What does Acts 7:11 mean?
The account of the Jewish "fathers," meaning the patriarchs of the tribes, as they escaped to Egypt during a famine shows that God does not need His people to gather in a temple to recognize them. Jacob's older sons had sold their younger brother Joseph to slave traders. In the ensuing years, God arranged for Joseph to spend time in slavery and prison, predict a famine, rise to be second in command of all Egypt, and prepare for the famine. Despite being away from the land God had promised Abraham, God was with Joseph.Back in Canaan, Joseph's family had sensed no warning of the famine, and the people and livestock were in threat of starvation (Genesis 41:37–57). Jacob hears there is grain for sale in Egypt (Genesis 42:1–2). He has no idea that his lost son has control of it. He doesn't even know Joseph is still alive.
Stephen's recounting of Joseph's story also helps demonstrate to his audience that despite their claimed reverence of Moses, the Israelites have a long history of rejecting God's prophets. In this, Joseph parallels Jesus' identification as the stone the builders rejected that became the cornerstone (Matthew 21:42). Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, but God used him as the foundation for survival for nations caught in famine. The Sanhedrin, to whom Stephen is speaking, killed Jesus, but His sacrifice is the foundation for their salvation, if they will only believe.
Acts 7:9–16 describes one of the church's first deacons, Stephen, during his trial before the Sanhedrin. A crowd of Jews has accused him of speaking against Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen uses his defense to show how Abraham's descendants have been God's people since long before the Law or the temple. In Acts 7:1–8, he gave a summary of how God called Abraham far from the land his people would later inherit. Stephen continues showing how God cared for His people without a place, adding that they didn't respect His prophets, starting with Joseph. Joseph's story is in Genesis 37—Exodus 1.
Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.
