Acts - 20

Acts - 20

Acts 7:54-8:3

Introduction

In the world of sports, there is nothing more heartbreaking than the athlete that doesn’t cross the finish line. Maybe it is the long-distance runner who trips before she crosses. Or maybe the showboating football player who isn’t paying attention and gets destroyed by the linebacker mere feet from the end zone. They had worked so hard. They had trained. They had fought for that victory. Yet here, right at the finish line, when the competition is the most fierce, they lose.

Christians need to develop a more robust theology of death. As we live striving for faithfulness to Christ, we don’t want to fumble the ball as we head into the end zone. We don’t want to be tripped up by some waiting temptation close to the finish line. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:24 - Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

You should probably think about your death more than you do. That is not being morbid or macabre in any way. It is quite biblical. Psalm 90:12 - So teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom. It doesn’t say that the wise number their days. But that those who rightly understand the fleeting nature of life, who number their days, are those who gain wisdom.

How can you die well? Well, Stephen shows us in Acts 7. Let me remind you of the context. We first met Stephen in chapter 6 where he is described as ‘a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.’ He, along with six other men, are chosen to fix a logistical issue in the church regarding the food distribution to widows. But God has Stephen’s ministry expand beyond that. He begins preaching the gospel and performing miracles.

Some Jewish religious leaders do not like what he is saying about this Jesus, so they spread vicious, false rumors and incite false witnesses against him. The Sanhedrin has him arrested, the Jewish Senate of the day, and they interrogate him. As Stephen is put on trial, standing in midst of false witnesses and a hostile audience, he preaches an incredible sermon that is an overview of God’s activity with His people throughout the OT. After talking about Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David, Stephen brings the sermon right down on their heads.

Acts 7:51-53 - 51 “You men—stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

52 And which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;

53 you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not observe it.”

He is not winsome. His words are not nuanced. He is clear. He calls sin sin. He confronts sinners with the reality of their rebellion against God. Our text for today at the end of Acts 7 and into Acts 8 shows the crowd’s reaction to Stephen’s faithful preaching and confrontation of their sin.

Acts 7:54-8:3 - 54 Now when they heard this, they became furious in their hearts, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.

55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

57 But crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed at him with one accord.

58 And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 They went on stoning Stephen as he was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he fell asleep.

1 Now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

2 And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.

3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.

TS - How do you die well? John Calvin called Stephen a ‘rare example of a man dying in a godly and holy way.’ He dies Faithfully, Hopefully, and Lovingly.

FAITHFULLY (V. 54-56)

V. 54 - Now when they heard this, they became furious in their hearts, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.

Not quite the hoped-for response to a sermon. The anger, resentment towards these Christians has been bubbling underneath the surface for the last several chapters. A couple times it has boiled over just a bit when the leaders arrest the apostles. Now, the whole thing blows up. They ‘became furious in their hearts.’ The pressure cooker cannot stand the pressure anymore and blows it up. They were ‘infuriated,’ meaning fury enters into them and explodes out of them. Then they began ‘gnashing their teeth’ at him. This is a biblical way of speaking of human rage. You know when a predator like a wolf, bear is about to attack they raise their lips and show their teeth and growl…that is what this is. These men are so angry they rage at Stephen. The predators show their teeth and growl.

How does Stephen respond to them? V. 55-56 - But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Nothing changes. The crowd’s response doesn’t change anything. Just as he was described in Acts 6 as a man ‘full of the Holy Spirit,’ he is again described in the exact same way. As he lived, so he died.

His attention is not on the crowd and their hostility. He is not pleading for his life to be spared. He doesn’t backpedal on his commitment to Jesus in the name of appeasing them all. He’s looking into heaven. Stephen is the first Christian martyr and God grants to him a wonderful gift by opening up heaven for him to see where he is getting ready to go. By seeing heaven opened and the glory of God, it vindicates Stephen. He is right about Jesus. The crowd is wrong about Jesus. Stephen is right that this is who God is. The crowd is wrong. What an incredible moment of confidence this must have been for him.

He sees Jesus, the ‘Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ This is a rich statement. First off, he calls Jesus the ‘Son of Man.’ This was Jesus’ favorite title to use when talking about Himself. Stephen is the only other one in the entire NT that uses this same term for Jesus. It comes from the OT prophet Daniel. God, the Ancient of Days, sits in judgment over the nations and hands full authority to the Son of Man. Certainly an apt description for Jesus as He stands in the throne room of Heaven.

But also notice that Jesus is standing. That is opposite of the other NT references to Jesus’ posture in Heaven. In all the others, He is always sitting. He sits as the High Priest who has forever accomplished the salvation of His people. Yet here he stands. Why is that? Two possibilities…and I think both of them are true. First, Isaiah 3:13. - Yahweh takes His stand to contend, and stands to judge the peoples. Standing is the posture of judgment. He is literally ‘standing’ against those being judged. In Acts 7 you have false Jews who have not been faithful to the Lord as they have rejected Christ, and now murder His servant in the streets. Jesus stands in judgment over rejection of Him.

