“And Stephen, full
of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people Then some of those who belonged to the
synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the
Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with
Stephen. But they could not withstand
the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking…And they stirred up the
people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him
and brought him before the council…And he said,’Behold I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice and
stopped their ears and rushed together at him.
Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses
laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called
out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out
with a loud voice, ‘Lord do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had
said this, he fell asleep.” –Acts
6:8-10, 12; 7:56-60 (ESV. Read Acts
6:8-7:60).
Stephen was one of the seven ordained
deacons with the job of distributing to the Hellenistic converts who were in
need of daily distribution of food. When
his name was first listed in Acts 6:5, he was described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” As Luke continues the story of Stephen,
the first of the Christian witnesses martyred for the faith, he devotes a long
passage in Acts 6:8 through 7:60 to Stephen. From Acts 6:9 we learn that
Stephen was preaching in the synagogue in Jerusalem known as “the synagogue of the Freedmen,” where
Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from the Diaspora worshiped. The names of countries where they had gone
(and returned from) were also listed.
They disagreed with some of Stephen’s preaching and reported him to the
council. The longest discourse in Acts was delivered by Stephen before the
Sanhedrin, beginning in Acts 7:1 and continuing through 7:53. In this marvelous sermon Stephen gives a
summary history of the Hebrew nation citing the major leaders and their
contributions. But all the while Stephen
kept uppermost the will and leadership of God and how the people often failed
to live up to God’s expectations. For an
excellent thumbnail account of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and the apostasy of the
children as they rebelled against God and became a “stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,..always
resist(ing) the Holy Spirit,” (7:51), take time to read and study Stephen’s
sermon. As Stephen spoke in his own
defense before the council that was accusing him, we are told that “his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts.
6:15). The Sprit of the Lord overpowered
him as he spoke with clarity, truth and persuasion. A glow was upon his face, a physical
manifestation of the presence of the Lord.
The theme of Stephen’s sermon as he gives a history of the Hebrew nation
is the Israelites’ repeated rejection of God’s will. Always that is what stands between the sinner
and forgiveness: his rejection of God’s
provision of grace through Jesus Christ.
And in the climax of Stephen’s sermon, he declared that they had
rejected the Righteous One of God and murdered him (7:58).
The council and the mob became incensed
at Stephen’s sermon. One of our good
country-preacher friends would have said Stephen got to the place “where the
water hit the wheel.” The guilt of
Stephen’s hearers turned them against him.
They did not wait for the usual permission from the Roman authorities.
They turned upon Stephen, acted in anger and stoned Stephen outside the city
gates. Mob violence brought about Stephen’s death. And there, consenting to his death and
guarding the garments of some who were casting the stones was Saul, our first
introduction to this man who would later be converted and become such a strong
witness for Christ. Stephen died with
two prayers on his lips: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” “Lord, do not hold this sin against
them.” In manner of life, in
service, in teaching and preaching, and in death, Stephen is an example of the
Lord Christ, faithful to the end, faithful in suffering. His example has been
emulated by many through the centuries.
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