⁹ But eventually a group arose to oppose Stephen and the message to which his signs and wonders pointed. (These men were from a group called the Free Synagogue and included Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asians.) ¹⁰ The Holy Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom in responding to their arguments that they were humiliated; ¹¹ in retaliation, they spread a vicious rumor: “We heard Stephen speak blasphemies against Moses and God.”