴롭게 하여 그 어린 아이들을 내어버려 살지 못하게 하려 할새
The same dealt subtilly with our kindred , and evil entreated our fathers , so that they cast out their young children , to the end they might not live .
20. 그 때에 모세가 났는데 하나님 보시기에 아름다운지라 그 부친의 집에서 석 달을 길리우더니
In which time Moses was born , and was exceeding fair , and nourished up in his father’s house three months :
21. 버리운 후에 바로의 딸이 가져다가 자기 아들로 기르매
And when he was cast out , Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son .
22. 모세가 애굽 사람의 학술을 다 배워 그 말과 행사가 능하더라
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians , and was mighty in words and in deeds .
23. 나이 사십이 되매 그 형제 이스라엘 자손을 돌아볼 생각이 나더니
And when he was full forty years old , it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel .
24. 한 사람의 원통한 일 당함을 보고 보호하여 압제 받는 자를 위하여 원수를 갚아 애굽 사람을 쳐 죽이니라
And seeing one of them suffer wrong , he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed , and smote the Egyptian :
25. 저는 그 형제들이 하나님께서 자기의 손을 빌어 구원하여 주시는 것을 깨달으리라고 생각하였으나 저희가 깨닫지 못하였더라
For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them : but they understood not .
26. 이튿날 이스라엘 사람이 싸울 때에 모세가 와서 화목시키려 하여 가로되 너희는 형제라 어찌 서로 해하느냐 하니
And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove , and would have set them at one again , saying , Sirs , ye are brethren ; why do ye wrong one to another ?
27. 그 동무를 해하는 사람이 모세를 밀뜨려 가로되 누가 너를 관원과 재판장으로 우리 위에 세웠느냐
But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away , saying , Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us ?
28. 네가 어제 애굽 사람을 죽임과 같이 또 나를 죽이려느냐 하니
Wilt thou kill me , as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday ?
29. 모세가 이 말을 인하여 도주하여 미디안 땅에서 나그네 되어 거기서 아들 둘을 낳으니라
Then fled Moses at this saying , and was a stranger in the land of Madian , where he begat two sons .
30. 사십 년이 차매 천사가 시내 산 광야 가시나무 떨기 불꽃 가운데서 그에게 보이거늘
And when forty years were expired , there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush .
31. 모세가 이 광경을 보고 기이히 여겨 알아보려고 가까이 가니 주의 소리 있어
When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight : and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him ,
32. 나는 네 조상의 하나님 즉 아브라함과 이삭과 야곱의 하나님이로라 하신대 모세가 무서워 감히 알아보지 못하더라
Saying, I am the God of thy fathers , the God of Abraham , and the God of Isaac , and the God of Jacob . Then Moses trembled , and durst not behold .
33. 주께서 가라사대 네 발에 신을 벗으라 너 섰는 곳은 거룩한 땅이니라
Then said the Lord to him , Put off thy shoes from thy feet : for the place where thou standest is holy ground .
34. 내 백성이 애굽에서 괴로움 받음을 내가 정녕히 보고 그 탄식하는 소리를 듣고 저희를 구원하려고 내려왔노니 시방 내가 너를 애굽으로 보내리라 하시니라
I have seen , I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt , and I have heard their groaning , and am come down to deliver them . And now come , I will send thee into Egypt .
35. 저희 말이 누가 너를 관원과 재판장으로 세웠느냐 하며 거절하던 그 모세를 하나님은 가시나무 떨기 가운데서 보이던 천사의 손을 의탁하여 관원과 속량하는 자로 보내셨으니
This Moses whom they refused , saying , Who made thee a ruler and a judge ? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush .
36. 이 사람이 백성을 인도하여 나오게 하고 애굽과 홍해와 광야에서 사십 년간 기사와 표적을 행하였느니라
He brought them out , after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt , and in the Red sea , and in the wilderness forty years .
37. 이스라엘 자손을 대하여 하나님이 너희 형제 가운데서 나와 같은 선지자를 세우리라 하던 자가 곧 이 모세라
This is that Moses , which said unto the children of Israel , A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren , like unto me ; him shall ye hear .
