What were they trying to stop hearing?

In Acts 7, Stephen stands before the Sanhedrin accused of speaking against Moses, the law, the temple, and the customs. But Stephen does not offer a polite defense. He tells Israel’s story back to Israel’s leaders — Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the wilderness, the golden calf, the temple — and by the time he is finished, the defendant has become the witness, and the judges are the ones on trial.

This Bible study and sermon walks through Acts 7:51–60, the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and one of the most powerful courtroom scenes in the New Testament. Stephen exposes the terrifying truth beneath religious resistance: before they picked up stones, they covered their ears.

“They cried out with a loud voice, and stop ...