Stephen is on trial and makes a speech which as recorded is a rehearsal of Jewish history in the setting of the Hebrew scriptures. “But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands…” Is Stephen saying here that God exceeds the boundaries of Judaism? Is it that Judaism has reduced God to a box? The climax of the story is Stephen’s vision of the exalted Christ. “I see the heavens opened” cried Stephen, “and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” Stephen, like Jesus, prayed for his murderers. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Stephen is on trial and makes a speech which as recorded is a rehearsal of Jewish history in the setting of the Hebrew scriptures. “But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands…” Is Stephen saying here that God exceeds the boundaries of Judaism? Is it that Judaism has reduced God to a box? The climax of the story is Stephen’s vision of the exalted Christ. “I see the heavens opened” cried Stephen, “and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” Stephen, like Jesus, prayed for his murderers. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
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