Acts 7:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He also wished to teach that if God glorified those men, then much more will He glorify these, the Apostles.

Do you see how he draws them away from sensible things, and first of all from place, since the discussion concerned a place?

“The God of glory.” If He is the God of glory, then clearly He has no need of glorification from us or through the temple.

He Himself is the source of glory. Therefore do not think to glorify Him in that way.

He shows that they received this land, as well as circumcision and the law, not by merit. The land was a reward for obedience, and when circumcision was given, the promise had not yet been fulfilled.

He shows that all these things were types. At the beginning of the speech he beautifully calls God the God of glory, because He made glorious those who were reproached.

He also says that there was still no temple, yet Abraham was counted worthy to see God. He had Persians as his ancestors and lived in a foreign land.

Observe how Stephen draws their thought away from the sensible, beginning with locality, since the discussion concerned a place.

If God is the God of glory, then He does not need to receive glory from you through your temple. He Himself is the source of every glory and every good.

But if some of them were carried there unwillingly together with the people, we understand by these those who leave the higher word of knowledge for the sake of guiding those in need.

They do this not by choosing something preferable, but because salvation required it. For the sake of those needing guidance, they pass through teaching concerning the passions.

This included all its many varied ordinances and institutions, not excluding the temple of Jerusalem, which was no longer the sole place of true worship (Jn 4:21 and following).

Now Stephen briefly recounts the history of God’s divine economy for the salvation of Israel.

By the simple telling of this history, he already defends himself against the charge of blasphemy. Through it he clearly shows what God he confesses, and how he confesses Him.

For this purpose, among other things, at the beginning of his speech he calls God the God of glory (v. 2). By this he shows the reverence with which he treats this holy name.

Then, by pointing in the history of the Israelite people to the world-governing right hand of God, he confesses the whole greatness of God still more clearly.