38. 시내 산에서 말하던 그 천사와 및 우리 조상들과 함께 광야 교회에 있었고 또 생명의 도를 받아 우리에게 주던 자가 이 사람이라
This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina , and with our fathers : who received the lively oracles to give unto us :
39. 우리 조상들이 모세에게 복종치 아니하고자 하여 거절하며 그 마음이 도리어 애굽으로 행하여
To whom our fathers would not obey , but thrust him from them , and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt ,
40. 아론더러 이르되 우리를 인도할 신들을 우리를 위하여 만들라 애굽 땅에서 우리를 인도하던 이 모세는 어떻게 되었는지 알지 못하노라 하고
Saying unto Aaron , Make us gods to go before us : for as for this Moses , which brought us out of the land of Egypt , we wot not what is become of him .
41. 그 때에 저희가 송아지를 만들어 그 우상 앞에 제사하며 자기 손으로 만든 것을 기뻐하더니
And they made a calf in those days , and offered sacrifice unto the idol , and rejoiced in the works of their own hands .
42. 하나님이 돌이키사 저희를 그 하늘의 군대 섬기는 일에 버려 두셨으니 이는 선지자의 책에 기록된 바 이스라엘의 집이여 사십 년을 광야에서 너희가 희생과 제물을 내게 드린 일이 있었느냐
Then God turned , and gave them up to worship the host of heaven ; as it is written in the book of the prophets , O ye house of Israel , have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness ?
43. 몰록의 장막과 신 레판의 별을 받들었음이여 이것은 너희가 절하고자 하여 만든 형상이로다 내가 너희를 바벨론 밖에 옮기리라 함과 같으니라
Yea , ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch , and the star of your god Remphan , figures which ye made to worship them : and I will carry you away beyond Babylon .
44. 광야에서 우리 조상들에게 증거의 장막이 있었으니 이것은 모세에게 말씀하신 이가 명하사 저가 본 그 식대로 만들게 하신 것이라
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness , as he had appointed , speaking unto Moses , that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen .
45. 우리 조상들이 그것을 받아 하나님이 저희 앞에서 쫓아내신 이방인의 땅을 점령할 때에 여호수아와 함께 가지고 들어가사 다윗 때까지 이르니라
Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles , whom God drave out before the face of our fathers , unto the days of David ;
46. 다윗이 하나님 앞에서 은혜를 받아 야곱의 집을 위하여 하나님의 처소를 준비케 하여 달라 하더니
Who found favour before God , and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob .
47. 솔로몬이 그를 위하여 집을 지었느니라
But Solomon built him an house .
48. 그러나 지극히 높으신 이는 손으로 지은 곳에 계시지 아니하시나니 선지자의 말한 바
Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands ; as saith the prophet ,
49. 주께서 가라사대 하늘은 나의 보좌요 땅은 나의 발등상이니 너희가 나를 위하여 무슨 집을 짓겠으며 나의 안식할 처소가 어디뇨
Heaven is my throne , and earth is my footstool : what house will ye build me ? saith the Lord : or what is the place of my rest ?
50. 이 모든 것이 다 내 손으로 지은 것이 아니냐 함과 같으니라
Hath not my hand made all these things ?
51. 목이 곧고 마음과 귀에 할례를 받지 못한 사람들아 너희가 항상 성령을 거스려 너희 조상과 같이 너희도 하는도다
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears , ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do ye .
52. 너희 조상들은 선지자 중에 누구를 핍박지 아니하였느냐 의인이 오시리라 예고한 자들을 저희가 죽였고 이제 너희는 그 의인을 잡아준 자요 살인한 자가 되나니
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted ? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One ; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers :
53. 너희가 천사의 전한 율법을 받고도 지키지 아니하였도다 하니라
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels , and have not kept it.
54. 저희가 이 말을 듣고 마음에 찔려 저를 향하여 이를 갈거늘
When they heard these things , they were cut to the heart , and they gnashed on him with their teeth .
