So the Men Set Free conspired in secret to find those who would bring false accusations against Stephen and lie about him by saying, “We heard this man speak blasphemy against Moses and God.”
they shouted, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everywhere what is contrary to our nation, our law, and this temple. And not only that, but now he brings these non-Jewish men with him into the inner courts of our temple! They have made this sacred place ritually unclean.”
In his defense, Paul said by the Holy Spirit, “I have done nothing wrong. I’ve committed no offense against Jewish law, or against the temple, or against Caesar.”
Then they pounced on him and threw him outside the city walls to stone him. His accusers, one by one, placed their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus.
Don’t let them defeat me, Lord. You can’t let me fall into their clutches! They keep accusing me of things I’ve never done, breathing out violence against me.
The chief priests and the entire supreme Jewish council of leaders were doing their best to bring false charges against Jesus, because they were looking for a reason to put him to death.