Acts 7 Explained: Stephen’s Trial, the Sanhedrin, and the Sermon They Stopped Listening To

Acts 7 Explained: Stephen’s Trial, the Sanhedrin, and the Sermon They Stopped Listening To

From The Semi-Seminarian by Pastor Jim Wilhelm

June 21, 2026 · 28 min · Season 8 · Episode 25

About this episode

This episode explores Acts 7, focusing on Stephen's trial and his powerful sermon before the Sanhedrin, highlighting themes of religious resistance and martyrdom.

What were they trying to stop hearing? In Acts 7 , Stephen stands before the Sanhedrin accused of speaking against Moses, the law, the temple, and the customs . But Stephen does not offer a polite defense. He tells Israel’s story back to Israel’s leaders — Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the wilderness, the golden calf, the temple — and by the time he is finished, the defendant has become the witness, and the judges are the ones on trial. This Bible study and sermon walks through Acts 7:51–60 , the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and one of the most powerful courtroom scenes in the New Testament. Stephen exposes the terrifying truth beneath religious resistance: before they picked up stones, they covered their ears. “They cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord.” — Acts 7:57 That is the question at the center of this episode: Why did they have to stop listening before they could stone him? Stephen’s sermon was not failing. It was landing. The truth had cut too close. The Sanhedrin heard their own story in his words — the rejection of Joseph, the rejection of Moses, the golden calf, the persecution of the prophets, and now the…

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