55. 스데반이 성령이 충만하여 하늘을 우러러 주목하여 하나님의 영광과 및 예수께서 하나님 우편에 서신 것을 보고
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost , looked up stedfastly into heaven , and saw the glory of God , and Jesus standing on the right hand of God ,
56. 말하되 보라 하늘이 열리고 인자가 하나님 우편에 서신 것을 보노라 한대
And said , Behold , I see the heavens opened , and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God .
57. 저희가 큰 소리를 지르며 귀를 막고 일심으로 그에게 달려들어
Then they cried out with a loud voice , and stopped their ears , and ran upon him with one accord ,
58. 성 밖에 내치고 돌로 칠새 증인들이 옷을 벗어 사울이라 하는 청년의 발 앞에 두니라
And cast him out of the city , and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet , whose name was Saul .
59. 저희가 돌로 스데반을 치니 스데반이 부르짖어 가로되 주 예수여 내 영혼을 받으시옵소서 하고
And they stoned Stephen , calling upon God, and saying , Lord Jesus , receive my spirit .
60. 무릎을 꿇고 크게 불러 가로되 주여 이 죄를 저들에게 돌리지 마옵소서 이 말을 하고 자니라
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 .
■ 주석 보기
【행7:1 JFB】행7:1-60. Defense and Martyrdom of Stephen.
In this long defense Stephen takes a much wider range, and goes less directly into the point raised by his accusers, than we should have expected. His object seems to have been to show (1) that so far from disparaging, he deeply reverenced, and was intimately conversant with, the whole history of the ancient economy; and (2) that in resisting the erection of the Gospel kingdom they were but treading in their fathers' footsteps, the whole history of their nation being little else than one continued misapprehension of God's high designs towards fallen man and rebellion against them.
【행7:1 CWC】The Church was being blessed and multiplied but the conditions were not perfect. The flesh was asserting itself. Verse 1 carries us back to the close of chapter 4, and we see that the charity which led to hypocrisy there, led to "murmuring" here. "Grecians" should be translated "Grecian Jews" to distinguish them from the native born. The apostles who had been distributing the alms could do so no longer, and hence the institution of the office of "deacon" (v. 5), after the Greek of "serve tables" (v. 2). (It is an interesting fact that their names are all Greek.) Note in passing, the exalted nature of the Christian ministry (v. 4), the high qualifications of those who even should carry on the secondary work of that ministry (v. 3), the democratic nature of the church assembly, and yet the respect for order and authority (v. 6). The whole multitude selected the deacons, but the Apostles ordained them. Note also the direction in which the truth of the gospel was now advancing (v. 7).
The above leads up to the personal history of Stephen, whose ministry was not limited to that of an almoner, and who was endued with miraculous power (v. 8). Verse 9 is explained by the fact that in addition to the Temple in Jerusalem there were many synagogues, where the Jews from different countries assembled according to local preferences. (The "Libertines" were Jews from Rome). "The servant is not greater than his Master," and if false witnesses caused the death of the One, the other need not expect different treatment (vv. 11-14), but the Master has not forsaken His servant (v. 15).
The defense of Stephen before the Sanhedrin (c. 7) is a historical address carrying his hearers through the glory of God's dealings with Israel from the call of Abraham to the building of Solomon's Temple, special emphasis being laid on Joseph and Moses who were remarkable types of Christ (vv. 2-50). One instinctively feels that he was proceeding to a climax in his witness to Christ and the resurrection, when he was diverted by the gathering opposition of his hearers, and broke off in the language of rebuke at verses 51-53. Their fury vented itself upon him at this time (vv. 54, 57, 58); but he was marvellously sustained, and had a marvellous testimony to bear of what he saw, which enabled him, as his Saviour before him, to pray for the forgiveness of his murderers with his last breath.
A comparison of Stephen's words with the Old Testament records show certain variations, but the Holy Spirit through him may have been adding details to that record. On the other hand, Stephen was a Grecian Jew, using doubtless the Septuagint or Greek translation of the Old 'Testament, which would explain some things.
