The physician Luke wrote about, “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke”, and in chapter six and verse eleven of the book of Acts Luke shared how “suborned men” said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God” where we read:
Then they suborned men, which said,
We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
The verse begins, “Then they suborned men, which said, ...” Luke began with the words, “then they suborned men” which means “at that time the people in the synagogue privately instigated, bribed or induced male human beings to unlawfully and secretly perform some misdeed or commit a crime”, “which said” or “who uttered, declared and proclaimed” the following words. Luke shared how the people in the synagogue “secretly instigated men” to perform the following evil deed.
The verse continues, “... We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.” Luke added words, “we have heard him” which means “we men have been endowed with the faculty of hearing, perceiving and discerning Stephen” “speak blasphemous words” or “utter, declare and proclaim slanderous, reproachful, railing and abusive language, speech, decrees and mandates” “against Moses” which means “in opposition to Moses whose name means drawing out and was the legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion”, “and against God” or “in in opposition to the Heavenly Father God”. Luke shared how these men proclaimed that they “heard” “Stephen” “blaspheme” in opposition to “Moses” and “God”.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the “spiritual leaders” in the “synagogue” were so desperate to bring an accusation against “Stephen” that they “hired or bribed” men to speak wickedly against him, They reported to the people in the “synagogue” that they “heard” “Stephen” speak in opposition to Moses and God. This was not true, and it proved to be another example of “evil” attempting to quiet the “gospel” of Jesus Christ. God's church was growing, and numerous people were becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. “Stephen” became a disciple of Jesus, and when a person yields their life to Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, there is no promise they shall not be spoken evil of concerning their faith. God loves people, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with everyone through His Son Jesus. Let all who read these submit themselves to Jesus, and let them never be known as ones who would “bribe” others to bring an accusation against His disciples.
Next time Luke shares how the “suborned men”, “stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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