Acts 6: 7-15
At the time of Jesus there was a group of very faithful worshippers. This group of faithful worshippers were utterly dedicated to preserving the ways of God in their community. They loved their Bible (our Old Testament) and they were very vocal in their defence of the faith which had been handed down to them over many years. This group was regular in its worship, turning to prayer several times each day; and this loyal and faithful group of worshippers kept the Sabbath day. They would not dream of shopping on the Sabbath. In fact they would be very keen to ‘shop’ anyone who did! These faithful worshippers were known as the Pharisees. They did not like to be challenged about their faith in God, and when Jesus began preaching they soon made plans to get rid of him! Jesus was sent by God, but after 3 years of preaching and teaching the Pharisees got their wish; Jesus was crucified. The good news is that God had bigger plans, but the fact is that they crucified him.
How about Stephen? By his preaching and teaching Stephen made himself very unpopular with a large number of worshippers, not very long after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was hauled before the religious council (the Sanhedrin), and in ways which mirror the ‘sham’ trial of Jesus, many false witnesses (Acts 6:13) were called to give evidence.
Jesus (and Stephen) were rejected and condemned as a result of their faithful and truthful preaching of the Good News of God; and when I read scripture I have to ask myself if I am guilty of the same. I ask myself whether there have been times when I’ve heard truth about God and I have rejected it and rejected the messenger. Do you want to know my answer? Sometimes I have! Between the ages of 13 and 17 I rejected God and there are still times on a daily basis when I reject him. However, “If we confess our sins [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Sometimes God’s word to us is hard to receive and hard to act upon! There were occasions when followers of Jesus stopped following him because for them his teaching was too hard. For example, after Jesus declared those famous words, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry …” (John 6:35) some of his followers began to grumble and complain! They said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60). John the gospel writer tells us that “from this time many of [Jesus’] disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).
What about Stephen? Who was he? Where did he come from? Why does he have such an important place in Church history? What does his story teach us today? Well, I may not be able to answer all of those questions, but the Bible’s account of Stephen does have a lot to teach us.
After the ascension of Jesus, when the resurrected Lord Jesus ascended – was taken into heaven, the church grew rapidly. At the start of Acts chapter 6 we learn this: “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (6:1). So, even in the New Testament church, just weeks after the church began, there was grumbling, and there were holes in the pastoral care being offered by the church! So perhaps our churches are much closer to the New Testament church than we often think!
The 12 could not spread themselves any thinner than they already were. If I were to give you a knob of butter and one slice of bread every morning it would be enough; but if I give you the same knob and a whole loaf, most of the loaf will be without butter! The 12 had to avoid spreading themselves too thinly!
(Acts 6:2) So they met together and agreed that as ministers of the Gospel they must not “neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables”. There were real pastoral needs in that first Christian community, and a team was needed. So, the disciples selected “seven men …full of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom” (6:3). They were given responsibility for the food distribution, so that the 12 could give their “attention to prayer and the ministry of the word” (6:4).
Stephen was one of the team of seven who took on the food distribution, “the word of God spread” (6:7) and the church continued to grow.
Stephen distributed food. He was “a man full of God’s grace and power”. He “did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (6:8) and he sounds to me like a wonderful man to have around! He worked hard with his hands and his legs in acts of loving service, and he prayed effectively for people.
It seems to me that something of Stephen’s greatness is to be found in his acts of service, and as I look around at some of you I think the same things about you. In God’s eyes something of your greatness is found in your acts of service. Indeed, James the brother of our Lord Jesus reminds us that “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). It seems to me that as a church we are being asked by God to strengthen our ministry to the bereaved and to the sick, which is why I am delighted that people are coming to me and offering to help in this essential ministry.
Like Jesus, Stephen was hauled before the Sanhedrin, the religious council, and he was given a very hard time. He was ‘hung out to dry’. He was ‘hauled over the coals’. Stephen was accused falsely by many people.
But the Bible tells us (Acts 6:15) that “all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” I wonder how I would react if I preached truth about the Lord Jesus and was then hauled before a council of aggressive people who wanted to get rid of me. Would my face be like that of an angel?
I’ve been reading this week about the true story of Juan Tomaylla (‘Tried by Fire’, ISBN in the UK 1-85424-638-0 or ISBN in USA 0-8254-6236-3). Juan was a humble Christian taxi driver in Peru and on 10 July 1993 he was falsely imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. For the first two days he was given nothing to eat. Later, he was beaten and kicked all over his body. He says that the punches and blows were continuous but after a few minutes he said, “I am a believer in Jesus Christ; I’m a Christian; I am not a terrorist and what you are doing to me is unjust. We have a just God and it is he who will bring justice.”
During the months of imprisonment without any opportunity to defend himself, Juan was able to share his Christian faith with others in the prison. Together they sang songs of praise to God and encouraged one another. At one point Juan came face to face with a convicted terrorist who had been involved in the killing of a good friend, and God enabled Juan to exercise compassion and forgiveness. For some of his time in prison, Juan occupied a tiny cell for 23½ hours a day. Many people prayed for Juan and in April 1994, after 9 months of false imprisonment he was unconditionally released.
Stephen had the opportunity to tell people about the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, both in word and in deed. When he faced angry criticism and argument, Stephen had the face of an angel (6:15). He answered the charges by talking about the ways in which people have rejected God and God’s messengers ever since the dawn of time (Acts 7).
Stephen ended his defence by saying, “You stiff-necked people …You have betrayed …the righteous one” (Acts 7:51-52) meaning Jesus.
(Acts 7:54) “When they heard this they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.” Sometimes the truth of our rejection of God makes people angry. Sometimes, when I say to people that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) the response I get is this: ‘I think I’m quite a good person really’ or ‘He never did anything to hurt anyone’. The fact that we have all sinned, and all need the forgiveness and presence of Jesus doesn’t always go down well!
Stephen was dragged outside of the city and they began to stone him (7:58). “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.’”
Stephen was the first Christian martyr, following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, praying for those persecuting him.
Are there people who have ridiculed you or even persecuted you in the past? Is it happening now?
Jesus calls us to follow him, and that includes praying for and forgiving those who have sinned against us, just as Stephen did.
Let’s pray?
