• What Is God Trying To Tell Us That We’re Not Hearing? When religious leaders stoned Stephen, they were acting just like their fore-fathers. They were guilty of what they’d always been guilty of: rejecting God’s messengers. Nearly twenty times in the Old Testament, God calls Israel: “stiff-necked”. Israel prided itself on the sign of circumcision because it separated them from the Gentiles. These are the same people who rejected Jesus.