Note in verse 55 the first manifestation of the glorified Christ on record. Note in verse 58 the illegality of Stephen's judges when compared with 요18:31. And in the same verse the presence of Saul, who, in a sense, owed his conversion to this scene, and of whom we are soon to learn more. (cf. 22:20.)
The second offer of the kingdom to Israel is brought to an end here, and in our next lesson we enter on the transition period through which the story of the Church passes out of the Jewish into its Gentile stage.
Note in closing, that the name "Jesus" (v. 45 ), should be rendered as in the R. V. "Joshua," the two in the original being the same.
【행7:1 MHCC】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.
【행7:2 JFB】2-5. The God of glory—A magnificent appellation, fitted at the very outset to rivet the devout attention of his audience; denoting not that visible glory which attended many of the divine manifestations, but the glory of those manifestations themselves, of which this was regarded by every Jew as the fundamental one. It is the glory of absolutely free grace.
appeared unto our father Abraham before he dwelt in Charran, and said, &c.—Though this first call is not expressly recorded in Genesis, it is clearly implied in 창15:7 and 느9:7; and the Jewish writers speak the same language.
【행7:4 JFB】4. when his father was dead, he removed into this land—Though Abraham was in Canaan before Terah's death, his settlement in it as the land of promise is here said to be after it, as being in no way dependent on the family movement, but a transaction purely between Jehovah and Abraham himself.
【행7:6 JFB】6-8. four hundred years—using round numbers, as in 창15:13, 16 (see on 갈3:17).
【행7:7 JFB】7. after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place—Here the promise to Abraham (창15:16), and that to Moses (출3:12), are combined; Stephen's object being merely to give a rapid summary of the leading facts.
【행7:8 JFB】8. the covenant of circumcision—that is, the covenant of which circumcision was the token.
and so—that is, according to the terms of this covenant, on which Paul reasons (갈3:1-26).
the twelve patriarchs—so called as the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
【행7:9 JFB】9-16. the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him—Here Stephen gives his first example of Israel's opposition to God's purposes, in spite of which and by means of which those purposes were accomplished.
【행7:14 JFB】14. threescore and fifteen souls—according to the Septuagint version of 창46:27, which Stephen follows, including the five children and grandchildren of Joseph's two sons.
【행7:17 JFB】17. But when—rather, "as."
the time of the promise—that is, for its fulfilment.
the people grew and multiplied in Egypt—For more than two hundred years they amounted to no more than seventy-five souls; how prodigious, then, must have been their multiplication during the latter two centuries, when six hundred thousand men, fit for war, besides women and children, left Egypt!
【행7:17 MHCC】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.
【행7:20 JFB】20-22. In which time—of deepest depression.
Moses was born—the destined deliverer.
exceeding fair—literally, "fair to God" (Margin), or, perhaps, divinely "fair" (see on 히11:23).
【행7:22 JFB】22. mighty in words—Though defective in utterance (출4:10); his recorded speeches fully bear out what is here said.
and deeds—referring probably to unrecorded circumstances in his early life. If we are to believe Josephus, his ability was acknowledged ere he left Egypt.
【행7:23 JFB】23-27. In 행7:23, 30, 36, the life of Moses is represented as embracing three periods, of forty years each; the Jewish writers say the same; and though this is not expressly stated in the Old Testament, his age at death, one hundred twenty years (신34:7), agrees with it.
it came into his heart to visit his brethren—his heart yearning with love to them as God's chosen people, and heaving with the consciousness of a divine vocation to set them free.
【행7:24 JFB】24. avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian—going farther in the heat of his indignation than he probably intended.
【행7:25 JFB】25. For he supposed his brethren would have understood, &c.—and perhaps imagined this a suitable occasion for rousing and rallying them under him as their leader; thus anticipating his work, and so running unsent.
but they understood not—Reckoning on a spirit in them congenial with his own, he had the mortification to find it far otherwise. This furnishes to Stephen another example of Israel's slowness to apprehend and fall in with the divine purposes of love.
