Acts 7:53 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 7:51-53

Stephen was going on in his discourse (as it should seem by the thread of it) to show that, as the temple, so the temple-service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to that worship of the Father in spirit and in truth which was to be established in the kingdom of the Messiah, stripped of the pompous ceremonies of the old law, and so he was going to apply all this which he had said more closely to his present purpose; but he perceived they could not bear it. They... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 7:37-53

7:37-53 "It was this man who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up a prophet from among your brothers, like me.' It was this Moses who was in the gathering of the people in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai, and with your fathers. It was he who received the living oracles to give to you. But your fathers refused to be obedient to him. They rejected him. In their hearts they turned back to Egypt. They said to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 7:53

Who have received the law, by the disposition of angels ,.... Who attended the angel that spake to Moses on Mount Sinai, Acts 7:38 who is the head of all principality and power, and whom he might make use of in giving the law to Moses: hence the law is said to be ordained by angels, in the hand of a Mediator, and is called the word spoken by angels, Galatians 3:19 and certain it is, that there were great numbers of angels on Mount Sinai, when the law was given, Deuteronomy 33:2 And so... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 7:53

By the disposition of angels - Εις διαταγας αγγελων . After all that has been said on this difficult passage, perhaps the simple meaning is, that there were ranks, διαταγαι , of angels attending on the Divine Majesty when he gave the law: a circumstance which must have added greatly to the grandeur and solemnity of the occasion; and to this Psalm 68:17 ; seems to me most evidently to allude: The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even many thousands of angels: the Lord is among them... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 7:53

Verse 53 53.Who have received the law. They called that fury wherewith they raged against Stephen zeal of the law, as if he had been a forsaker of the law, and a revolt (470) and had enforced others to fall away in like sort. Although he was determined to clear himself of this false accusation, yet he did not go through with his answer. For he could not be heard, and it was to no end to speak to deaf men. Therefore, he is content, at a word, to take from them their false color and pretense. It... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:1-53

The recital of a nation's spiritual pedigree—its leading suggestions. Technically the description of a defense may very justly be applied to the long stretch of these verses. They no doubt do stand for Stephen's formal defense. He has been very mildly challenged by the high priest to say whether the "things" laid to his charge "are so." And he loses not a minute in replying. He replies, however, in his own way. That way is somewhat indirect. His tone betrays some sense of his being in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:1-60

The first martyrdom. When we look at the Lord Jesus as our Exemplar, though we are conscious that all his excellences of life and character were strictly human, and within the range of those human faculties which we possess in common with our Lord, yet are we also conscious that the transcendent perfection of his human life is what we can never reach. Our Lord's goodness was the goodness of man, and yet it is a goodness that we never can attain to. Where his feet stood firm, our feet will... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:2-53

Stephen's defense. It was usual in the court of the Sanhedrim to allow an accused person to plead guilty or not guilty, and to speak in his own defense. As this address of Stephen's is his defense, we must know of what he was accused. Generally it may be said that he was a blasphemer of God and the Law; but, to understand how such a charge could possibly be made, we must appreciate the intense and superstitious feeling concerning Mosaism which characterized the rulers of that day. The more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:44-53

Lessons of sacred history. I. THE SACRED PLACES OF ISRAEL . 1. The tabernacle. It was the tent of witness or of attestation; otherwise the "tabernacle of the assembly," or of the congregation. It was the visible center of Israel's natural and spiritual life, the hearth and home of the people and the altar of God. He met with them to declare his will, to make known his laws, and they with one another as a community having a common weal. Religion is the true foundation of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:51-60

Illustrations. We have some of the best and one of the worst things illustrated in this passage. I. FAITHFULNESS FINDING UTTERANCE IN VEHEMENT REPROACH . ( Acts 7:51-53 .) Stirred (as we suppose) by the impatient interruptions of the senators, who at this point showed themselves unwilling to listen, Stephen rebuked them in the strong and stringent language of the text. They who imagined themselves to be "the cream of the cream," the very best specimens of the holiest... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 7:51-53

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 7:37-53

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 7:53

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 7:53

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 7:53

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:1-53

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:1-60

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:2-53

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:44-53

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:51-60

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