What did Israel's stoning of Stephen show about her response to Christ?
Israel's stoning of Stephen showed she had reached the crescendo point of her rejection of Christ, not acceptance. It demonstrated the nation's refusal to have Him rule over them. They stopped their ears and ran upon him, showing they did not want Christ to return or come to them.
Les explains that as Acts comes through this section, it has been Jewish, Jewish, Jewish—Peter, Peter, Peter, now Stephen—but it is all Jewish. At the stoning of Stephen, Israel came to the crescendo point of her rejection, not her acceptance. They were not ready for Christ to return and did not want Him to come; they were too happy with their own religion. They cried with a loud voice, stopped their ears, ran upon him with one accord, cast him out of the city, and stoned him. Rome never lifted a finger against the Jews carrying out their own means of punishment, because Rome let the Jews handle their own religious system. The witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. This was the pinnacle of rejection, saying, 'we'll not have this man to rule over us.'