"The only response was: “Retract, retract!” The Reformer showed that his position was sustained by the Scriptures and firmly declared that he could not renounce the truth. The legate, unable to reply to Luther's arguments, overwhelmed him with a storm of reproaches, gibes, and flattery, interspersed with quotations from tradition and the sayings of the Fathers, granting the Reformer no opportunity to speak. Seeing that the conference, thus continued, would be utterly futile, Luther finally obtained a reluctant permission to present his answer in writing. GC 136.1"
"And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."
The EGW passage describes the legate's inability to refute Luther's arguments, similar to how the opponents of Stephen in Acts 6:10 were unable to resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke. Both passages highlight the power of truth and the inability of opponents to overcome it through reason.
"At the next interview, Luther presented a clear, concise, and forcible exposition of his views, fully supported by many quotations from Scripture. This paper, after reading aloud, he handed to the cardinal, who, however, cast it contemptuously aside, declaring it to be a mass of idle words and irrelevant quotations. Luther, fully aroused, now met the haughty prelate on his own ground—the traditions and teachings of the church—and utterly overthrew his assumptions. GC 136.3"
"And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."
Both Stephen and Luther were able to present arguments that their opponents could not refute. The EGW passage highlights Luther's ability to overthrow the prelate's assumptions with Scripture, mirroring Stephen's wisdom and spirit in Acts 6:10.
"When the prelate saw that Luther's reasoning was unanswerable, he lost all self-control, and in a rage cried out: “Retract! or I will send you to Rome, there to appear before the judges commissioned to take cognizance of your cause. I will excommunicate you and all your partisans, and all who shall at any time countenance you, and will cast them out of the church.” And he finally declared, in a haughty and angry tone: “Retract, or return no more.”—D'Aubigne, London ed., b. 4, ch. 8. GC 136.4"
"These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue."
Both the parents in John 9 and the prelate in the EGW passage used threats of excommunication to pressure individuals to conform to their beliefs. The EGW passage describes the prelate's threat to excommunicate Luther and his followers, which parallels the Jews' agreement to put out of the synagogue anyone who confessed that Jesus was the Christ.
"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus."
Both passages involve religious authorities commanding individuals to cease preaching/teaching and threatening punishment for disobedience. The EGW passage describes a similar scenario to the one in Acts, where the apostles were commanded to stop speaking in the name of Jesus.