“Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council” (Acts 6:9-12.) “Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.” The logical consequences of faithfulness are slander + persecution in a corrupted faithless world. “Synagogue of the Libertines” is later translated “Synagogue of the Freedmen” both because most people don’t know history and because “libertine” has acquired a very different meaning (ahem!) Some decades ago, General Pompey (possibly while trying to become emperor instead of Julius Caesar) took a clutch of Jews captive as slaves—then he freed them. These Jews are literally “freed men.” The Greek word “Libertinos” is exactly from the Latin for one given “liberty.” They lived in Rome as free citizens and built their own synagogue in Jerusalem (later, a Synagogue of the Libertines” was found in—where else?—Pompeii.) This initially literally-true label becomes an ironic lie for both misusing “synagogue” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9) and “free” (Gal. 5:13; James 2:12.) They’re wrong, but never will admit they’re wrong, however much proof they get that all the power has left Judaism for the disciple of Judaism’s Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. This is no different than with any Internet argument, so we should be used to this sort of person by now. “Cyrenians” were from Cyrene, a city near Shahhat, Libya. “Alexandrians” would have been from the City of Alexandra; while Alexander the Great established many cities he named after himself, the likely candidate is Alexandria, Egypt. The important part is that whichever “Alexandria” is meant, they are from a Greek-established city, putting them in the same category as the Greek-influenced Sadducees: they take “modern civilization” over what the Creator Yehovah actually says. Fast forward ~2,000 years and we see the value of “modern civilization” while also seeing that the words of Yehovah still stand. Meanwhile, we can say, “Of course they argued with Stephen.” The problem arises with Stephen openly telling them (Galatians 3) that in rejecting their Messiah, they weren’t really “Jews” anymore but were disobedient, and really should expect God to treat them like any disobedient Gentile—or worse. No one likes to hear that sort of thing; the trick is in taking correction as potential correction, not insult. Few to no humans actually hear correction and go think about it, whether or not it actually applies: “Thank you for the concern, but I believe you’re wrong in this case.” Nope. “How dare you contradict me!” “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.” This is because the “Spirit by which Stephen spoke” was the Holy Spirit, and no one beats God, not in arguing, not in any other contest. “Unable to resist” = the Holy Spirit knows more than anyone, and loves them enough to try to reach them, even using what they think they care about (Scripture) against them Thus, the typical result I see in any Internet argument is the person merely walks away and refuses to respond to God or His facts: most of God’s victories over sinners are won by default because the sinner walks off the field to go sin, instead. Notably, Stephen models for us our method: preach the gospel, “Be instant in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2.) Mind not at all the emotional responses of those upset that you’re preaching the gospel because if you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps is the one you hit. You might want to be more concerned for the one who tells you, “That’s nice; I’m glad you’ve found something to believe.” That person is closer to hell than the angry ones, who are at least willing to stay on the field fighting, losing, but still there for God to deal with. Speaking of losing, we see the world’s M.O. is to obtain “victory” (the illusion thereof) by any means, even with crimes, because “repentance” = “defeat.” “Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.” If you were wondering how the Sadducees managed the shift from “And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them” (Acts 5:13) to assassinating Stephen, it begins here. You and I know Jesus was condemned in a “trial” (ha ha ha ha) on perjured testimony; nevertheless, the typical Jew merely assumed that another Jew would speak the truth (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha) because that’s what Yehovah has commanded. We reading this are also left to hash out whether these “witnesses” (liars) were paid to lie or paid to merely say things the way told them. The difference is that Stephen would have been referring to Jesus’ prophecy of Jerusalem’s future (Luke 21:6) which prophecy is also why Jesus was condemned: apparently, telling a Jew it’ll be the Babylonian conquest all over again was a capital offense. Thus, Stephen would actually have “spoken against” Jerusalem and the temple by way of noting that if they reject God’s own Messiah, Yehovah has no reason to give them anything else, not even let them have anything else. Curiously, Stephen (and Jesus) was right, but very few Jews have admitted as much and conceded the argument. The only way a Jew can “win” this discussion is to cheat, imagining they’ll get away with this crime, showing us why Jerusalem was destroyed: “against this holy place and the law” merely pinned down what the Jews’ god really was. They are more concerned for that building called “God’s house” than for the LAW given by the One supposedly in it (Exodus 20:16.) The moment you must disobey the one you imagine you’re defending, you’re no longer defending that one but yourself and your own, overweening pride and arrogance.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:30:40 +0000
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