Father, while there are things that catch me by surprise, I am grateful that nothing ever does that for You. Help my focus to be on You and no other. Amen.
Acts 7:51-53 (<<click here to read the passage)
I realize that I have brought it upon myself but several days ago I took the time to watch a dashcam video montage online and now all kinds of them are showing up on my feed. Most of them feature accidents caught on their cameras. Occasionally, victims can see disaster coming their way but more often than not – BAM! – they are caught totally unawares. A tire comes off a vehicle on the other side of the highway and slams into their car… A vehicle weaving through traffic much too quickly loses control and plows into a car they didn’t see…
I feel that way about Stephen’s speech before the High Council. In his condensed history of Israel, his listeners are hearing nothing they don’t already know then – BAM! – he broadsides them with an accusation that, although absolutely true, catches them totally off guard! It instantly infuriates them throwing them into a rage!
Read through his accusation… If you were the guilty recipient, wouldn’t it set you off, too?
“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.” Acts 7:51-53 NLT
In the New Living Translation, there is a note linked to the word heathen in the second sentence. In the Greek translation, that word also means uncircumcised.
Of course, circumcision is one of the big things that set God’s people apart as His own. No one else did that. So, if you were not circumcised you were not considered God’s people, you were considered heathens or uncircumcised.
Yes, circumcision is an outward act on a man’s body but from a spiritual perspective, it reflects not the outward act but an inward condition.
Stephen stated, “You are heathen (uncircumcised) at heart…” Ouch! And that was just the first slap across their faces!
The core text of last week’s sermon had a very apropos passage of Scripture that came to mind when I read the one here in Acts. It is from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the non-Jewish members in the Church in Ephesus.
Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. Ephesians 2:11 NLT
Technically, because most of us are not Jewish by birth – we are Gentiles, we would be considered heathens. And regardless of any symbolic outward act, be we man or woman, we must be very careful to ensure that our hearts show the mark of transformation at the hand of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we strive each and every day, not to be caught off guard by the ugly truth, but to live lives dedicated to Him, truly reflecting the purity of His heart. Amen.
Feb 27th, 2022, Sun, 8:09 PM
