Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

Yesterday, when we left off, Stephen had been falsely accused by a group of Jews from

another synagogue that doesn't recognize Jesus as Messiah.

Today, as he's standing before the Sanhedrin, they're the ruling council that's kind of

like the Supreme Court.

They've given the opportunity to defend himself.

But Stephen kind of answers questions the same way Jesus does, meaning he doesn't give

you the information you ask for.

He gives you the information you need to know.

Stephen talks for a long time and doesn't manage to say a single thing about himself,

in 53 verses.

He just gives a synopsis of the Old Testament storyline as it relates to the gospel.

If you were with us in the Old Testament, it was probably nice to have a refresher, but

if you weren't, here's the overarching storyline Stephen presents.

God keeps pursuing His people.

As people keep rejecting Him, they reject and persecute and kill the prophets He sends

to speak truth to them.

Most recently, Stephen says, they've killed the righteous one all the prophets were

prophesying about.

As he recounts all the horrible ways God's people have acted in the past, they probably

recognize the evil actions of their forefathers.

They probably resonate with what He's saying, but they may not realize He's building to

...