Day 322 (Acts 7-8) - Year 6
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Hey, bible readers, i'm trolly couple and i'm your host for the bible recap.

Yesterday, when we left off, Stephen had been falsely accused by a group of juice from another synagogue. Doesn't recognize jesus as ma today as you standing before the sanhedrin. They're the ruling council.

That's kind of like the supreme court. They given the opportunity to defend himself, but Stephen kind of answers questions the same way he just does, meaning he doesn't give you the information you ask for. He gives you the information you need to know.

Stephen talks for a long time and doesn't manage to say a single thing about himself. In fifty three verses he just gives us synapse is of the old testament story line as IT relates to the gospel. If you were with this in the old testament was probably nice to have a refresher.

But if you weren't, here's the overarching storyline. Stephen presence. God keeps pursuing his people with people keep projecting him. They rejected in persecute and killed the profits he since to speak truth to them.

Most recently, Stephen says they've killed the ridest when all the profits were proposal about, as he recounts, all the horrible ways guys people have acted in the past. They probably recognize the evil actions of their four others. They probably resonate with what he's saying.

But they may not realize these building to a krishna where the greatest burden of weakness is the one these very people are legally responsible for. The most recent way that people have rejected guards pursuit is by killing not just his profits, but his son. Their serious, of course, filled with rage.

Stephen, on the other hand, is filled with the holy spirit and seems to be shockingly at peace. I imagine his face lighting up as god peels back the curtain of eternity and give Stephen a glimpse into heaven. It's almost like Stephen can see the opening credits roling, and he knows this is the beginning of at all.

He sees heaven opened and cheese standing at the right hand of the father standing. Did you catch that? Most descriptor tells us, is seated at the right hand of the father. So why is he's standing here? My eyes filled with tears.

When ever I read those verses, he says at twice, lots of scholars say this points to jesus rising up to be Steven's advocate to test before the great judge on his behalf. Some say he's standing to greet and welcome Stephen the afterlife. I don't know.

I just know it's so beautiful. Even after all, his work is finished. Jesus hasn't tuned out.

He's paying attention. He's involved and engage. He's praying for us according to romantic, and he's cheering us on.

Stephen tells the same hedrin what he sees, but they scream at him in lunch to attack him. Once they are able to drag him outside the city gates, they can enact the death penalty. There are just outside the gate called the lions gate, which is now known as Stevens gate.

For obvious reasons. It's on the each side of the city. Facing the man of olives will linked to a picture of the gate in the showing.

Tes, when the same, he drink, get outside the gates. They start taking off their clothes so they can be Better equip to pick up, throw stones. And they lay their cloaks down at the feet of a man named soul.

He might be a member of a sin hedrin, but if not, he's still a very powerful local leader among the jews and therapies. It's almost certain that saw herds. Stephen preached ed, the message of Christ moments earlier, and now he stands by approving.

Stephen becomes the first matter of the church. Just like cheese. I stood in his own death. Stephen asked the father not to hold this in against his murderer.

Steven's death escalates the persecution of Christians and increases the local tension between jews who've follow Christ and jews who don't, and also between Christians and the ruling roman authorities. Saw has one foot in both of those enemy camps. He's a ferry y who rejects jesus, and he's a roman citizen.

His dual citizenship puts him in a uniquely privileged position. He's the highest strength of the opprest, and he's also part of the oppressing regime. By the way, soul is a hebrew name like israel's first king, but the romans primarily speak later, so they prefer that version of his name, which is paul.

For much of my life, I thought sal's name was changed to paul at some point, but that's not what's happening here. He just says two names, like a lot of the people in schriver ture, we link to a very interesting article about the soul paul situation in the showing. Tes, if you want to read more, because of all this tension, all the Christians in jerusalem, ve town, except for the apostles.

And part of that is because of what saul us. Next, he starts going door to door in jerusalem, drawing Christians, men and women like, out of their homes and throwing them in to prison. In this day, prison is basically a death senate.

The prison does not video in. In fact, they sometimes prevent other people from coming to feed to, if you're in prison, you're dependent on your friends and family to bring you anything you need to survive. You do not want to be put in a roman prison in the first century.

