The Holy Spirit’s Accusations to the Jewish nation!
Shortly after Jesus’ death, the Jewish religious leaders turned against his followers, particularly against one of the deacons that the apostles had appointed, Stephen, whom God was using to bring many Jews to the faith in Jesus Christ.
They got hold of him, assembled all the Jewish religious leaders, and accused him of conspiring to change the traditions and beliefs of the Israelite nation.
As Stephen started to speak, his face began to shine like that of an angel, and filled with the Spirit of God he gave a long speech which I hereby summarise and paraphrase for clarity:
It is written in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 7.
Stephen said:
«Out of the twelve sons of Jacob, the Patriarchs of the Jewish nation, ten of them proved to be evil, blind and rebellious against God, just like you are!
Out of jealously, they wanted to kill their brother Joseph, whom God had chosen to save them!
Joseph’s brothers hated him and sold him as a slave to Egypt!
But God was with Joseph in Egypt, and not only did he rescue him from all his troubles, but he made him the second ruler of that country, under Pharaoh.
As such, Joseph was able to save his father Jacob, and all those who belonged to him from a terrible famine that would have exterminated them all!
So, right from the onset of our nation’s history, our ancestors turned against the one whom God made their “saviour”, and wanted to kill him…
400 years later, when the Israelites were still in Egypt, the Lord raised up for them another saviour, Moses, whom God had appointed to free the Israelites from their terrible bondage they were in.
But again, the Israelites did not recognise the saviour that God had raised for them, and during Moses’ whole life the children of Israel were opposing him, resisting him and trying to demote him from the position of being a prophet, a ruler and judge of the nation.
Before the Israelites even entered the promised land, they had failed to recognise two saviours that God had sent them but opposed them!
So, the Lord started preparing his people for when he would send them the Messiah himself!
Speaking through Moses and through all the prophets that followed, he warned them to receive and obey the Messiah that he was going to send in Israel. As Moses himself told them:
” I the Lord will raise up from among you a prophet, like you. You must listen to him! If anyone will not listen to him, he will have to give me account”
(Deuteronomy 18: 15 – 19)
But your forefathers silenced and killed all the prophets proclaiming the coming of the “Righteous One” that God had sent to them.
And now you, just like your forefathers, You resisted and fought
Jesus the Messiah, and you put him to death!
And listen, I see the heavens opening, and there is Yeshua, Jesus, standing at God’s right hand!»
Having said all that, (but in many more words), Stephen was viciously dragged outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned to death!
He was the first martyr who died for his faith in Jesus Christ.
Not too long after that, the apostle James was also killed by king Herod II…, He was the first of the apostles to die a martyr’s death!
History tells us that most of the apostles died likewise…
When will the Israelites and their religious leaders believe in their Scriptures and not in their “Commentaries”, when will they see, repent and believe in their Messiah?!