November 14, 2004 Acts 7:52-60
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— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But 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. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged 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. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
When kids find someone that they look up to - they’ll do whatever they can to emulate him or her. At Halloween we went to school at Wanamaker and saw kids in all kinds of outfits, pirates, queens, ninjas, football players - you name it. They were trying to emulate their heros by dressing up like them. Unfortunately, I also saw some pretty sleazy outfits. It appears that some little girls think that Halloween is the time they can dress up like prostitutes. I don’t know if they were trying to look like Brittany Spears or what, but it wasn’t very impressive. It probably isn’t any better when little boys like dressing up like mass murderers - is that who their role models are? Maybe that’s a bit overstated - but you know what I didn’t see? I didn’t see any kids dressed up as Jesus Christ, Moses, or the Apostle Paul. I know, I’m living in a dream world. But the point I’m making is that our role models in America pretty much stink. They’re usually violent, sleazy, or arrogant.
We need better role models - for ourselves and our children. In the Catholic Church, they talk a lot about former saints - who they want to emulate to their church. They’ll hold up Saint Nicholas who was real generous, Mother Theresa who was a humanitarian, and a bunch of other saints who did other things. There is some good that can come from this, but unfortunately they’ve taken it too far - to the point that they pray to different saints for different things - to help the sick get well - the garden to grow - and a bunch of other things.
We aren’t going to do that today. It is Saints Triumphant Sunday, and in order to do this, we are going to look at Saint Stephen. We don’t have any St. Stephen pajamas to give to our children or any posters to hang - but the Holy Spirit does have a story to tell. I hope that after this story, you will be able to say -
Let’s Get Stoned With Stephen
I. So we can die like him
I remember going to a Catholic Church somewhere in Kansas, that had a stained glass picture up front of some martyr being stoned to death. It seemed kind of morbid and strange to me - to have that vivid picture at the front and center of sanctuary. Here this guy was cowering with his arm up in terror as these angry people were enraged with huge rocks in their hands - ready to hurl them at his head. Yet that’s almost identical to the picture of Stephen that we have in today’s text. It’s a picture of someone getting stoned to death by an angry mob. What is there to look up to in someone getting stoned? Is that really something we want to model or set as our objective in life? I want to get stoned? Hmm. Let’s think about it a minute.
Stephen didn’t purposely get stoned. However, it didn’t just happen out of the blue either. Look at what happened to set this off. Stephen said to them -
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— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Stephen hit the spiritual leaders with some of the harshest statements he could have. He associated them with their fathers - who persecuted the prophets. He blamed them for murdering the Righteous One - Jesus Christ. He certainly didn’t mince words. He didn’t do this so that he would get stoned. He did it so that the Law would crack their stony hearts and they would repent of their sins. Ultimately, he was trying to save them.
When the Law is truly spoken in all it’s force - and hits you between the eyes - there are only one of two responses you have. You will either repent, or you will become angry. The Jewish leaders couldn’t walk away from that message and say, “that’s nice, what’s for dinner.” So how did they respond? When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. They then proceeded to stone Stephen.
As I read this whole scene progress from this point on - I noticed a striking similarity to that of Christ. Both of them -
✓ spoke sharp truth against Jewish leaders
✓ saw a vision of heaven prior to his death - (Jesus at his transfiguration)
✓ asked God to receive their spirit at death - Jesus said, “into your hands I commit my spirit”
✓ prayed for the forgiveness of those who were putting them to death. Jesus prayed - “Father, forgive them.”
Now, was this coincidence that he was so bold with these spiritual unbelievers? Or could it be that Stephen had the model of Christ constantly before his eyes. Did he say to himself, “Christ wanted even His enemies to repent and believe, so He hit them with the hardest law he could. I want to do the same. If they decide to hurt me, then I will be honored to die like Christ as well.” As they were throwing stones at him, did he call to mind the words of Jesus from the cross, and THEN respond likewise - by committing his spirit to God and asking for the forgiveness of those who were hurting him? There seems to be simply too much coincidence for this not to be so. Jesus was his role model, and he wanted to do what Jesus did. He came pretty close.
