God’s Agenda

Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to [Moses], but repudiated him.
–Acts 7:39

When Stephen was on trial before the religious leaders, he acted as his own defense attorney. He had been charged with blaspheming God, slandering Moses, and wanting to tear down the temple. His response may seem like a recitation of Jewish history, but it was a carefully crafted argument that superseded anything Perry Mason could have come up with. Stephen’s theme was this: Christianity is not a contradiction of Judaism but a fulfillment of Judaism.

Stephen began, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran” (Acts 7:2). Stephen was saying, “Guess what? Abraham came from Mesopotamia. God is not just the God of Israel; He is the God of the entire world.” In other words, it wasn’t blasphemy to suggest that the Messiah had come for a greater purpose than saving the Jews from political oppression. Stephen brought up Joseph as well. He said, in essence, “Our forefathers betrayed Joseph, and God’s purpose for him was worked out in a foreign land.” God’s purpose has always extended beyond Israel. Israel was the instrument He used to bring about salvation for the world.

Then Stephen turned to Moses, whom he had been accused of slandering. Moses had prophesied the coming of the Messiah; Stephen was preaching the fulfillment of this prophecy. He pointed out that the Jews had a history of persecuting God’s messengers. Stephen said, “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to [Moses], but repudiated him” (v. 39), just as the religious leaders in Stephen’s day rejected Jesus and refused to listen to His disciples.

Finally, Stephen responded to the charge that he wanted to destroy the temple. He said, “The Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands,” and then he quoted the prophet Isaiah: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet” (vv. 48–49). Stephen was saying, “The whole world is God’s temple. Quit fixating on the temple and start fixating on the God who dwells in it and throughout the world.”

The religious leaders were so focused on their own agenda and authority that they missed God working out His plan. But Stephen was focused on God’s agenda.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The First Christian Martyr,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.