Movatterモバイル変換

Numbers 15:35
And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

1 Kings 21:13
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him,even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

Luke 4:29
And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

stoned.

Acts 6:11
Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, andagainst God.

Leviticus 24:14-16
Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heardhim lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him…

John 10:23-26
And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch…

the witnesses.

Acts 6:13
And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

Deuteronomy 13:9,10
But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people…

Deuteronomy 17:7
The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

their.

Acts 8:1
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Acts 22:20
And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

Acts 9:1
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

and began to stone him.
Stoning was a common method of execution for blasphemy and other serious offenses under Jewish law (Deuteronomy 17:7). It was a communal act, with the first stones typically thrown by the witnesses of the alleged crime (Deuteronomy 17:6-7). This method of execution was brutal and public, serving as a deterrent to others. Stephen's stoning marks him as the first Christian martyr, echoing Jesus' own words about the persecution of prophets (Matthew 23:37). His death fulfills Jesus' prophecy that His followers would face persecution (John 15:20).

Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments
The act of laying down garments indicates preparation for the physical exertion of stoning, as removing outer garments would allow for greater freedom of movement. This detail underscores the premeditated and deliberate nature of the execution. The witnesses, by laying down their garments, were also symbolically transferring responsibility for the act, as they were the ones who testified against Stephen, in accordance with the law that required witnesses to initiate the execution (Deuteronomy 17:7).

at the feet of a young man named Saul.
This introduction of Saul is significant, as he later becomes the Apostle Paul, a pivotal figure in the spread of Christianity. At this point, Saul is a zealous Pharisee, consenting to Stephen's death and actively persecuting the early church (Acts 8:1,Philippians 3:5-6). His presence at Stephen's stoning foreshadows his dramatic conversion and future role in the church (Acts 9:1-19). Saul's transformation from persecutor to apostle exemplifies the power of God's grace and the fulfillment of His purposes, as seen in the life of Paul, who later reflects on his past with remorse (1 Timothy 1:13-16).

- “They dragged him out of the city” mirrors the Old Testament mandate that executions take place outside the camp (Numbers 15:35-36).

- Jesus likewise “suffered outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12), showing Stephen’s death follows the same pattern of rejection.

-Luke 4:29 records an earlier attempt to hurl Jesus off a cliff outside Nazareth, highlighting how God’s messengers are often expelled before violence begins.

- Removing Stephen from Jerusalem’s holy precincts exposes the hardness of hearts in a city called to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 2:3).

- Stoning was the prescribed penalty for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). The Sanhedrin’s charge against Stephen (Acts 6:11-14) fits that accusation.

-Deuteronomy 17:7 required the witnesses to “be the first to throw the stones,” a detail Luke will soon note.

-John 10:31 shows the same response to Jesus: “Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him”. The identical reaction underlines Stephen’s Christ-likeness (John 15:20).

- While the crowd sees judgment, heaven sees triumph; Stephen will shortly behold “Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56).

- The word signals God’s providential camera panning from the violence to a seemingly minor detail that will shape church history.

-Genesis 37:26 says, “Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother…?’ ” Another “meanwhile” moment where God turns evil intentions into redemptive outcomes (Genesis 50:20).

- Even in chaos, the Spirit is recording every actor on the stage for future grace.

- In obedience toDeuteronomy 17:7, the witnesses must cast the first stones; shedding outer garments frees their arms for the task—a chilling picture of calculated ritual.

-Acts 6:13 identified them as “false witnesses,” yet they scrupulously follow procedure, illustrating how legalistic zeal can coexist with profound injustice (Matthew 23:23-24).

- Their removed garments echoPsalm 22:18, where executioners divide clothes—another parallel between Stephen and his Lord.

- Luke introduces Saul with understated drama. He is “young,” yet already entrusted with overseeing the coats—an informal badge of leadership.

-Acts 8:1 adds, “Saul was consenting to his death”. Later Paul will confess, “When the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval” (Acts 22:20).

- God turns an accomplice into an apostle. Saul’s exposure to Stephen’s prayer and vision plants seeds that blossom on the Damascus road (Acts 9:3-6).

