Why were the Jewish people not ready for Christ to return?
The Jewish people were not ready for Christ to return because they did not want Him to come; they were too happy with their own religion. They had reached the crescendo point of rejection, declaring they would not have this man rule over them.
Les explains that Israel was not ready for Christ to return because they didn't want Him to come; they were too happy with their own religion. At the stoning of Stephen, Israel came to the crescendo point of her rejection, not acceptance, saying, "We will not have this man to rule over us." Rome allowed the Jews to handle their own religious system, so they were permitted to kill their own in the name of their own religion. It had been Jewish, Jewish, Jewish—Peter, Peter, Peter, now Stephen. As they reached their pinnacle of rejection, the young man named Saul is introduced to the scene.