【행7:26 JFB】26. next day he showed himself unto them as they strove—Here, not an Israelite and an Egyptian, but two parties in Israel itself, are in collision with each other; Moses, grieved at the spectacle, interposes as a mediator; but his interference, as unauthorized, is resented by the party in the wrong, whom Stephen identifies with the mass of the nation (행7:35), just as Messiah's own interposition had been spurned.
【행7:28 JFB】28, 29. Wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?—Moses had thought the deed unseen (출2:12), but it now appeared he was mistaken.
【행7:29 JFB】29. Then fled Moses, &c.—for "when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses" (출2:15).
【행7:30 JFB】30-34. an angel of the Lord—rather, "the Angel of the Covenant," who immediately calls Himself Jehovah (Compare 행7:38).
【행7:30 MHCC】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, 마22:31. 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.
【행7:35 JFB】35-41. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge, &c.—Here, again, "the stone which the builders refused is made the head of the corner" (시118:22).
【행7:37 JFB】37. This is that Moses which said … A prophet … him shall ye hear—This is quoted to remind his Moses-worshipping audience of the grand testimony of their faithful lawgiver, that he himself was not the last and proper object of the Church's faith, but only a humble precursor and small model of Him to whom their absolute submission was due.
【행7:38 JFB】38. in the church—the collective body of God's chosen people; hence used to denote the whole body of the faithful under the Gospel, or particular sections of them.
This is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with the angel … and with our fathers—alike near to the Angel of the Covenant, from whom he received all the institutions of the ancient economy, and to the people, to whom he faithfully reported the living oracles and among whom he set up the prescribed institutions. By this high testimony to Moses, Stephen rebuts the main charge for which he was on trial.
【행7:39 JFB】39. To whom our fathers would not obey, &c.—Here he shows that the deepest dishonor done to Moses came from the nation that now professed the greatest jealousy for his honor.
in their hearts turned back … into Egypt—"In this Stephen would have his hearers read the downward career on which they were themselves entering."
【행7:42 JFB】42-50. gave them up—judicially.
as … written in the book of the prophets—the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from 암5:25.
have ye offered to me … sacrifices?—The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
【행7:42 MHCC】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.
【행7:43 JFB】43. Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Molech, &c.—Two kinds of idolatry are charged upon the Israelites: that of the golden calf and that of the heavenly bodies; Molech and Remphan being deities, representing apparently the divine powers ascribed to nature, under different aspects.
carry you beyond Babylon—the well-known region of the captivity of Judah; while "Damascus" is used by the prophet (암5:27), whither the ten tribes were carried.
【행7:44 JFB】44. Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness—which aggravated the guilt of that idolatry in which they indulged, with the tokens of the divine presence constantly in the midst of them.
【행7:45 JFB】45. which … our fathers that came after—rather, "having received it by succession" (Margin), that is, the custody of the tabernacle from their ancestors.
brought in with Jesus—or Joshua.
into the possession—rather, "at the taking possession of [the territory of] the Gentiles."
unto the days of David—for till then Jerusalem continued in the hands of the Jebusites. But Stephen's object in mentioning David is to hasten from the tabernacle which he set up, to the temple which his son built, in Jerusalem; and this only to show, from their own Scripture (사66:1, 2), that even that temple, magnificent though it was, was not the proper resting-place of Jehovah upon earth; as his audience and the nations had all along been prone to imagine. (What that resting-place was, even "the contrite heart, that trembleth at God's word," he leaves to be gathered from the prophet referred to).
【행7:51 JFB】51-53. Ye stiffnecked … ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, &c.—It has been thought that symptoms of impatience and irritation in the audience induced Stephen to cut short his historical sketch. But as little farther light could have been thrown upon Israel's obstinacy from subsequent periods of the national history on the testimony of their own Scriptures, we should view this as the summing up, the brief import of the whole Israelitish history—grossness of heart, spiritual deafness, continuous resistance of the Holy Ghost, down to the very council before whom Stephen was pleading.
【행7:51 MHCC】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.