He achieves this first historically, and then by a direct rebuke of his enemies. At the same time, the historical exposition had to attain another intermediate aim. Out of love for their national history, it would make his hearers listen more calmly to the words of the one defending himself. The essence of the speech is found properly in verses 51-53. The content and course of thought in the speech may be expressed thus. I do not stand here accused and persecuted as a blasphemer of God, of the law, and of the temple. Rather, I stand as the victim of your opposition to God and His Messiah. This opposition, as the whole of history bears witness, you inherited from your fathers and now display yourselves. It is not my fault that I am being judged here, but yours. I believe in the true God and honor His holy law. But you have always resisted God and His law. In this perversion of your relations toward them lies the reason why you now judge me as a blasphemer. You judge me as one who insults the law and this holy place. To set this more clearly before the eyes of his judges, Stephen first makes history speak on his behalf. He does this with complete calm and fullness. He begins with the election of Abraham, the ancestor of the Hebrews, and passes to their forefathers. Already here he shows their opposition to God in the history of righteous Joseph. Yet Joseph became the savior of the whole family. In keeping with his aim of defending himself against the accusation of blasphemy against Moses, he dwells especially at length on this lawgiver of the Hebrews. In Moses' history he points out the people's frequently repeated expressions of opposition to him (vv. 27ff., 39ff.). Yet Moses was the mediator between God and the people for the latter's deliverance. From the tabernacle of the covenant Stephen passes to the construction of the temple desired by David and completed by Solomon. Then, after confirming his view of the temple by a saying of the prophet, he suddenly breaks off the history. He turns to a direct and bold attack and rebuke of his unjust judges. He points out to them their gravest sin against the Messiah and God (v. 51ff.). The members of the Sanhedrin were irritated by this rebuke to the highest degree. After Stephen told them of his vision of the glorified Lord, they stoned him. This whole majestic speech, delivered in the presence of the Sanhedrin, was probably reproduced by some secret adherent of Christianity. Such a person may have been like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, or Gamaliel. It was known in the first Christian communities and thus came to the knowledge of the writer of Acts, who recorded it in his book. With respect to its presentation of history, this speech has certain particular features. They are easily explained from the circumstances in which it was delivered. "Men, brethren and fathers": a respectful address to those present. The first term is directed to all present. The second is directed particularly to the members of the Sanhedrin and the elders. "Listen": a forewarning and request that the speech not be brief. "The God of glory appeared": the God to whom glory properly belongs. The word "glory," set alongside the word "appeared" (ὥφθη), points to an external manifestation of the God of glory. It indicates the radiant brightness in which Jehovah God revealed Himself (cf. v. 55; Ex 24:16; Is 6:3; Ps 23:7). By this majestic beginning to his speech, Stephen directly showed how unjust was the accusation that he was a blasphemer (Acts 6:11). He expressed his reverence before God, to whom every glory belongs. By this same thing he dealt the first heavy blow to the vain notions of the Jews about the significance of the external temple for glorifying God. "If He is the God of glory, then clearly He has no need of glorification from us or through the temple. He Himself is the source of glory. Therefore do not think to glorify Him in this way" (Chrysostom). "In Mesopotamia" (cf. the note on Acts 2:9), before his settlement in Haran, "and said," and so forth. Haran, in Greek Charan and in Roman usage Carrhae, was a most ancient city in Mesopotamia on an old caravan road. At first sight, this account of Stephen contradicts the account of Genesis. The further words of God which Stephen cites as spoken at this appearance (v. 3) were, according to the Mosaic narrative (Gen 12:1), spoken to Abraham when God appeared to him in Haran. They were not spoken before his settlement in Haran, as Stephen says. According to Genesis, Terah, Abraham's father, left Ur, a city of the Chaldeans, with his whole household, among whom was Abraham. He set out for the land of Canaan, came as far as Haran, stopped there, and died there (Gen 11:28-32). There Abraham received the revelation at which the words transmitted by Stephen and Moses were spoken. This took place not in Ur, in the land of the Chaldeans (v. 4), as Stephen says. Thus Stephen, at first glance, rearranges the events, relating the appearance to an earlier time. The matter is explained by the testimony of Philo (De Abrahamo) and Josephus (Antt. 1.7.1). The Jews of that time, especially the Alexandrians, believed on the basis of tradition that God's first appearance to Abraham was not in Haran, but in Ur of the Chaldeans. Moses does not speak of this directly. As a result of this appearance, Abraham's father Terah set out from Ur to Canaan with his whole household. On the road, in Haran, he died. After Terah's death God again appeared to Abraham and repeated the command to continue the journey. This tradition, that God appeared to Abraham already in Ur of the Chaldeans, has confirmation, and perhaps even its foundation, in the Mosaic narrative itself. After this appearance in Haran, God spoke to Abraham at one of the later appearances: "I am Jehovah, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit" (Gen 15:7). From this it follows that already in Ur Abraham received from God the command to leave that country and go to Canaan. The same is confirmed by a passage from Nehemiah, where Ezra's prayer is cited: "You are Jehovah God, who chose Abraham and brought him out of the land of the Chaldeans" (Neh 9:7). Thus Stephen, though he seems to relate Jehovah's appearance to Abraham to a time different from that to which Moses relates it, follows Jewish tradition in this case. That tradition has confirmation in the Mosaic narrative and in Nehemiah, or perhaps is even based on them.

He calls Abraham his father and the father of all who were in the Sanhedrin. Therefore he honors Abraham as well.

In speaking of God’s appearance to Abraham, he defines God’s living and providential relation to the whole Jewish people in the person of the forefather.

Thus by this also he overthrows the slander that he blasphemed God. By the detailed account of events dear to the Jews, St. Stephen evidently wished to calm his listeners.

At the same time he wished to ground historically his answer concerning the substance of his evangelical preaching.

This answer was expressed in parts, in various conclusions from history, and in a special presentation of the prophetic and typological predictions concerning Christ the Savior, His teaching, His sufferings, and His glory.

“Observe,” says blessed Theophylact, “how he draws their thought away from the sensible, beginning with locality, since the discussion concerned a place.

If God is the God of glory, then He does not need to receive glory from you through your temple. He Himself is the source of every glory and every good.”