Daily Bread Acts 7
Daily Bread Acts 7
The Stoning of Stephen
54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Observation:
As Stephen recounts the history of Israel and how their forefathers had also resisted the Holy Spirit, they began to get madder and madder. At this point Stephen says, “Even you who have received the revelation of the Law have not obeyed it.” Stephen then says he sees the Kingdom of Heaven opened up, and Jesus at the right hand of the Father. This was the final straw, as they dragged him out to be stoned.
Jewish law said that stoning was the penalty for blasphemy. Witnesses were needed to make this kind of accusation. As the witnesses took Stephen out of the city to stone him, they laid their clothes at the feet of Saul, most likely a member of the Sanhedrin (made up of 23 judges appointed in every city in the Land of Israel). This shows that Saul (later to be re-named, the apostle Paul) was a party to and gave consent to this stoning.
Finally, we see Stephen as he was dying being full of grace. Instead of cursing his accusers, he asked for their forgiveness. Perhaps this was the forgiveness that led Saul, who later became the great missionary ever, to come to Christ.
Application:
What else can explain a man going to his death wrongfully and forgiving his accusers with his last breath, than the Spirit of God. There is no way the natural man could ever do this of his own strength or power. Stephen shows himself to be a man full of great character. Not only did he have a passion to help the poor Greek widows in chapter 6. But then in this chapter he becomes the first martyr (which actually means witness in the original language).
Tertullian, one of the great theologians in the early church, said “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Why? Because in this great act of faith, others are strengthened in their resolve to follow Jesus no matter what. There are little deaths we all asked to endure, as we seek to be raised in the newness of life that Jesus came to bring. Jesus said “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit.”
Jesus exemplified this in the ultimate sense, and Stephen, His first martyr, followed suit. Although we might not be stoned for our next sermon or testimony, there are ways in which we can be faithful in the midst of an intensifying persecution in our culture. Importantly when we are tested in our faith, we will be full of the Holy Spirit, who will help us to remain faithful.
May we all have the courage to be like Stephen to be a witness and testify to the grace of God in Christ Jesus!
Prayer: God give us courage to not be ashamed of the gospel and confront a culture that often resists the truth at all costs. We thank you for your grace which can take a guy like Saul who stood by and watched Stephen’s stoning, and turn him into Paul who stood up for the gospel until his own death. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Stoning of Stephen
54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Observation:
As Stephen recounts the history of Israel and how their forefathers had also resisted the Holy Spirit, they began to get madder and madder. At this point Stephen says, “Even you who have received the revelation of the Law have not obeyed it.” Stephen then says he sees the Kingdom of Heaven opened up, and Jesus at the right hand of the Father. This was the final straw, as they dragged him out to be stoned.
Jewish law said that stoning was the penalty for blasphemy. Witnesses were needed to make this kind of accusation. As the witnesses took Stephen out of the city to stone him, they laid their clothes at the feet of Saul, most likely a member of the Sanhedrin (made up of 23 judges appointed in every city in the Land of Israel). This shows that Saul (later to be re-named, the apostle Paul) was a party to and gave consent to this stoning.
Finally, we see Stephen as he was dying being full of grace. Instead of cursing his accusers, he asked for their forgiveness. Perhaps this was the forgiveness that led Saul, who later became the great missionary ever, to come to Christ.
Application:
What else can explain a man going to his death wrongfully and forgiving his accusers with his last breath, than the Spirit of God. There is no way the natural man could ever do this of his own strength or power. Stephen shows himself to be a man full of great character. Not only did he have a passion to help the poor Greek widows in chapter 6. But then in this chapter he becomes the first martyr (which actually means witness in the original language).
Tertullian, one of the great theologians in the early church, said “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Why? Because in this great act of faith, others are strengthened in their resolve to follow Jesus no matter what. There are little deaths we all asked to endure, as we seek to be raised in the newness of life that Jesus came to bring. Jesus said “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit.”
Jesus exemplified this in the ultimate sense, and Stephen, His first martyr, followed suit. Although we might not be stoned for our next sermon or testimony, there are ways in which we can be faithful in the midst of an intensifying persecution in our culture. Importantly when we are tested in our faith, we will be full of the Holy Spirit, who will help us to remain faithful.
May we all have the courage to be like Stephen to be a witness and testify to the grace of God in Christ Jesus!
Prayer: God give us courage to not be ashamed of the gospel and confront a culture that often resists the truth at all costs. We thank you for your grace which can take a guy like Saul who stood by and watched Stephen’s stoning, and turn him into Paul who stood up for the gospel until his own death. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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