1. Exodus 2:14 (ESV)
  2. Christocentric focus

Resisting the chosen leaders

Exodus 2:14 (ESV)

14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”

In Acts 7 we read the speech of Stephan against the Pharisees and other leaders of the people just before he was stoned to death. He spoke about Moses’ call in Acts 7:35: This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge?—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

Stephan told the story of Israel. In his story he highlighted the resistance of Israel against God and the leaders he had chosen, especially Moses: the rejection told in Exodus 2:14, but also when the people worshipped the golden calve, Acts 7:39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt. Stephan was confronted with resistance from the Jewish leaders: they persecuted the prophets and even the Righteous One, that is, Jesus (Acts 7:52)—as well as Stephan, the witness and martyr.