When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
When Stephen closed his defense by charging his judges with resisting the Holy Spirit like their fathers, persecuting the prophets and betraying and murdering the Just One whose coming they foretold, while proving from prophecy that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Son of God, his hearers were pierced with furious madness rather than repentance. To be cut to the heart here is to be enraged by plain truth reaching the soul, revealing the same bitter spirit that opposed Christ, and to gnash with the teeth is to act like wild beasts of prey, stopping the ears, erupting in tumult and rushing to kill. Stephen expected this wrath and was not intimidated by the mob or by death, but remained calm and steadfast in the Holy Spirit with his face shining as heaven opened before him. His shining face, soul-piercing words and dying prayer could not be refuted from Scripture and were answered only with stoning, yet they made an indelible impression on Saul who consented to his death, stirring sharp conviction that later returned with guilt until he recognized the claims about Jesus as true. His death shows that faithful rebuke of sin will meet railing and violence, but wicked men do not truly triumph by killing the body, for the persecution scattered the church to spread the gospel and turned the persecutor himself into a messenger to Gentiles, kings and Israel.
Stephen's Rebuke Provokes Fury
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart because Stephen had closed with the charge that they were stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit as their fathers had done. He charged that as their fathers had persecuted and slain the prophets who foretold the coming of the Just One, so they had become His betrayers and murderers while receiving the law by the disposition of angels and not keeping it.
That same testimony presented mighty evidence from prophecy that Jesus is the Son of God. It proclaimed the crucified and risen Saviour whom they had rejected and killed, and set forth teaching about Christ and the temple which he defended even unto death. They could not bear to hear of the One whom they had crucified, and his bold testimony of the crucified and risen Saviour filled them with rage.
To be cut to the heart here means to be filled with furious anger, madness, and blind wrath rather than repentance. Plain sharp truth reaching the soul provoked rage in those who were resisting the light. Their hatred for Christ's followers revealed the same bitter spirit that had opposed the world's Redeemer, with Satan working in them as children of disobedience. Stephen's words filled the priests and rulers with furious anger, leaving them beside themselves.
Gnashing with the teeth meant rushing upon Stephen like wild beasts of prey, more like beasts than human beings. They stopped their ears rather than be convinced, refusing to listen. They erupted in tumult and made clear they were ready to kill him, and Stephen was then stoned to death.
Stephen had expected this response and was not intimidated or afraid of death or the mob. Full of the Holy Spirit, he remained calm and steadfast as he faced death. His face stayed calm and shone with an angelic light, bearing the signet of God in faith and constancy. The scene about him faded as heaven stood open, with the gates ajar and Christ as if just risen from His throne to sustain His servant in martyrdom, seen in glory at the right hand of God in commendation of His faithful witness.
Faithful Death Bears Fruit
The tumult told Stephen his testimony was meeting resistance and was about to be silenced, so he brought his sermon to an abrupt end. Unable to refute his arguments from Scripture, his opponents answered with hatred and violence and put him to death by stoning. His death was martyrdom in which enemies could kill the body but could not take away hope and eternal life. His final witness was spoken under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and its setting and the hearers' response belong to the force of his address.
Saul shared that rage as a member of the Sanhedrin, a rabbi and statesman educated by Gamaliel and very zealous to suppress Christianity. He had once disputed with Stephen and took part in his trial and conviction. He stood by consenting to his death, though he did not throw the stones himself. That rage did not stop with Stephen, for Saul went on breathing threatenings and slaughter against the disciples, seeking to bind men and women of this way and bring them to Jerusalem.
Stephen's triumphant death and soul-piercing words, his shining face and compassion and dying prayer, made a deep impression that could not be effaced and testified to the truth of what he proclaimed. They greatly stirred Saul, shook his prejudice, and brought sharp conviction even amid hostility. The testimony remained in memory and contributed to Saul's conversion, and through this event many were brought to the gospel. Later Saul remembered Stephen's sermon with horror and guilt, recalling the heaven-radiant face and recognizing its claims about Jesus as true, and remembering that Stephen had been killed with his own consent.
At first Saul rejected that conviction and let himself be governed by the malice and prejudice of the priests and rulers. Persuaded by their opinions and arguments, with his education, loyalty to his teachers, pride, and settled confidence that those ministering in holy office must be right, he concluded Stephen was a blasphemer and Jesus an impostor. As a man of decided mind and strong purpose he voluntarily became very bitter in opposition to Christianity. He engaged in persecuting believers, causing holy men to be dragged before councils and to be imprisoned or condemned to death with no offense except faith in Jesus.
That same bitter prejudice and blind wrath that seized the hearers at Jerusalem had once burned in Paul's own heart against the followers of Christ. After he met Jesus he proclaimed the same cause in the same synagogue — that Jesus was the Son of God defended from the evidence of prophecy — and the hostility that had led to Stephen's death was then directed against Paul. When Paul gazed upon the place of martyrdom the scene rose before him in vividness, bringing anxiety and remorse over his former life. He felt deep pity for his deluded countrymen now kindled with the same blind wrath against him, and faced the question whether he was going forward to a similar fate.
Stephen's witness shows the opposition faced by those who testify to the truth and the need to be grounded in Scripture and ready to remain faithful even under threat of death. It shows the need for faithful, direct rebuke of sin, since plain sharp truth can cut hearers to the heart and provoke a hostile response. His death only appeared to let wicked men triumph, for it did not hinder the gospel. The persecution that scattered the church helped spread it, brought many to belief, and helped convict Saul, who later became a messenger of Christ to Gentiles, kings, and Israel. The same railing and gnashing of teeth by those opposing the truth still meets those who oppose error.
