John 7

Passage overview

Acts chapter 7 is a chapter made up of Stephen the deacon’s long sermon and his martyrdom. This chapter marks an important turning point in the persecution the early church experienced in Jerusalem, and it includes Stephen calmly recounting Israel’s history before the Sanhedrin and presenting evidence for Jesus Christ.

1verseAfter these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he wouldn’t walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.

2verseNow the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand.

3verseHis brothers therefore said to him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.

4verseFor no one does anything in secret while he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.”

5verseFor even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

6verseJesus therefore said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

7verseThe world can’t hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it, that its works are evil.

8verseYou go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.”

9verseHaving said these things to them, he stayed in Galilee.

10verseBut when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but as it were in secret.

11verseThe Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, “Where is he?”

12verseThere was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “Not so, but he leads the multitude astray.”

13verseYet no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews.

14verseBut when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

15verseThe Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How does this man know letters, having never been educated?”

16verseJesus therefore answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.

17verseIf anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God or if I am speaking from myself.

18verseHe who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

19verseDidn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”

20verseThe multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?”

21verseJesus answered them, “I did one work and you all marvel because of it.

22verseMoses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy.

23verseIf a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?

24verseDon’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

25verseTherefore some of them of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill?

26verseBehold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ?

27verseHowever, we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”

28verseJesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know me, and know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you don’t know.

29verseI know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”

30verseThey sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

31verseBut of the multitude, many believed in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, he won’t do more signs than those which this man has done, will he?”

32verseThe Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

33verseThen Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me.

34verseYou will seek me and won’t find me. You can’t come where I am.”

35verseThe Jews therefore said among themselves, “Where will this man go that we won’t find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?

36verseWhat is this word that he said, ‘You will seek me, and won’t find me;’ and ‘Where I am, you can’t come’?”

37verseNow on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!

38verseHe who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.”

39verseBut he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn’t yet glorified.

40verseMany of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is truly the prophet.”

41verseOthers said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “What, does the Christ come out of Galilee?

42verseHasn’t the Scripture said that the Christ comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

43verseSo a division arose in the multitude because of him.

44verseSome of them would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him.

45verseThe officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

46verseThe officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”

47verseThe Pharisees therefore answered them, “You aren’t also led astray, are you?

48verseHave any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in him?

49verseBut this multitude that doesn’t know the law is cursed.”

50verseNicodemus (he who came to him by night, being one of them) said to them,

51verse“Does our law judge a man unless it first hears from him personally and knows what he does?”

52verseThey answered him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and see that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”

53verseEveryone went to his own house,

The Structure of Stephen’s Sermon

Stephen’s sermon surveys Israel’s history in several movements: God’s call of Abraham (verses 2–8), God’s providence through Joseph (verses 9–16), Moses and the exodus generation (verses 17–43), and the tabernacle, temple, and God’s presence beyond any one building (verses 44–50). Through this survey, Stephen argues that Israel’s leaders have repeatedly resisted God’s messengers, and he applies that pattern to the rejection of Jesus.

The Meaning of God’s Presence and Worship

Stephen challenges the temple-centered view of faith and emphasizes that God is not limited to a particular place (verses 48-50). This is a section that broadens our understanding of worship and God’s presence, showing that God is one who can be worshiped everywhere.

Stephen’s Martyrdom and a New Phase for the Early Church

Stephen’s boldness ultimately leads to him being killed by stoning (verses 54-60), but in his death, a new era begins for the disciples who follow Christ. In the process, Saul (later known as Paul) appears, and Stephen’s martyrdom becomes the occasion for the gospel to spread beyond Jerusalem.

Points for Reflection

  • Even in difficult circumstances, Stephen held firmly to his faith to the end. We look back on how we act when faced with difficulties.
  • God’s work never stays in just one place; we can ask ourselves whether we have limited God by confining Him to a restricted viewpoint, considering that He works throughout time and across places.

Try Applying It to Yourself

  • It is worth checking whether my faith is restricted to a certain form or place.
  • When expressing faith courageously, pray so that I can trust God more than fear, and also apply whether I can live with an attitude of love and forgiveness, just as Stephen did.

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