A few years ago those WWJD bracelets were real popular - it actually originated here in Topeka. It means, “What Would Jesus Do?” It’s a good thing to ask. Jesus is a good role model to have. But this method has been abused. I’ve heard couples getting a divorce say, “God doesn’t want us to argue all the time - it’s better for the kids if we just divorce.” In other words they’re saying - “Jesus wants us to get divorced.” I’ve seen bumper stickers that ask, “who would Jesus bomb?” Vegetarians try to say that Jesus was a vegetarian. In other words - they know in their mind what THEY WANT to do - then they try and find passages to say - “that’s what Jesus wants us to do!” It’s really pathetic. Jesus overturned tables in the temple, but that doesn’t mean we should overturn tables. Paul shaved his head and took a vow, but that doesn’t mean we should. Just because Titus was circumcised doesn’t mean we should be. These speculations do nothing. You need to get into the Word and carefully examine what He did, why He did it, and what He said about it.
More often than not - we KNOW what Jesus would do - but we live in denial - because we know that Jesus did some really difficult things and wants us to do some really difficult things. Jesus spoke the law to the spiritual leaders who He knew would MURDER Him for it! He stayed up into all hours of the night healing people. He went to a cross when He knew that at that cross He would blamed for the sins of the world. When He got on the cross He prayed for the very people that were taunting Him and mercilessly crucifying Him. He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34) When your spouse or your classmates are continually attacking you with words and ridicule, it isn’t easy to pray for them. It isn’t easy to ask for their forgiveness. It wasn’t easy for Stephen to pray for the forgiveness of the very people that were stoning him. When Christ asks a wife to submit to her husband, or a man to be a spiritual leader of the household - you KNOW what Jesus wants you to do.
The problem isn’t that He was unclear or it takes a lot of “interpretation” to figure out what Jesus “really meant”. The problem is that following the example of Jesus is difficult and hard work - it’s a cross - and we don’t like crosses. It’s much easier to put the models of physical beauty and riches before ourselves - the Michael Jordans and the Bill Gates and whatever model you can think of. Their rewards are riches and fame and popularity. The cross offers none of that in this life. The cross involves putting what YOU want to death. Paul told us to - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Col 3:5) Whether it’s your greed, your lust, your drive for popularity, fame - put it to death. If your classmates don’t like Christians, then be willing to put your popularity to death. If your thirst for toys doesn’t want you to give your first fruits - then starve it to death. If you’d rather sleep in on a Sunday morning, then put your laziness to death. That should be your goal - to put your flesh to death. If it’s not - then you’ve got the wrong goal. If you really want to follow Stephen and Jesus - then you need to want to die. This is not a glorious life that God has called us to on this earth. The Psalmist said, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” The sad thing is that even as Christians - when we even manage to have the right goals before ourselves - to be as bold and courageous and get stoned like Stephen - we fall far short. Time and again we find ourselves acting like the selfish sinners and cowards instead of bold and sacrificial saints.
II. So we can live with him
The natural question is - who would want to die? If there is no power, no glory, and no reward in this life - then why would we even want to be Christians? Saint Paul wanted to die. Why? He put it this way. Philippians 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul looked forward to his death - because of the reward of heaven - especially at the resurrection of the dead. Through faith he looked forward to seeing God’s promises fulfilled - that one day - by the blood and righteousness and resurrection of Christ - He would also be raised with Him.
This is what God promises us. Outside of the grave of Lazarus Jesus said to Martha - “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) Jesus made it very clear - there is only one way to the resurrection - it is not through works - but by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ. The beautiful thing about this faith and this righteousness - is that with Stephen and all the saints it is something that is given to us through the Holy Spirit’s work in baptism. Paul told the Romans, We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Ro 6:4) We don’t have to worry about whether we die like Stephen or Jesus - because at our baptism we already died with Jesus. We already were crucified. Now the same Holy Spirit that produced faith in Stephen has produced faith in us to believe that when we die we go to heaven. The story of told of the Sunday School teacher who asked her students, “how do you get to heaven? Do you have to give a lot of money to get to heaven?” The children answered, “no.” “Do you have to mow the lawn a lot at church to get to heaven?” The children answered, “no.” “Do you have to be good students at school to get to heaven?” Again, the children - getting frustrated - said “no.” “Then how do you get to heaven?” One little boy anxiously waved his hand back and forth. The teacher called on him and he blurted out, “you gotta die!”
