Key Verse: Verse 54 – “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”
Key Words: they gnashed on him with their teeth
Stephen had presented to the Jewish crowd the history of their country and all that Christ had done for them and brought them to the place where they should have seen Jesus as God. But they, like their fathers before them, had rejected the message of Christ and resisted the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Anytime one stands for God and righteousness, they should expect opposition. Satan and the world does not want the message of Christ to spread, so they do what the “natural man” does, they oppose!
Hitler imprisoned a German pastor, Martin Niemoeller, for eight years. He spent some time in prisons and concentration camps, including Dachau. Hitler realized that if Niemoeller, a First World War hero, could be persuaded to join his cause then much opposition would collapse. So he sent a former friend of Niemoeller who now supported the Nazis to visit him. Seeing Niemoeller in his cell, the one-time friend is reported as saying, “Martin, Martin! Why are you here?” To which he received from Niemoeller the response, “My friend! Why are you not here?”
Dr. Mike Rouse
What to do:
✞Don’t let opposition frighten you but rather strengthen you.
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