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This morning we are continuing through the book of Acts, the story of the early church. In the first chapters, Jesus has risen from the dead, ascended to heaven, and sent His Holy Spirit to be the presence and power of God inside each believer. Since then, the transformed disciples have been boldly sharing about Jesus’ death for their sins and his resurrection and triumph over death, calling people to turn from their sin and self-centeredness to faith in Jesus, and thousands of people are coming to faith in Jesus. A multi-ethnic community has formed in Jerusalem that is growing like crazy, devoted to following Jesus and caring for everyone’s needs. But they have also experienced persecution, corruption, and leadership challenges as they try to follow Jesus and bring the good news to their community and world. In the last section, they chose seven godly men to take on the task of meeting the needs of the widows that their church was caring for. One of them, Stephen, will be the focus of today’s passage. Beginning in verse 8:

 8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.  9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)-- Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen,  10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.  11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."  12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.  13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.  14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."  15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.  Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?" 

What is going on here? The Jewish religious and political elite are unhappy with Stephen’s ministry, because they do not want people believing that Jesus is the Messiah. They attempt to argue with him theologically, but can not out-argue him or quiet him, and so they resort to slander. They falsely accuse of him of speaking against the temple and against God’s law, and they stir up opposition against him. Unfortunately that works, and Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin, the supreme court in Israel, made up of 70 men and the high priest.