What does Acts 7:54 mean?
Stephen has finished his defense against false accusations that he blasphemed the Mosaic law and Moses and wished to destroy the temple. The rushed tempo in Acts 7:51–53 suggests the crowd's anger has been quickly building and Stephen had to cut his speech short."They" is a reference to Jews from Cyrene, meaning Libya, Alexandria, meaning Egypt, and the provinces of Cilicia and Asia in modern-day Asia Minor, as well as Jews descended from freed slaves who apparently live in or are visiting Jerusalem (Acts 6:8–15). Many have traveled to Jerusalem to worship in the temple. Stephen, a Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons of the church, may be a member of the synagogue of the Freedmen; it's there that he preached the gospel of Jesus.
It's very possible that many members of his audience know little about Jesus, as Jews dwelling outside Judea didn't make it to Jerusalem for all the required feasts. The men from northern Africa and Asia Minor have made a significant time and financial commitment to get to their homeland; the members of the Freedmen synagogue may be especially reverent since if they were the first free generation, they would be the first generation allowed to worship in the temple. The message that a man they know little about is the Son of God is not something they can accept.
To "ground" or "gnash" teeth is a sign of an imminent attack (Job 16:9; Psalm 35:16; 37:12; 112:10). The Jews who came to worship at the Pentecost seven weeks after the crucifixion had a better reaction. When Peter preached to them, they "were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" (Acts 2:37).
God's plan was always that once Jerusalem was sufficiently saturated with the gospel, Jesus-followers would spread throughout Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He's about to use persecution to do this.
Acts 7:54–60 finishes the story of the Jesus-follower Stephen. He has been falsely accused of blasphemy against God, Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). He has used the history of the Jews to show how over the years the Jews have come to worship Moses, the Law, and the temple like idols (Acts 7:1–53). His accusers are furious, but when Stephen claims to see Jesus standing next to God, the crowd goes mad, and Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr. His death sparks a great persecution against the church, but as the Jesus-followers flee Jerusalem, they take the gospel to the world (Acts 1:8).
Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.
