The God Who Won't Be Boxed In

Those of us who are old enough might remember an old TV crime show called Columbo. Columbo was a detective who always looked like he just climbed out of bed with uncombed hair and disheveled clothes. When he interviewed suspects he always seemed absentminded and disorganized: he spent half the time looking for a misplaced notepad and the other half asking questions that focused on trivial details that seemed to have nothing to do with the case. And invariably as he’s about to leave, searching for his misplaced keys, one more question pops into his mind –a question that seems more irrelevant than all the others. And the perpetrator is convinced that Columbo is as incompetent as he is annoying.

But we knew something the criminals didn’t know: behind the rumpled, disorganized appearance and seemingly disconnected questions was a brilliant mind at work, and far from being irrelevant, his questions were getting the suspect to let down his guard and give information that would later be used to incriminate him. And that last question that popped into his head as an afterthought would be the thing that nails the case.

As we continue our journey through the book of Acts we come to the trial and martyrdom of Stephen. Stephen is the first martyr of the church, and the defense he presents to the Sanhedrin is the longest recorded speech in the book of Acts. But if we’re honest, what stands out to us about this speech isn’t its length, what stands out is it doesn’t seem to have any real point. It’s as random as a Columbo episode – just some OT stories strung together and then he really hammers the Sanhedrin and we’re thinking, man, I didn’t see that coming.

Well, as you might be beginning to suspect, the problem isn’t with Stephen. It’s with us. We don’t understand the connections and when we do understand where Stephen is going, we’ll see that it’s not random or disconnected at all. It’s brilliant. So I need you to hang with me for a few minutes as we consider the Jewish mindset behind both the accusations against Stephen and the biblical truths and connecting points that make up the basis of his defense.

I. The accusation (6:8-15)

Remember from last week that Stephen is a Hellenist Jew – that is a Jew who was brought up in a different location and culture than the Palestinian culture. He wasn’t brought up in the Hebraic culture like most of the first disciples were but as the gospel was preached in Jerusalem after Pentecost thousands of Hellenistic Jews believed in Christ. Stephen stands out as a godly man who is filled with the Spirit, and he is one of the 7 men chosen to lead the distribution of help to the needy. At the same time the Lord is using him to do great signs and wonders and this really begins to bother the Hellenistic synagogues in the area and so they begin to argue the Bible with him.

The problem is, Stephen is totally blowing them away and they can’t beat him in a debate, so they decide to silence him by getting some false witnesses to testify that he has been claiming that Jesus is going to destroy two of the most sacred relics to the Jews: the law and the temple. The law was given the by greatest of Jewish heroes, Moses, and the temple represented God’s presence with them. It was where they went to “find God” so to speak. So that’s the accusation: he spoke against the law and the temple.

II. The defense

Stephen’s defense is going to be built on two themes woven together. The first theme revolves around the promised land of Israel. The Jewish leaders had localized God to the land of Israel and primarily to the temple as if that were the only zip code God worked in, and Stephen’s going to make the case that God’s work can’t be confined to the land of Israel and certainly not to the Jewish temple. In fact, some of His most significant work was done well outside of the land of Israel. So that’s Stephen’s first theme.

The second theme Stephen will unpack is that the Jews had a history of rejecting God’s servants, and this will culminate in the religious leaders rejecting the promised Messiah. He will make this defense through the lives of four OT heroes:

1. Abraham (vv. 2-8)

Abraham is the revered father of the nation Israel, but Stephen points out that God began speaking to Abraham in a far off pagan nation. And Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, Acts 7:2

The God of glory appeared to Abraham and spoke to him when he was far from Israel. And Abraham would never take possession of any land in Israel, even though God had promised to give it to him and his offspring. God’s work in Abraham wasn’t confined to this land.

2. Joseph (vv. 9-16)

From Abraham descendants came the twelve patriarchs and Joseph. And the twelve patriarchs (or forefathers) rejected Joseph and sold him into slavery into Egypt. 6 times in 7 verses Stephen mentions Egypt to drive home the point: God was at work, and it wasn’t in the land of Israel or in the temple (which didn’t exist at the time). And eventually even Joseph’s father Jacob and his twelve brothers the patriarchs had to flee to Egypt to escape the famine. Again God’s work was outside of Israel.

But here’s the second theme: God was powerfully at work through a guy named Joseph– the one the patriarchs rejected. The one that the forefathers hated and rejected and scorned was the one that God chose to save Israel. Twin themes: God works outside of Israel and the Jews had a history of rejecting God’s chosen servants.

3. Moses (vv. 17-43)

The biggest part of Stephen’s speech is given to Moses, probably because they were accusing him of leading them away from Moses and the law Moses gave. There is no doubt of Stephen’s immense respect Moses’ leadership and lawgiving.

Again the setting isn’t Israel, it’s Egypt. Moses is raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, but when he steps in to save an Israelite, he is rejected by the Jews as their deliverer.

"This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. Acts 7:35

So he goes into the wilderness for 40 years and God appears to him and commissions him as Israel’s deliverer. So Moses is now leading them back to the promised land, but while he is on the mountain, once again they refuse to listen to him and make false idols to worship. Stephen sums it up:

Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, Acts 7:39

Even the great Moses – the most revered leader of Israel – was rejected over and over by his own people. Israel had a history of rejecting the leaders that God chose to save them.

