“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” (Acts 7:51-53, ESV)
Stephen has been accused of blasphemy. He gives a long speech recounting Israel's history before concluding with this attack on the religious leaders. Using insults straight from the pages of the OT he calls them stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart and resistant to the HS. He likens them to the repeated instances of God's people rebelling against him throughout their history. God's plan throughout history culminates in Jesus and they killed him. He is not the one guilty of blasphemy on this occasion, he is not the one guilty of setting himself up against God - they are.
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