-1 Timothy 1:13-16 underscores the lesson: “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor… but I was shown mercy… so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience.”

Stephen is expelled from the city like his Savior, legally executed by stoning, while God’s providence spotlights a young Pharisee named Saul. The crowd’s obedience to ritual law cannot mask their rebellion against God’s Son, yet the Lord uses even their violence to launch the gospel through the very man who watched the coats.Acts 7:58 testifies that God’s Word is accurate, history is under His control, and no act of persecution can thwart His plan to turn sinners into servants and martyrs into monuments of grace.

The witnesses laid down their clothes.--The Law required, as if to impress on witnesses their solemn responsibility, that they should be the first, if the accused were condemned to death, to take part in his execution (Deuteronomy 17:7). Our Lord, it will be remembered, had applied the rule in the case of the woman taken in adultery (John 8:7). The loose, flowing cloak, which was worn as an outer garment, would have impeded the free action of their arms, and had therefore to be laid on one side.

A young man's feet, whose name was Saul.--As defined by Philo, on the authority of medical writers, the term thus used extended from twenty-one to twenty-eight years of age. Looking to the prominent position taken by Saul in this matter, and to his description of himself as "Paul the aged," A.D. 64 (Philemon 1:9), it will be safe to assume that he had nearly attained the later limit. It will be convenient on this his first appearance to put together the chief facts of his life up to this period. He was of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5), and had been named after its great hero-king. His father had obtained, perhaps as a freed-man, after a time of slavery at Rome, the privilege of Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28). He had settled at Tarsus. The absence of any reference to him or to the Apostle's mother makes it probable that they were both dead before he appears on the scene. The son of a married sister is found, apparently residing in Jerusalem, inActs 23:16. At Tarsus the boy would probably receive a two-fold education, instructed at home in the Holy Scriptures daily, and in Greek literature and philosophy in the schools for which the city was famous. Traces of the knowledge thus acquired are found in his quotations from the Cilician poet Aratus (see Note onActs 17:28), Menander (see1Corinthians 15:33), Epimenides (seeTitus 1:12), and the Festival Hymn quoted by him at Lystra (see Note onActs 14:17). At twelve he would become a child of the Law (see Note onLuke 2:42); and showing great devotion to the studies which thus opened on him, was probably dedicated by his parents to the calling of a scribe. This, however, did not involve the abandonment of secular occupation; and after some years spent in Jerusalem, studying under Gamaliel (we may say, with almost absolute certainty, before the commencement of our Lord's ministry), he returned to his native city, and became a "tent-maker" (Acts 18:3)--a manufacturer,i.e.,of the coarse goats' hair sail-cloth, for which Cilicia was famous. There seems reason to believe that somewhere about this time he became acquainted with Barnabas (see Note onActs 4:36), and possibly also with St. Luke (see Note onActs 13:1;Acts 16:10, andIntroduction to St. Luke's Gospel). In the interval between the Ascension and the appointment of the Seven Deacons, he came up to Jerusalem. He finds a new sect, as it would seem, added to the three--the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes--whom he had known before. In some respects their teaching is such as Hillel, the grandfather of Gamaliel, would have approved. They pray and fast, and give alms. They proclaim a resurrection and a judgment after death. They connect that proclamation with the belief that a teacher of Nazareth, who had died a malefactor's death, was the long-expected Messiah. What is he to think of these startling claims? What were others thinking? Gamaliel, his master, counselled caution and a policy of expectation (Acts 5:35-39); Barnabas, his early friend, had joined the new society (Acts 4:36); Andronicus and Junias, his kinsmen, had followed the example (Romans 16:7). But Saul had a zeal which was more fiery than theirs. He was a Pharisee after the straitest sect, and the teaching of Stephen, more conspicuously, it would seem, than that of Peter, was a protest against Pharisaism, and told of its coming downfall. He, therefore, could make no truce with that teaching, and burst impatiently from the cautions of his master. For good or for evil, he was at least "thorough," and had the courage of his convictions. Even the face as of an angel and the words of ecstatic joy did but kindle in him the fire of a burning indignation. . . .