Acts 7:52

Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: WHICH OF THE PROPHETS HAVE NOT YOUR FATHERS PERSECUTED? AND THEY HAVE SLAIN THEM WHICH SHOWED BEFORE OF THE COMING OF THE JUST ONE; OF WHOM YE HAVE BEEN, [ gegeneesthe (G1096)] - rather, 'ye were' [ egenesthe (G1096)] being the better supported reading, NOW THE BETRAYERS AND MURDERERS. In these most withering words the still darker features of the national character are boldly held up-deadly hostility to the messengers of God, whose highest mission was to announce the coming of "THE RIGHTEOUS ONE," that well-known prophetic title of Messiah ...

52._Which of the prophets? _Forasmuch as they ought not to bear their fathers’ fault, Stephen seemeth to deal unjustly, in that he reckoneth this amongst their faults unto whom he speaketh; but he had just causes so to do. First, because they did vaunt that they were Abraham’s holy progeny, it was worth the labor to show unto them how great vanity that was, as if Stephen should say, that there is no cause why they should vaunt of their stock, forasmuch as they come of those who were wicked murderers of the prophets. So that he toucheth that glancingly which is more plainly set down by the prophets, that they are not the children of prophets, but a degenerate and bastardly issue, the seed of Canaan, etc. Which thing we may at this day object to the Papists, when as they so highly extol their fathers. Furthermore, this serveth to amplify withal, whereas he saith that it is no new thing for...

51-53 Stephen was going on, it seems, to show that the temple and the temple service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to the worship of the Father in spirit and in truth; but he perceived they would not bear it. Therefore he broke off, and by the Spirit of wisdom, courage, and power, sharply rebuked his persecutors. When plain arguments and truths provoke the opposers of the gospel, they should be shown their guilt and danger. They, like their fathers, were stubborn and wilful. There is that in our sinful hearts, which always resists the Holy Ghost, a flesh that lusts against the Spirit, and wars against his motions; but in the hearts of God's elect, when the fulness of time comes, this resistance is overcome. The gospel was offered now, not by angels, but from the Holy Ghost; yet they did not embrace it, for they were resolved not to comply with God, e...

Verse 52. _WHICH OF THE PROPHETS HAVE NOT YOUR FATHERS_ _PERSECUTED?_] Ye have not only resisted the Holy Ghost, but ye have _persecuted_ all those who have spoken to you in _his name_, and by his _influence_: thus ye prove your opposition to the Spirit _himself_, by your opposition to every thing that _proceeds_ from _him_. _THEY HAVE SLAIN THEM_, c.] Isaiah, _who showed before of the_ _coming of Christ_, the Jews report, was sawn asunder at the command of Manasseh. _THE COMING OF THE JUST ONE_] του δικαιου, Meaning Jesus Christ emphatically called the _just_ or _righteous person_, not only because of the _unspotted_ integrity of his _heart_ and _life_, but because of his plenary _acquittal_, when tried at the tribunal of Pilate: _I_ _find no fault at all in him_. The mention of this circumstance served greatly to

WHICH OF THE PROPHETS ... - The interrogative form here is a strong mode of saying that they had persecuted “all” the prophets. It was “the characteristic of the nation” to persecute the messengers of God. This is not to be taken as literally and universally true; but it was a general truth; it was the national characteristic. See the notes on Matthew 21:33; Matthew 23:29. AND THEY HAVE SLAIN THEM ... - That is, they have slain the prophets, whose main message was that the Messiah was to come. It was a great aggravation of their offence that they put to death the messengers which foretold the greatest blessing that the nation could receive. THE JUST ONE - The Messiah. See the notes

EXPOSITION ACTS 7:1 _And the high priest said _for then _said the high priest, _A.V. The high priest spoke as president of the Sanhedrim (see Acts 9:1. Acts 9:1 and Matthew 26:62). Theophilus the son of Annas or his brother Jonathan is probably meant. ACTS 7:2 _Brethren and fathers _for _men, brethren, and fathers, _A.V. _Haran _for _Charran, _A.V. BRETHREN AND FATHERS. The Greek is ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ (_i.e. _"men who are also my brethren") καὶ πατέρες. H

WHICH OF THE PROPHETS HAVE NOT YOUR FATHERS PERSECUTED?.... Either by reviling and speaking all manner of evil of them, Matthew 5:11 or by killing them, Matthew 23:31 and they have slain them; as Isaiah, Zachariah, and others: WHICH SHOWED BEFORE OF THE COMING OF THE JUST ONE; of Jesus the Messiah, whose character in the prophecies of the Old Testament is righteous servant, righteous branch, just, and having salvation; and whom Stephen styles so partly on account of the holiness of his nature, and the innocence and harmlessness of his life; and partly because he is the author of righteousness, and the end of the law for it to all that believe; of whose coming in the flesh all the prophets more or less spoke: and this being good news, and glad tidings, made the sin of the Jewish fathers

CHAPTER 7 _ 1. The Address of Stephen (Acts 7:1)._ 2. The Martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54). This is the largest chapter in this book and concludes the first section. Stephen is the chosen instrument to deliver the final testimony to the nation. He was not permitted to finish it. We notice at once a marked difference between the previous preaching by the Apostle Peter and the address of Stephen. The testimony of Peter was marked on the day of Pentecost and at the other occasions by great brevity. Stephen's address is the longest discourse reported in the New Testament. The name of Jesus is prominent in all the addresses of Peter. The fact that He was rejected by the people, crucified and that He rose from the dead, and the call to repentance, were the leading features of Peter's preaching.

STEPHEN'S DEFENCE (Acts 7:1-7) When Oliver Cromwell was outlining the education he thought necessary for his son Richard, he said, "I would have him know a little history." It was to the lesson of history that Stephen appealed. Clearly believing that the best form of defence was attack, he took a bird's eye view of the history of the Jewish people and cited certain truths as condemnation of his own nation. (i) He saw that the men who played a really great part in the history of Israel were the men who heard God's command, "Get thee out," and were not afraid to obey it. With that adventurous spirit Stephen implicitly contrasted the spirit of the Jews of his own day, whose one desire was to keep things as they were and who regarded Jesus and his followers as dangerous innovators. (ii) He insisted that men had worshipped God long before there ever was a Temple. To the Jews the Te

HAVE, &C.. did... persecute. HAVE SLAIN. slew. SHEWED BEFORE. Greek. _prokatangello._ See Acts 3:18. COMING. Greek. _eleusis._ Only here. the Just One. Greek. _dikaios._ App-191. Compare Acts 3:14. Act 22:14. 1 John 2:1. HAVE BEEN. became. THE. Omit. BETRAYERS. Greek. _prodot_. _s_. Here, Luke 6:16; 2 Timothy 3:4....