5.12.24 Acts 7:59–60 (EHV)
59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After he said this, he fell asleep.
It’s a rather morbid type of question, but have you ever thought about how you’re going to die? A car wreck? A heart attack? Cancer? One of the things I often hear people say is that they don’t want to see their loved ones die in pain. So when someone is dying of a prolonged disease they will be put on hospice and given morphine to keep the edge off. Loved ones stand by their side as they slowly slip off into death. I could think of worse ways to die.
Stephen’s death definitely wasn’t pain free. It was more of the Blaze of Glory style, although it certainly wasn’t glorious from an earthly perspective, having people chunk rocks at your head and body in a fit of rage. But even amid all of the ugliness and the pain, he truly dies a beautiful death, a death full of life. What a role model in how to die!
Dying a Death Full of Life
What had Stephen done to die such a painful death? Well, up to this point some Jews from the Synagogue of the Freedmen had arrested him and put him on trial before the Sanhedrin under false charges. He had done nothing but proclaim the truth about Jesus, along with doing miracles and signs. When they asked him to defend himself, Stephen gave a whole history of the Jewish people and then took the gloves off. He said to them, “You stiff-necked people, (like an dog pulling against a leash) with uncircumcised hearts and ears! (In other words, they were unwilling to listen) You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him. (Ac 7:51–52) Well, that didn’t win him any fans. But it was the final revelation that put them over the edge. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Ac 7:56)
Just think about that for a minute. Could you imagine being given such a vision of heaven, with Jesus standing right there! You’d want to see more! You’d be enamored with it. They say that some people have visions of heaven before they die, seeing visions of people who have gone before them with a bright light. They smile and point. Stephen got to see Jesus himself, and he couldn’t keep it in! He burst it out! There’s Jesus!
That final vision, that’s what sent his enemies over the edge. It reminds me of when Joseph told his brothers about his visions of the sun, moon and stars bowing down to him. They just became all the more angry with him. They didn’t like it one bit, so they sold him into slavery after wanting to kill him. The Sanhedrin was so angry that they went right for the kill. They literally covered their ears and screamed at Stephen, going after him in a hatred filled rage.
When you really have to point out a sin against someone, it can either end in one of two ways usually. They will usually either get angry with you or they will repent. Or maybe they will get angry and then repent. It’s kind of scary, but James 5:20 says, “Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” It’s the brother that has a drinking problem, the spouse that has a spending problem, the child that has a porn problem . . . you know they’re probably going to get angry at you. But out of love you have to call them out. You have to let them know that what they’re doing is wrong, even though it may cost you a friendship. Speak the truth in love. (Eph 4:15)
I see something similar happen on media, when someone is protesting for some cause that they deem to be righteous. The interviewer comes and asks a few questions that challenge the narrative. They don’t know how to answer, so they just get angry and shout the same slogan over and over. “Trans lives are human lives!” “We believe in free choice!” They have no other response than anger and yelling, and ultimately violence. Throw some paint on a timeless painting. Take down a statue. Get in your face and threaten your life. Anger! Protest!
If I have the truth on my side, I don’t need to get angry about it. I don’t need to get violent about it. I can simply speak the truth, and let the word speak for itself, even if someone stones me for it. I can let God take care of justice in the end. He knows the truth. That’s what Stephen does. That’s what Christians are called to do. We are called to speak the truth, regardless of the consequences.
As the consequences became clear, and heaven opened up, Stephen talks to Jesus as if He were right there with him. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Notice with these words how Stephen assumes that Jesus has the power and the authority to receive his soul. What he’s doing is mimicking the words of Jesus from the cross. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus could speak those words because He had done everything the Father asked Him to do. He had lived the perfect life. He had suffered the innocent suffering as He was abandoned by the Father. He prayed in confidence that the Father would accept His sacrifice and welcome Him home to heaven. David originally prayed this prayer in Psalm 31. Now Stephen was repeating the words of his Savior. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! They weren’t words of desperation. They were words of confidence. Since God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, Jesus would accept Stephen’s spirit. His soul would depart to be with Jesus.
This is the confidence that God wants us to have in dying. When you believe in Jesus and you are baptized, you have nothing to fear - no years of torment in some sort of purgatory. Immediate entry into heaven, all by grace, through faith. And really, it doesn’t matter how you die. God doesn’t grant more peaceful deaths to people, depending on how strong their faith is or how good of a life they lived. When you see your father or your mother die such a weak death, a shell of what they were, unable even to get up and use the bathroom . . . .you say to yourself, “That’s it? No trumpets? No visions of heaven for them?” Well yeah, that’s it. God doesn’t promise us all visions of heaven as we die, as Stephen got. Death is still death. It is ugly.
Whether it’s a car accident, an aneurism, a heart attack, or even a violent murder - when you believe in Jesus and you are baptized, you get to go and be with Jesus. As you’re passing from this world to the next, you won’t be looking back at how you died. You won’t care. Your eyes will be focused FORWARD - in heaven. That’s how Stephen died, and that’s how we can die, through faith in Jesus. Today is Mother’s Day, and many of you may be suffering because your mother has died and hopefully gone to see Jesus. Think what you have to look forward to, seeing your Lord AND your mom in heaven!
