Acts 7:1-16
7: And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
Reflection
The Jews have charged that Jesus and his followers oppose the Mosaic law and that they aim both to abolish it and destroy the temple (Acts 6:8–15). In response, Stephen retells the story of Israel to reveal Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises throughout history (just as Jesus himself claimed; Matt. 5:17). He begins the story with “our father Abraham” (Acts 7:2), because the plot line of the Bible is largely the unfolding of the promise that God made to Abraham and his offspring. Even the first verse of the New Testament is eager to point out the link between Jesus and Abraham: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1).
Jesus is the Son of Abraham, the descendant who inherits all of God’s promises for blessing (Gal. 3:16). Those who belong to Jesus, therefore, have been identified with Christ and have become heirs to the promises as well: “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). Through faith in Christ we have been transplanted into God’s ancient story of grace and blessing.
1 John 2:7-11
7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Reflection
John now highlights Christ’s command to love our “brothers” (1 John 2:9, 10, 11). This is often spoken of as the “love test” of genuine belief.
This commandment is “old” (v. 7) in the sense that it was given to Christians “from the beginning” (v. 7) of their walk with Christ. At the same time, the commandment is “new” (2:8) in the sense that Jesus has introduced a new way of living through the transforming power of the gospel (v. 8; cf. John 13:34). Note, then, that believers are not only called to obey this command but are also enabled to obey it: we are able to love one another “because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (v. 8).
Psalm 105:5-6
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
Because of our union with Christ we have become the descendants of Abraham and share in God’s great promises to his people. As a member of the family of God, you now have a responsibility to make Christ known to others. Ask God who you should be praying for and reaching out to so that they might also become a child of Abraham through faith in Jesus.