peace . love . joy

These few weeks find us teaching the 16 year olds on the book of Acts. This is not the first time we're studying this book of the Bible together with them, but I'd reckon this is the first time that we're diving into greater depths of this book. I know though, that this the first time that I myself am studying this book, in particular chapters 6:8 through 11:18 (because I'm leading the discussion for these passages =x), in much greater detail than I've ever done so before.

As I was preparing the lesson for Acts 6:8 - 7:60, entitled Stephen the Martyr, I realised that there is so much that can be drawn and must be drawn from this short record of these last short moments of Stephen's life on Earth. I cannot disagree more to lump it all together into an hour and a half's (and that's being optimistic!) worth of a lesson on Sunday simply because the protagonist of this passage is Stephen.

Maybe I'm just being a rabid fan demanding more air-time for my "idol". Yes, I love Stephen. In fact, my two Bible heroes, of course not counting Jesus, are David, son of Jesse, & Stephen, the first recorded Martyr of the Christian faith. So I decided I'd show you sizzlers what I've gathered from my short three-quarts-of-a-day study on Stephen the Martyr.

But before we begin, we need to ask what is the big message the book of Acts is delivering to us?

The book of Acts chronicles the birth of the Christian church. It shows the link between Jesus the Christ and the church of Christ. It tells of the first teachers, after Jesus, of the faith. It records the doings, sayings, struggles, triumphs, deeds and deaths of the first Christians.

Is that it? Does the book of Acts simply speak of the continuity and faithfulness and power of Jesus? No, much more than that. Acts was written to testify to the Hebrew Jews that their God, the God of the Old Testament, the God of the ancient times, and the God the Christians profess to follow, the God whom the Christians claim has brought them salvation through Jesus the Christ, is precisely one and the same.

The Hebrew Jews had only in their possession knowledge of the Old Testament, the record of times of Abraham, Moses and Elijah. They held on to the promises of old. They held on to their interpretations of the promises and prophesies of old. They were still waiting for the Messiah.

The book of Acts inks out the link between the time of Israel, the time of Jesus, & the time of the Christian church; the thread that runs through the entire Bible - the Lord God Almighty.

That means we need to know, not just the New Testament, but also the Old.
That means our Christian faith is not unfounded, but so much more real.
That means the Word is not a stack of bound printed paper composed of separate books, but a pretty much alive and kickin' book.
That means our God is a great planner, has super memory and is indeed faithful.

And Stephen's message in Acts 7 endeavored to show the same: that "the Christian message is fully consistent with and the culmination of the Old Testament revelation" (Kent, p.66), that the Hebrew God and the Christian God, our God, is one and the same.

1985
Kent, Homer Jerusalem to Rome. New Testament Studies series. Brethren Missionary Herald, 1972; reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House and BMH Books.

2007
Constable, Thomas Notes on Acts. Sonic Light. http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/acts.pdf.

Note: Most of what I learnt about Acts (in terms of background knowledge, cross-referencing, etc.) came from Dr. Constable's notes. So most of what I am about to write may be referenced back to his Notes on Acts.