Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the false witnesses suborned to procure Stephen's condemnation before the Sanhedrin stood up and accused him of blaspheming Moses and God (Acts 6:11). That accusation raises an important question: Is the Christian faith loyal to Moses? That is, does the proclamation of Jesus as Messiah somehow dishonor, blaspheme, or disagree with Moses' teaching? It's a question that Stephen thought to be very important. Jesus thought it was important too. And both Stephen and Christ give an unequivocal answer to this question. They insist that the Christian faith is completely loyal to Moses, that it is in continuity with the basic thrust of his teaching. John is the most "Moses-negative" writer in the NT, with his statement "The law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." At first glance, that statement sounds like it's throwing Moses under the bus. Yet a moment's thought shows that even though it's phrased absolutely, its meaning is relative. If it were an absolute contrast, then John would be saying that Moses taught no truth. Of course, if Moses taught no truth then the entire NT is false as well. That's simply a negative way of saying that the NT is indeed in continuity with Moses. Far from blaspheming Moses by his teaching about Jesus, Stephen was actually honoring and agreeing with Moses, who wrote about Jesus and indeed, as we'll see in a few moments, got all his teaching and leadership from Jesus in the first place. So in responding to the question about blaspheming Moses, Stephen's words are clear: "I'm not blaspheming Moses. You are. And if you insist on doing that, you will be delivered up to idols."
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Caleb Nelson grew up in Ft. Collins, CO. Born into a Christian home, where he eventually became the eldest of 11 children, he has been a lifelong Presbyterian. He professed faith at the age of six, and was homeschooled through high school. He then attended Patrick Henry College...