The thing that makes this death of Stephen so satisfying is that in the midst of this gruesome death - we see a wonderful picture of life. Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” God revealed that heaven was not beyond his reach - but was just on the threshold of death’s door - no farther than the angels are from us. There sat Jesus - the same One he was proclaiming - the same One he believed in - the same One who died for him . Jesus was there - still in control - waiting for his child to come home. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Stephen did not die scared - he died confident that the Lord would receive His Spirit. As the text says, Stephen didn’t just die. He fell asleep, still waiting for his body to be awakened at the resurrection of the dead. Heaven was - pardon the pun - just a stone’s throw away.
Time and again throughout the Scriptures you can see this kind of hope ring throughout the actions of the believers. Hebrews 11:35 says, Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Instead of being afraid of death and cowering form those who wanted them to denounce their faith - they held their ground - looking forward to the resurrection of the dead. Their bravery in death would certainly not be held against them on that Great and Dreadful day. In Revelation 20:4 John also says that, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. He specially mentions those who were not only willing to die but did die because of their testimony of Jesus. Their courage was not forgotten. These saints lived on in the spiritual halls of fame - ready for the resurrection.
When you look at the focus in life of Stephen - doesn’t that help us to regain our focus? It’s like we sing in the song “Abide with Me.” We sing, “hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes, shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee. Help of the helpless oh, abide with me!” Martin Luther mentioned that he saw many monks who would die by staring at a cross. Isn’t that the way God calls on us to live as His present day saints - waiting to be crowned visibly in heaven? I find it amazing that we are so willing to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars in a lifetime on beauty creams and hair products that are meant to hide our wrinkles and cover our greys. Shouldn’t we welcome them with smiles on our faces? Isn’t it the most wonderful thing to feel your body wasting away? Doesn’t that mean you are one step closer to heaven? Why not rejoice instead of complain? Why not reveal your age instead of being ashamed about it?
If you’re afraid that you aren’t quite up to God’s standards to get to heaven - aren’t quite holy enough - look again at what Stephen and Jesus said as they were dying. “Father, forgive them.” Jesus was willing to forgive the very people that crucified him - and Jesus did in fact die for those very people. Stephen also prayed for the forgiveness of the very people that stoned him. God in fact did forgive Saul - who was there giving approval to his death - and turned him into a martyr for Christ as well. If you’re afraid that you don’t quite fit the bill - just because you haven’t been as courageous as Stephen - remember that final message. “Father, forgive them.” The thief on the cross was even promised heaven - through faith. Christianity is not a religion that bases it’s salvation on the sacrifices that you make. It bases it’s salvation on the sacrifice that Christ made. God’s forgiveness is final and complete. Hebrews 10:10 clearly states that we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. So don’t be afraid to die! Look forward to it!
This last Halloween it was rather funny to watch these kids try to wear their little Spiderman and Batman and Cinderella outfits. More often than not - I think that when the night was over the kids were glad to get out of their costumes. Usually they don’t fit quite right, or they’re too warm, or they’re just plain uncomfortable. In the end they realize they aren’t superheros. They’re just normal kids.
Saint Stephen is a wonderful role model for us. Here was a man filled with the Holy Spirit - ready to die. In order to emulate him we don’t have to dress like him or put on uncomfortable clothes for a day. Instead, we try to speak like him. We try to act like him. We try to put the cross of Christ before us and do what Jesus would do by speaking the truth and helping people and sacrificing ourselves to spread the Gospel. In the end, we realize we aren’t like Him. But the wonderful thing about this, is that even if we don’t match up to Jesus or much less Stephen, we still look like him and every other Christian. Through faith in Christ, through the same Baptism, we all look like saints - covered with the same blood - just as holy as the next believer - Saint Janis, Saint Gary, Saint Mary, and even Saint Martin. This clothing of Christ fits us just right and it doesn’t weigh us down at all. With that same Holy Spirit and status as saints, I pray that through this story of Stephen the Holy Spirit will build your faith up and give you the courage to say, “Let’s get stoned with Stephen.” Amen.