4. David

David was the first to want to build a temple, but God wouldn’t let him because he had shed too much blood. So his son, Solomon, was allowed to build the temple and that’s a great day for Israel. But Stephen points out that the temple was never meant to lock God in and hold Him hostage. No building could ever “house” God – He’s way too big. Stephen quotes Isaiah:

" 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me,

says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50Did not my hand make all these things?' Acts 7:49-50

God gave them the land. He gave them instructions for the temple. But the God of the universe could never be contained in a building made by human hands. And this is where Stephen let’s his accusers have it. He has been on defense, now he becomes the prosecutor and they’re the ones on trial.

Read vv. 51-53

Remember, their accusation was “he’s attacking the land we love, the temple we love, the law we love.” What they’re saying is we love God’s land, we love God’s temple, we love God’s law and we won’t allow you to blaspheme God any more. Stephen turns it around and says, you might love the trappings of your religion, but you don’t love God! You are stiff-necked and always fight the Holy Spirit. You rejected and murdered God’s Servant Jesus, just like your father’s murdered most of the prophets, and yes, you received the law from Moses but you don’t obey it. You’re religious hypocrites in every way!

The Sanhedrin’s response is one of pure rage, teeth grinding rage. They are on the edge of becoming an unruly mob when Stephen looks up and tells them that he sees Jesus – the one they rejected and murdered – standing at the right hand of God. They cover their ears and scream at him and drag him out of the city and stone him. It’s a brutal death, but after praying for the forgiveness of his killers, Stephen falls asleep. Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God, was standing to receive his first witness who would be faithful to the death.

Stephen’s death has a significant impact on the church’s explosive, unstoppable expansion in two ways.

Acts 8:1-4

First, there was a young Pharisee named Saul who was watching and approving of Stephen’s stoning, but Stephen’s testimony for Christ and the way he died would haunt Saul, and in a short time when Jesus appears to Saul, Saul will remind Jesus that he watched Stephen die and giving his approval. He never forgot, and soon this angry persecutor would become the Apostle Paul.

Second, the anger generated against Stephen spilled out against all believers and they began to persecute believers in Jerusalem which sent them scattering and as they scattered they preached the word wherever they went. The “God who isn’t limited to the land of Israel” used the persecution to get the gospel preached in Judea and then to the hated half-breed Samaritans. Next week Matt will be introducing us to Philip who brings the gospel powerfully to the land of Samaria.

The more the religious leaders oppose the gospel and try to stop Christ from being preached the more Christ is preached and even their efforts backfire and lead to a greater advance of the gospel.

What’s in your box?

So how does all this talk about the land and temple and the law relate to us? At the root of the religious leader’s problem was that they had substituted God for traditions and locations and stipulations. They put God in a small religious box and Stephen’s point is all they have is the box, they don’t have God. It’s vitally important that we recognize that God will not be contained in a man-made box of rules and traditions and locations. Now God is consistent with His word and never violates His word. Stephen never argued that God violated His word, simply that they had missed and rejected what the Bible revealed God to be doing. It’s not that God has no clear lines in how He deals with mankind. Jesus Christ is the only Savior and only name given under heaven by which man can be saved. But we need to be careful we don’t make man-made lines: this is what God does, this is how God works, this is where He works. God is sovereign and glorious and His grace is always on the move and always exploding outward.

God works in ways and places beyond the small boxes men try to put Him in

There are many ways that religion can construct boxes for God.

• A box could be the denomination or church tradition we grew up in and we can think that’s the only place God is working, the only church/denomination/ or group that has it right. And Christians can become suspicious or look down on everyone who is outside of that box.

• A similar box is stereotypes: all charismatics are this, all Baptists are that, all atheists are the other thing, all Republicans are this, all Democrats are that, all white people are this, all black people are that.

• Hobby horses. Peripheral issues can take on too much weight in our minds. It’s not wrong to have conviction about them, but if it’s not central to the gospel or contrary to God’s word we need to allow others to have differing convictions. Things like

o What Bible translation you use

o How do you educate your children (homeschool, public, private)

o Believe in courtship or dating?

o Do watch movies? Drink alcohol?

• Another box might be who we might think God will or won’t save. As long as we cluck our tongues about Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan or that horrible person at work we miss both the desperate need every person has for the gospel of Christ and the unstoppable power of the gospel to change even the worst of lives.

God refuses to be confined to a man-made box. God is sovereign and glorious and full of grace and that grace will not be limited to certain zip codes. He is working powerfully in churches and movements across the country and around the world. If they hold to the Bible, and trust in Jesus as the only Savior, then we are brothers and sisters in Christ and should accept them with their differences.

He is working across the lines in the hearts of men and women of all religious backgrounds and of no religious backgrounds. Across the lines of all political bents and all races and all cultures. And we should never stop praying or witnessing to that horrible person at work because he or she might be a Saul – antagonistic toward Christianity today and a committed follower tomorrow.

Here’s what I love about this church: you love God’s grace and you welcome His overflowing mercy to all peoples and all zip codes. But may we be reminded this morning, we never want our hearts to become hardened or our faith to become clogged by man-made boxes. Maybe the Spirit has revealed some area where you are tempted to confine God to a box. As we close in prayer, let’s ask God to spill over the edges of our boxes with His glorious, expanding, unstoppable grace found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And if you’re not a Christian, there’s no way you’re beyond the reach of God. Jesus died for hopeless sinners like you and me so that we could have hope that can never be taken away from us. Will you talk to God and ask Him to help you know and believe in Him.