Stephen is Martyred
Acts 7:51–60 NKJV
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen was one of the seven deacons which were selected by the Holy Spirit and the leadership of the Church to minister unto the carnal needs of the Congregational such as the care of the widows of the church. When I use the word “carnal” it is not an evil thing as the word “carnal” is used often in a negative sense in contradistinction to “spiritual,” However, the ministering unto the physical needs of the congregation as as much as a spiritual service as is the preaching of the Word, if one be called to this service. We don’t have anything said about how Stephen discharged these duties, but when we see his character, he did these tasks well. We do not know much about five of the deacons who were chosen other than their names which were of Greek origin. However, both Stephen and Phillip were known for their evangelistic work. We will see Phillip later witnessing to the Ethiopian Eunuch. Stephen’s career was cut short by his martyrdom. This is recorded of his work in Acts 6:8:
Acts 6:8 NKJV
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
The synagogue of the Libertines did not take kindly to his work and had Stephen arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, One of the charges against him was that he preached against the Temple and that it would be destroyed. One should note here that this was one of the charges the Sanhedrin brought against Jesus as well. When we understand the mission of the Church, it was to continue with the work and words of Jesus: We read in Acts 1:1 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” Jesus had warned His disciples that they would be treated in the same matter that He was treated. We see this in verses like Matthew 10:40 which emphasizes the positive that those who heard Jesus would hear them as well. But this is set in the context of Matthew 10:38 which also indicates that the call of the Christian can lead to martyrdom as we see in Stephen and most if not all of the Apostles as well. Countless numbers of Christian have followed in the path of martyrdom.
Stephen had just finished his defense to the Sanhedrin. Stephen knew what lay ahead for him if he persisted in his teaching concerning Jesus and doing works in His name, There are many who would have cowed down in fear. Some would have claimed to have been misunderstood. Others would have recanted. Yet, Stephen when he was asked to respond to the charges remained bold. He was more interested in preaching the truth about Jesus than His own life. In this, he follows in the path of the Lord Jesus. The Lord had been bold at His trial, both before the Sanhedrin and Pilate as well. Jesus called them out when one of the guards struck him uncondemned which was a violation of Jewish Law. The entire proceeding including suborning witnesses to perjure themselves and trying Jesus at night, when no one could press a charge that two or three witnesses could agree upon, they asked Jesus to testify against Himself which was also forbidden. Nevertheless, Jesus affirmed that He was the Son of the Blessed. not only this, but that they would see Jesus seated at the Father’s right hand, the hand of power and judgment. He would return in the clouds which reinforces the theme that it was they, not Him who would have to appear before Him at the last judgment. They might condemn Him here, but this was only to fulfill God’s plan anyway. As far as Pilate was concerned.it seems that Jesus was more concerned about Pilate’s soul and was witnessing to Pilate. He also said he would be judged, even though those who betrayed Him had the greater sin.
In his sermon before the Sanhedrin, Stephen exposes the history of Israel’s failure to believe. They rejected Joseph and delivered him over to the Egyptians to be a slave, not perceiving the dreams which Joseph had had. It was this rejected Joseph who became the salvation of Israel during the famine. They rejected Moses whom God had chosen to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt. They rejected Moses who had slain an Egyptian taskmaster who was mistreating an Israeli. The response the next day was “Who made you a judge and ruler among us?” Even after the Passover, when the LORD had freed them from captivity and brought them through the Red Sea, they still had occasion in the wilderness to grumble against Moses as well as the LORD. The unbelief of Israel was so great that God gave them up to worship false gods. The entire history of Israel was that of stiff-necked resistance to the will of God.
The unbelief of Israel continued even unto the day of Stephen’s trial. The had rejected Jesus, who was the greatest of all whom God had sent to warn as well as save Israel. Stephen accuses them of murder of the Just One. they had crucified God. Unlike Peter who had told the Sanhedrin like things, there was no sign of repentance among the council. Nor was repentance commanded. Things had escalated out of control. At first, they simply warned Peter and John not to preach in Jesus' name. Later they also beat them and upon pain of death forbid them to teach or do works and wonders in the name of Jesus. They were cut to the heart, just like before. But instead of repenting, they gnashed upon him with their teeth. Stephen’s life was now in great danger. It may have been possible before this that they might have sentenced Stephen to a punishment like flogging. But Stephen was characterized as a man who was full of the Holy Ghost. He remained bold. He was comforted by seeing the heavens opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen was bold to tell the Sanhedrin, the same Sanhedrin which had heard the confession of Jesus who testified that they would see Jesus seated at the right hand of God and then return on the could and great glory. The judge had stood up. But this was not to save Stephen from martyrdom but to receive Him before the throne of God after his martyrdom.
This was too much for the Sanhedrin. They lost all composure and dignity which is expected in a judicial proceeding and instead turned into a lynch mob. They stopped their ears and rushed upon Stephen. they threw him down and stoned him. The text then tells us that Stephen’s final words were not to lay this sin to their charge. In this, He followed the steps of Jesus who on the cross said “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Then he fell asleep. There is a certain calmness about “falling asleep” considering the violence to which he had been subjected. Stephen had died as far as this world is concerned and was received by the Lord who had stood up for Him.
the other important detail is that Saul of Tarsus kept the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen and was consenting to Stephen’s martyrdom. We shall hear from Saul shortly. He would go on and subject the church to severe persecution and caused the church to scatter from Jerusalem, except the Apostles. In this, the words of Jesus would be fulfilled that they were to be His witnesses, first in Jerusalem, then in Judaea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. So, even here, Saul was fulfilling the word of the Lord. Soon, he would be converted on the way to Damascus and become Paul the Apostle.
Some might wonder why the Lord chose Stephen to become the first martyr of the church. Here was a man of great fervor and filled with the Spirit. What sort of ministry might Stephen have had if he had been allowed to live and continue his ministry Some might feel this was a waste of talent, But they would say the same thing about Jesus as well. Was Paul to become a replacement to Stephen? In a way this is true, but why not have both. Peter and John had been delivered from the Sanhedrin by the Lord. Peter would be miraculously saved on the night before his execution. Why couldn’t Stephen have been delivered as well. After all, He saw the Lord standing at the right hand of God. Surely, He could have delivered Stephen. the mockers of Jesus dared Jesus to save Himself and come down from the cross.
We must understand that god knows what He is doing and that He is free to work out His purposes. Not everyone is called to martyrdom. But we are all called to be witnesses. It is interesting that the Greek word for witness is “martyr.” So many Christians who bore witness to Jesus did so at the cost of their own earthly lives that the word took on a new meaning. Stephen was the first of the martyrs, but he would not be the last.
Are we faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ? The bible does promise that all who would live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL suffer persecution. (See 2 Timothy 3:12) How this persecution works out may be to a greater or lesser degree of severity. But it is a promise. one must wonder if one is not mocked for their Christian faith if they are Christians at all. None of us is indispensable to the church in this world. Stephen was a man full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. God does impart this gift to other Christians as well. The persecuted church in Stephen’s day would continue. The church did not end with he martyrdoms of St. Paul and St. Peter either. Her ministry will continue on this earth as long as this age continues to bear witness to Jesus Christ. there will be a day in which we will have rest from our labors, either when the Lord receives us upon our individual death or at His return when He stands up to receive us. So let us continue in our ministry that god and the Lord Jesus might be glorified.