【행7:52 JFB】52. Which of, &c.—Deadly hostility to the messengers of God, whose high office it was to tell of "the Righteous One," that well-known prophetic title of Messiah (사53:11; 렘23:6, &c.), and this consummated by the betrayal and murder of Messiah Himself, on the part of those now sitting in judgment on the speaker, are the still darker features of the national character depicted in these withering words.
【행7:53 JFB】53. Who have received the law by the disposition—"at the appointment" or "ordination," that is, by the ministry.
of angels, and have not kept it—This closing word is designed to shut up those idolizers of the law under the guilt of high disobedience to it, aggravated by the august manner in which they had received it.
【행7:54 JFB】54-56. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, &c.—If they could have answered him, how different would have been their temper of mind!
【행7:54 MHCC】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.
【행7:55 JFB】55. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God—You who can transfer to canvas such scenes as these, in which the rage of hell grins horribly from men, as they sit condemned by a frail prisoner of their own, and see heaven beaming from his countenance and opening full upon his view—I envy you, for I find no words to paint what, in the majesty of the divine text, is here so simply told. "But how could Stephen, in the council-chamber, see heaven at all? I suppose this question never occurred but to critics of narrow soul, one of whom [Meyer] conjectures that he saw it through the window! and another, of better mould, that the scene lay in one of the courts of the temple" [Alford]. As the sight was witnessed by Stephen alone, the opened heavens are to be viewed as revealed to his bright beaming spirit.
and Jesus standing on the right hand of God—Why "standing," and not sitting, the posture in which the glorified Saviour is elsewhere represented? Clearly, to express the eager interest with which He watched from the skies the scene in that council chamber, and the full tide of His Spirit which He was at that moment engaged in pouring into the heart of His heroical witness, till it beamed in radiance from his very countenance.
【행7:56 JFB】56. I see … the Son of man standing, &c.—This is the only time that our Lord is by human lips called THE Son of Man after His ascension (계1:13; 14:14 are not instances). And why here? Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, speaking now not of himself at all (행7:55), but entirely by the Spirit, is led to repeat the very words in which Jesus Himself, before this same council, had foretold His glorification (마26:64), assuring them that that exaltation of the Son of Man which they should hereafter witness to their dismay, was already begun and actual [Alford].
【행7:57 JFB】57, 58. Then they cried out … and ran upon him with one accord—To men of their mould and in their temper, Stephen's last seraphic words could but bring matters to extremities, though that only revealed the diabolical spirit which they breathed.
【행7:58 JFB】58. cast him out of the city—according to 레24:14; 민15:35; 왕상21:13; and see 히13:12.
and stoned—"proceeded to stone" him. The actual stoning is recorded in 행7:59.
and the witnesses—whose hands were to be first upon the criminal (신17:7).
laid down their clothes—their loose outer garments, to have them taken charge of.
at a young man's feet whose name was Saul—How thrilling is this our first introduction to one to whom Christianity—whether as developed in the New Testament or as established in the world—owes more perhaps than to all the other apostles together! Here he is, having perhaps already a seat in the Sanhedrim, some thirty years of age, in the thick of this tumultuous murder of a distinguished witness for Christ, not only "consenting unto his death" (행8:1), but doing his own part of the dark deed.
【행7:59 JFB】59, 60. calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, &c.—An unhappy supplement of our translators is the word "God" here; as if, while addressing the Son, he was really calling upon the Father. The sense is perfectly clear without any supplement at all—"calling upon [invoking] and saying, Lord Jesus"; Christ being the Person directly invoked and addressed by name (compare 행9:14). Even Grotius, De Wette, Meyer, &c., admit this, adding several other examples of direct prayer to Christ; and Pliny, in his well-known letter to the Emperor Trajan (A.D. 110 or 111), says it was part of the regular Christian service to sing, in alternate strains, a hymn to Christ as God.
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit—In presenting to Jesus the identical prayer which He Himself had on the cross offered to His Father, Stephen renders to his glorified Lord absolute divine worship, in the most sublime form, and at the most solemn moment of his life. In this commitment of his spirit to Jesus, Paul afterwards followed his footsteps with a calm, exultant confidence that with Him it was safe for eternity (딤후1:12).
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