Try to avoid that. If you can remember, the seven men the church have pointed to care for the windows. Stephen was one of them, and another one was a guy named phillip.

When Philip ee's jerusalem, he goes to siberia, which is a three day trip north of jerusalem. Replay seventy miles. Jesus commanded the gas per to go to siberia, even though the jews in semita aren't found of each other.

When Philip arrives, he starts preaching in performing signs and wonders, and people begin to believe when word we just jury em about the some meriton repenting, they sent Peter and john to make sure everything is going smoothly. When they get there, they realized these people have been baptize with water, but that they haven't been babb dished into the spirit of god yet. Different churches hold different positions on this.

Some say the baptism of the holy spirit is different from being in dwelled by the holy spirit. Others say they're the same thing, but that these people clearly hadn't had an actual conversion experience yet that just been dunk in water, which doesn't amount to anything without god spirit being the active agent in that process. And still others say that because of the way that jews and some maritus dislike each other, it's important for the apostles to see with their own eyes that the sphere is actively working in the marital, otherwise they might be attempted to dismiss.

So the holy spirit verifies this experience, showing the apart so that the god of the jews is also the god of the summary ants, regardless of which IT is the semarang ants, are welcomed into the family of god. The apostles power in the message catches the attention of a magician named Simon. The kind of magic Simon practices might be done through demonic power in intervention.

He notices the difference between his magic and god's miracles, and he's hooked. But IT seems like he wants power more than he wants to surrender. This is not square one.

Trying to access the power of god and not the person of god is selfish ideology. Remember when jesus rebuked his followers, who were only after the foot gave him? Peter respond similarly to Simon here, but you can never tells us if Simon repent or not.

Then an Angel gives phillip his next designation. So he packed up and heads to the desert. He sees a Cherry. T in the spirit is like, go say hi. The guy in the Cherry is a powerful man in the etho bian government.

Phillip is in reading a loud so he says, everybody would you reading the guy is reading is ah but he's super confused by all. Turns out he's actually reading what is known as the forbids chapter among you. Even still today, it's very controversial.

They refused to read IT in the synagogues. It's been removed from some of their holy books. Will link to a short article in video in today's show notes.

If you wanna see more about this, not only will you tell you more about the meaning of the chapter, but it'll also give you some insight into common jewish perspectives on the masai. Philip starts with that scripture, then impacts the whole gospel. And this guy finally understands what he's reading.

He's been making religious pilgrimages to ju salem, long journeys from etho bia to show his devotion, but nothing ever click with him until phillip explained the word to him. He goes from confusion to joy. I love the jack's position of this story with Simon story.

Simons selfishly wants power, the ethopia an humbly wants god, and he also wants to be baptized. So they climbed down into the water, and when they are climbing out, Philip, maybe teleports, it's hard to say, for all we know, is that he's suddenly at the coast. My god chat today was god's consistent success at turning the enemy's arrows back on him, what the enemy means for evil, god uses for good.

Here's what I saw, that when the sanhedrin murdered Stephen, they were trying to stop the spread of the gospel, right? But remember what happens? The exact opposite.

The believers in jerusalem disperse and take the gospel with them. They're fleeing the persecution in jersey. M, but make no mistake, they don't run and hide.

They go until eight four, says those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Were they afraid of persecution? probably. But IT didn't stop them. They know their assignment and they know their god, and they know he's where the joy is.

Okay, bible readers, it's time for a weekly check. How are you doing however you may be doing or feeling? I want to point out that you chose to be here today.

Your journey to draw here to god probably wasn't as long as the ethopia a unix and and probably wasn't as maracota phillips possible ble teleportation. But here you are. For thousands of years, people have been seeking out god's word, wanting to draw near to him.

And it's easier for us now than it's ever been. The biggest obstacle most of us face is ourselves, the lifelong obstacle of our flesh. And today you didn't surrender to the flesh.

Today the spirit one. I'm cheering you on. And so as he and i'll see you back here tomorrow.