They were cut to the heart - They were exceedingly enraged and indignant. The whole course of the speech had been such as to excite their anger, and now they could restrain themselves no longer.They gnashed on him ... - Expressive of the bitterness and malignity of their feeling. read more
Acts 7:54-56. When they heard these things These plain, and undeniable, and alarming truths; they were cut to the heart Or sawn asunder, the original word being the same that is used chap. Acts 5:33. And not permitting him to proceed any further, in a transport of rage, they gnashed on him with their teeth As if they would have devoured him alive. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost And therefore no way terrified with the foresight of the evil which appeared to be determined against... read more
Stephen before the Sanhedrin (7:1-60)The defence that Stephen made before the Sanhedrin was not designed to win its approval. He outlined Israel’s history to demonstrate two main points. First, God had never shown himself to be limited to one dwelling place, or even one locality (therefore the Jews were mistaken in attaching such importance to the temple in Jerusalem). Second, the people of Israel had always rejected the messengers of God (therefore their rejection of the Messiah Jesus was not... read more
cut. Greek. diapriomai, as in Acts 5:33 . gnashed, &c. = were gnashing their teeth on him. Greek. brucho Only here. An onomatopoeic word, like brugmos. Matthew 8:12 , &c. Both are medical words. read more
Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.Gnashed on him with their teeth ... does not mean that they bit or chewed upon Stephen's flesh but that they were so infuriated that they ground their... read more
54-56. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, &c.—If they could have answered him, how different would have been their temper of mind! read more
"Cut to the quick" is a figure of speech that describes being painfully wounded. Stephen’s charge of always resisting God’s Spirit convicted and offended the members of the Sanhedrin. They retaliated fiercely. Gnashing (grinding) the teeth pictures brutal antagonism."The possibilities are that what took place was a spontaneous act of mob violence or that Stephen was legally executed by the Sanhedrin, either because there was some kind of special permission from the Romans or because there was... read more
Defence and Martyrdom of Stephen1-53. Speech of Stephen. There is every reason to believe that this speech was really delivered by St. Stephen, and not composed by St. Luke; for, (1) the speech does not (in any direct manner) answer the charges alleged (Acts 6:14), as a speech composed by the historian himself would have done; (2) there are several erroneous references to the OT. (not all due to the use of LXX), natural enough in a speech delivered impromptu, but not natural in a speech... read more
(54) They were cut to the heart.—Literally, were sawn through and through. (See Note on Acts 5:33.) The word describes a keener pang than the “pricked” of Acts 2:37, producing, not repentance, but the frenzy of furious anger.They gnashed on him with their teeth.—The passage is worth noting as the only example of the literal use of a phrase with which we are so familiar in its figurative application (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 13:42, et al.). Here it clearly expresses brute passion rather than... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:54-60
The proto-martyr. I. An EXAMPLE . 1. Distinguished faith overcoming the world, the flesh, the wicked one. 2. Spiritual vision. Heaven opened. New world under the government of Christ. 3. Patience and love, after the example of Jesus. The influence of Christ's martyrdom on all other martyrs. The sermon on the mount exemplified. II. A new Divine SEAL upon the truth. 1. Sufferings and death in their relation to testimony. Necessity of martyrdom in a world like... read more