When Stephen closed his defense by charging his judges with resisting the Holy Spirit like their fathers, persecuting the prophets and betraying and murdering the Just One whose coming they foretold, while proving from prophecy that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Son of God, his hearers were pierced with furious madness rather than repentance. To be cut to the heart here is to be enraged by plain truth reaching the soul, revealing the same bitter spirit that opposed Christ, and to gnash with the teeth is to act like wild beasts of prey, stopping the ears, erupting in tumult and rushing to kill. Stephen expected this wrath and was not intimidated by the mob or by death, but remained calm and steadfast in the Holy Spirit with his face shining as heaven opened before him. His shining face, soul-piercing words and dying prayer could not be refuted from Scripture and were answered only with stoning, yet they made an indelible impression on Saul who consented to his death, stirring sharp conviction that later returned with guilt until he recognized the claims about Jesus as true. His death shows that faithful rebuke of sin will meet railing and violence, but wicked men do not truly triumph by killing the body, for the persecution scattered the church to spread the gospel and turned the persecutor himself into a messenger to Gentiles, kings and Israel.
Stephen's Rebuke Provokes Fury
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart because Stephen had closed with the charge that they were stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit as their fathers had done. He charged that as their fathers had persecuted and slain the prophets who foretold the coming of the Just One, so they had become His betrayers and murderers while receiving the law by the disposition of angels and not keeping it.
That same testimony presented mighty evidence from prophecy that Jesus is the Son of God. It proclaimed the crucified and risen Saviour whom they had rejected and killed, and set forth teaching about Christ and the temple which he defended even unto death. They could not bear to hear of the One whom they had crucified, and his bold testimony of the crucified and risen Saviour filled them with rage.
To be cut to the heart here means to be filled with furious anger, madness, and blind wrath rather than repentance. Plain sharp truth reaching the soul provoked rage in those who were resisting the light. Their hatred for Christ's followers revealed the same bitter spirit that had opposed the world's Redeemer, with Satan working in them as children of disobedience. Stephen's words filled the priests and rulers with furious anger, leaving them beside themselves.
Gnashing with the teeth meant rushing upon Stephen like wild beasts of prey, more like beasts than human beings. They stopped their ears rather than be convinced, refusing to listen. They erupted in tumult and made clear they were ready to kill him, and Stephen was then stoned to death.
Stephen had expected this response and was not intimidated or afraid of death or the mob. Full of the Holy Spirit, he remained calm and steadfast as he faced death. His face stayed calm and shone with an angelic light, bearing the signet of God in faith and constancy. The scene about him faded as heaven stood open, with the gates ajar and Christ as if just risen from His throne to sustain His servant in martyrdom, seen in glory at the right hand of God in commendation of His faithful witness.
Faithful Death Bears Fruit
The tumult told Stephen his testimony was meeting resistance and was about to be silenced, so he brought his sermon to an abrupt end. Unable to refute his arguments from Scripture, his opponents answered with hatred and violence and put him to death by stoning. His death was martyrdom in which enemies could kill the body but could not take away hope and eternal life. His final witness was spoken under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and its setting and the hearers' response belong to the force of his address.
Saul shared that rage as a member of the Sanhedrin, a rabbi and statesman educated by Gamaliel and very zealous to suppress Christianity. He had once disputed with Stephen and took part in his trial and conviction. He stood by consenting to his death, though he did not throw the stones himself. That rage did not stop with Stephen, for Saul went on breathing threatenings and slaughter against the disciples, seeking to bind men and women of this way and bring them to Jerusalem.
Stephen's triumphant death and soul-piercing words, his shining face and compassion and dying prayer, made a deep impression that could not be effaced and testified to the truth of what he proclaimed. They greatly stirred Saul, shook his prejudice, and brought sharp conviction even amid hostility. The testimony remained in memory and contributed to Saul's conversion, and through this event many were brought to the gospel. Later Saul remembered Stephen's sermon with horror and guilt, recalling the heaven-radiant face and recognizing its claims about Jesus as true, and remembering that Stephen had been killed with his own consent.
At first Saul rejected that conviction and let himself be governed by the malice and prejudice of the priests and rulers. Persuaded by their opinions and arguments, with his education, loyalty to his teachers, pride, and settled confidence that those ministering in holy office must be right, he concluded Stephen was a blasphemer and Jesus an impostor. As a man of decided mind and strong purpose he voluntarily became very bitter in opposition to Christianity. He engaged in persecuting believers, causing holy men to be dragged before councils and to be imprisoned or condemned to death with no offense except faith in Jesus.
That same bitter prejudice and blind wrath that seized the hearers at Jerusalem had once burned in Paul's own heart against the followers of Christ. After he met Jesus he proclaimed the same cause in the same synagogue — that Jesus was the Son of God defended from the evidence of prophecy — and the hostility that had led to Stephen's death was then directed against Paul. When Paul gazed upon the place of martyrdom the scene rose before him in vividness, bringing anxiety and remorse over his former life. He felt deep pity for his deluded countrymen now kindled with the same blind wrath against him, and faced the question whether he was going forward to a similar fate.
Stephen's witness shows the opposition faced by those who testify to the truth and the need to be grounded in Scripture and ready to remain faithful even under threat of death. It shows the need for faithful, direct rebuke of sin, since plain sharp truth can cut hearers to the heart and provoke a hostile response. His death only appeared to let wicked men triumph, for it did not hinder the gospel. The persecution that scattered the church helped spread it, brought many to belief, and helped convict Saul, who later became a messenger of Christ to Gentiles, kings, and Israel. The same railing and gnashing of teeth by those opposing the truth still meets those who oppose error.