“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.’ “ –Acts 7:59-60 (NKJV).
Stephen, whose name means “crown” was selected as one of the seven to serve as what we term a deacon. The record of his selection and ordination by ‘laying on of hands’ is recorded in Acts 6:1-7. He is described as “a man full of faith and the Holy Sprit” (Acts 6:5). Also “full of faith and power, [Stephen] did great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Furthermore, he was a persuasive speaker and a proclaimer of the Word. “And they [the ‘Synagogue of the Freedmen’] were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (Acts 6:10). Only one sermon preached by Stephen is recorded in Acts, but in it he traced the major events of God’s call to Abraham and His presence with and leadership of the people. Stephen knew the history of God’s people, their positive responses to God and their failures as well. He used his knowledge persuasively in his sermon recorded in Acts 7:1-53.
But Stephen got too close to the root of his hearers’ apostasy. He ended his sermon by stating that they—the ones who heard him—the leaders of the Jews and the crowd—had put the Just One, Jesus Christ, to death, and “have become betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it” (Acts 6:52-53). The truth enraged the crowd. They took Stephen outside the city gates and threw stones at him until he died, victorious in death, praying God to forgive those who stoned him.
Stephen gave such a powerful example of faithfulness to Christ that Paul, who stood by holding the martyr’s clothes, soon afterwards came to Jesus and became one of His most able apostles. To use the meaning of Stephen’s name, his “crowning,” or homegoing, became the springboard to Paul’s change from persecutor to proclaimer. Stephen did not die in vain. His story has been told for ages as a memorial and example of faithfulness. He lived—and died—with Christ as his Lord.
But Stephen got too close to the root of his hearers’ apostasy. He ended his sermon by stating that they—the ones who heard him—the leaders of the Jews and the crowd—had put the Just One, Jesus Christ, to death, and “have become betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it” (Acts 6:52-53). The truth enraged the crowd. They took Stephen outside the city gates and threw stones at him until he died, victorious in death, praying God to forgive those who stoned him.
Stephen gave such a powerful example of faithfulness to Christ that Paul, who stood by holding the martyr’s clothes, soon afterwards came to Jesus and became one of His most able apostles. To use the meaning of Stephen’s name, his “crowning,” or homegoing, became the springboard to Paul’s change from persecutor to proclaimer. Stephen did not die in vain. His story has been told for ages as a memorial and example of faithfulness. He lived—and died—with Christ as his Lord.
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, April 16, 2010
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