But Stephen wasn’t done. When Zechariah the priest was stoned to death in the courtyard under order of King Joash he prayed, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.” (2 Chronicles 24:22) Stephen went the exact opposite route. He had one last gasp, one last word, a shout really. And again, it’s just like Jesus. Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” And what does Stephen say? “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Here he has people hurling rocks at his head, and he doesn’t want God to hold them accountable? That’s unbelievable! When we die, we hope to have someone standing by our side, holding our hand, telling us they love us. Stephen had angry people yelling at him, making fun of him, hurling rocks at him, and Stephen had the love in him to pray for their forgiveness?!?
If Stephen could be so filled with love that he would pray for mercy on those who were hurling rocks at his head, what about you? You may have been slandered. You may have been divorced by your spouse or abandoned by your parents or children. You may have been hurt terribly and betrayed. But did they literally throw a stone at your head and murder you in hatred? And even if they did, would you still want them to be thrown in the fires of hell for eternity? What right have you to pray the Lord’s Prayer of forgiveness if you are not willing to suffer that prayer, to go through the difficulty and the pain of having people hurt you and NOT want personal revenge on them? Do you really want to stand face to face before God, pleading for HIS mercy, while you yourself are trying to play God, and an angry God at that, when you have no mercy inside yourself?
Yes, it’s seemingly impossible what Stephen does. But when heaven opens up to him and he sees Jesus, this is what opens up inside him. He is filled with mercy over God’s mercy to him. This isn’t a matter of self will. It’s not a matter of saying to yourself, “I’ve got to be more merciful.” It’s a matter of God’s mercy. If you find yourself bearing a grudge, finding it impossible to forgive, then go back to Jesus. Listen to His words from the cross. If He was willing to go through that gruesome death for you, then how does that compare to what others have done to you? Just look at the cross again. Listen to His words again. Listen to Stephen’s words from the ground. Ask God for strength. Ask God for a miracle inside you.
As my father was dying, I had an opportunity to apologize to him for any of the times that I did things to frustrate him and embarrass him. It was a quick hand wave. Several times. “It’s all forgiven.” Beautiful words to hear. Glorious words for me. Those words are for us and for them to hear. They can be beautiful words and powerful words. Those words are for you too, you - the ones who are struggling with forgiveness. Yes, Jesus died for you too. You are forgiven. Because of that, you CAN forgive, and it is miraculous when you do.
And look at who heard those words from Stephen, the one watching the clothing of those throwing the stones. It was Saul, who would later turn to the Apostle Paul. Here he had a part in the stoning of Stephen, even cheered it on, thought he was doing the Lord’s work. Yet God answered Stephen’s prayer for him, brought Paul to faith, and turned him into the greatest evangelist the world has ever known. Stephen’s dying prayer was answered, and God worked another miracle in Saul’s heart.
Who knows what miracles God could work through you, even as you lay dying? You think that your words won’t matter, don’t matter? Who knows that the nurse, the doctor, the roommate, might hear your words of faith? Who knows but your children and grandchildren, brothers or sisters, grandchildren or nieces, might be listening carefully to your words? That God Himself isn’t listening to your dying prayer? What impact those last words might have on those surrounding you? Stephen yelled out his words, he wanted them ALL to hear his prayer, in hopes that the mercy of God might reach into the soul of one of their hardened hearts. And they did.
In the eyes of the world, Stephen’s death was painful, shameful, and pitiful, dying at the hands of an angry mob, hurling stones at his head. In the eyes of faith, Stephen’s death was absolutely glorious. He died in faith, professing his faith, with a heart full of forgiveness.
I was riding to church the other day, going down Salzburg as a truck was coming towards me. The guard rail was right there and I had nowhere to go. I thought that was it. What a way to go. Get hit by a truck head on. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Not yet. How are you physically going to die? Peacefully in your sleep, painfully in an accident, by yourself or with your family by your side . . . who knows? We leave it in God’s hands.
But how you die spiritually? That’s what really matters. That’s what counts in the end. With your eyes on Jesus, focused on heaven, the words of Jesus flowing from your heart and your lips. The God who lived for you, died for you, rose from the dead for you, ascended into heaven for you: he’s waiting for you, having prepared a place for you in heaven. You have a God who loves you, who is merciful to you, who has paid for you in full, who has your future in His hands. With all our worship services, all of our music, all of our Bible studies, what are we doing here? We are training you on how to live and how to die, in Christ alone. You don’t have to die in fear. You don’t have to live as if there was nothing to live for, nothing to die for. You have your whole future ahead of you, in heaven with Jesus. In the end, no matter how old or how young you are, how weak or strong, how painfully slow or quick, you can die a death full of life, as you focus on Jesus. Amen.
