7:51-53 What does stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ear mean?
7:51-53 What does stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ear mean?
This is the climax of Stephen's sermon commencing in Ac 6:8, wherein he accuses the Jewish leaders of resisting the Holy Spirit and rejecting Jesus in the same way that their forefathers rejected God in the Old Testament (CP Ex 32:7-10; 33:3-5; Deu 9:6-7; 11-13; Isa 63:8-10; Jer 6:10; 9:25-26; Zech 7:8-14).
"Stiff-necked" means obstinate, arrogant, self-pleasing. "Uncircumcised in heart and ears" describes the Jewish leaders as being callous and perverse so that they do not listen or obey God's word, even though it was delivered to them by angels (CP De 33:2; Ga 3:19; He 2:1-3).