When the Jews in Jerusalem couldn’t refute Stephen’s truth, they turned to manipulation instead of repentance. Acts 6:9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.
11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.
13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” [1]
If You Can’t Beat Him, Get Rid of Him
Stephen’s opponents designed the lies against him to be highly inflammatory in the high council. The Jewish leadership held Moses and the Temple in high regard and would defend both vigorously. The opponents had to twist Stephen’s words and take them out of context to create these lies.
The true word of God cuts and can be uncomfortable to hear. Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.[2]
This high council was the same group of leaders who had ordered the death sentence for Jesus. They treated Stephen the same way. First, there were lies and hired false witnesses. Then, a stirring of emotions turned the council into what we would call a lynch mob.
Choose to Repent
The inconvenient truth of Stephen was standing right in front of them, but they were not about to change their theology. They didn’t want to be bothered with the truth or accountable to God. These men continued to look down instead of up to God. They refused to repent and chose to rid themselves of an uncomfortable truth.
God has given us free will to choose to follow Him and does not override it. Jesus gives us insight. Revelation 3: 20 Look! I (Jesus) stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.[3] He desires that we would open the door of our hearts to him. The Jewish leadership said no to Stephen and his truth about Jesus. But we have the option to choose to repent and invite Jesus in.
To learn more about the manipulation instead of repentance, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/stephen
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.