The Early Church

After summoning the emissaries and flogging them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Yeshua, and let them go.

The emissaries left the Sanhedrin overjoyed at having been considered worthy of suffering disgrace on account of him.

And not for a single day, either in the Temple court or in private homes, did they stop teaching and proclaiming the Good News that Yeshua is the Messiah.

Around this time, when the number of talmidim was growing, the Greek-speaking Jews began complaining against those who spoke Hebrew that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.

So the Twelve called a general meeting of the talmidim and said, “It isn’t appropriate that we should neglect the Word of God in order to serve tables.

Brothers, choose seven men from among yourselves who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint them to be in charge of this important matter,

but we ourselves will give our full attention to praying and to serving the Word.”

What they said was agreeable to the whole gathering. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Ruach HaKodesh, Philip, Prochoros, Nikanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas, who was a proselyte from Antioch.

They presented these men to the emissaries, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

So the word of God continued to spread. The number of talmidim in Yerushalayim increased rapidly, and a large crowd of cohanim were becoming obedient to the faith.

Now Stephen, full of grace and power, performed great miracles and signs among the people.

But opposition arose from members of the Synagogue of the Freed Slaves (as it was called), composed of Cyrenians, Alexandrians and people from Cilicia and the province of Asia. They argued with Stephen,

but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke.

So they secretly persuaded some men to allege, “We heard him speak blasphemously against Moshe and against God.”

They stirred up the people, as well as the elders and the Torah-teachers; so they came and arrested him and led him before the Sanhedrin.

There they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the Torah;

for we have heard him say that Yeshua from Natzeret will destroy this place and will change the customs Moshe handed down to us.”

Everyone sitting in the Sanhedrin stared at Stephen and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

The cohen hagadol asked, “Are these accusations true?”

and Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to Avraham avinu in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran

and said to him, ‘Leave your land and your family, and go into the land that I will show you.’

So he left the land of the Kasdim and lived in Haran. After his father died, God made him move to this land where you are living now.

He gave him no inheritance in it, not even space for one foot; yet he promised to give it to him as a possession and to his descendants after him, even though at the time he was childless.

What God said to him was, ‘Your descendants will be aliens in a foreign land, where they will be in slavery and oppressed for four hundred years.

But I will judge the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterwards they will leave and worship me in this place.’