Second, Jesus is standing to receive home His faithful servant. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32 - Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. F.F. Bruce - “Stephen has been confessing Christ before men, and now he sees Christ confessing his servant before God.” Jesus stands in judgment on the rebellious crowd, and in a glorious welcome home to His servant.

As Stephen lived, so he died. He was faithful to the Lord during his life. He faithfully serves to provide food to widows. He faithfully performed the wonders and signs the Lord empowered him to do. He faithfully preached the gospel. He faithfully confronted the Jews with their sin of rebellion. And now he faithfully dies. Nothing changes. If you are going to die well, chief among the ways to do that is to die faithful to the Lord. And dying faithful to the Lord begins today with living faithfully to Him.

HOPEFULLY (V. 57-59)

Though Stephen has a great response to them, their response to his response isn’t so great. V. 57-58a - But crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed at him with one accord. And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him… They really don’t like what he said! They plug their ears and shout loudly to cover up Stephen’s faithful words about Jesus. And they aren’t just unwilling to listen, they are unwilling to even let him live for his faithfulness to Jesus. They would rather kill him than let him continue talking about Jesus.

They rush him ‘with one accord.’ That same phrase is used in Acts 1:14 and 2:46 to describe the unity of these early Christians. But the pagans have their own kind of unity. They unite against the Lord and His servants. So much so that they murder him in the streets. They throw rocks at him until he dies at their feet.

But again, what is Stephen’s response? He isn’t running away. He isn’t afraid. He calls out to the Lord to ‘receive my spirit.’ This sounds much like Jesus’ own prayer from the cross in Luke 23:46, ‘Into your hands I commit my spirit.’ This is hope. He knows he is dying. He won’t survive this. He has no hope of life on this earth anymore. But his hope is not in this world. By asking Jesus to receive his spirit he shows he obviously believes in eternal life and that upon his death he will now be with the Lord he loves so much.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

If you want to die well, then you better have the hope of eternal life. Otherwise, death is rightly to be feared. Death is rightly to be avoided. Because that’s the end. It’s over. But if you trust in Christ, He forgives your sins and promises you that you will be with Him for all eternity. Therefore, death is no longer something to fear, but something to welcome. In the NT book of Hebrews, after discussing the truth that Jesus is the author of salvation and all that He accomplishes when He saves people, the author writes:

Hebrews 2:14b-15 - that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Jesus will set you free. Die hopefully.

LOVINGLY (V. 60)

This might be the most surprising part of this text. This furious mob has condemned Stephen, trumped up false charges, basically incited a riot against him, and are now currently throwing rocks at his face until it kills him. But…v. 60 - Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” What?!! I’d be praying some Imprecatory Psalms asking God to ‘break the teeth of the wicked.’ This is evil. This is unjust. I’d most definitely be asking God to intervene and kill them all.

Stephen does no such thing. He does, though, acknowledge the evil and unjust thing they are doing. He calls it ‘sin.’ He doesn’t mince words. He knows sin when he sees it and even in his final breath is confronting them with their rebellion against God. But again, in yet another way, Stephen shows Christlikeness as he prays for their forgiveness. This mirrors Jesus’ own plea on the cross for the same thing.

Ephesians 4:31-5:2 - 31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

32 Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,

2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

You can put anger and wrath away from yourself, but you cannot control it in others. Instead, be kind and forgive. Why? Graciously forgive just as God has graciously forgiven you in Christ. This is who God is. This is what God does. Therefore, this is what His people do. Stephen gets this right. Remember, Stephen comes from a Greek background. He was once a pagan who worshiped false gods and goddesses. He personally offended God in a myriad of ways. Yet in Christ, God shows love to him and forgives him. How could Stephen not do the same for these men who are sinning against him now.

You want to die well? Then move past the bitterness and resentment you have piled up against those who have wronged you. Forgive them. God has forgiven you for much more than that. If you continue to hold on to that bitterness and resentment, you are letting them hurt you even more. Why do that? Show the love the Lord has shown to you. Die with peace. Die without regret. Die loving people well. And again, the only way to die lovingly is to live lovingly.

Conclusion

If you want to cross the finish line well, then live and die faithfully, hopefully, and lovingly. But there is one more truth this text teaches us, one that I think is the key to having a good theology of death. Here is the truth: God is sovereign over life and death. God decides these things. When you were born/where you were born/to whom you were born…when you die/where you die/how you die…all are in the capable hands of a Sovereign God who rules over all creation. Let me show you this in the next couple verses:

Acts 8:1-3 - Now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

2 And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.

3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.

We already saw at the end of v. 58 that the murderous crowd place their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. That they placed their garments at his feet is a way of saying Saul was in charge; it is a recognition of his authority (4:35,37;5:2). So this entire event against Stephen has been orchestrated and run by Saul the great persecutor. He is ‘in hearty agreement’ with Stephen’s death. And now the persecution explodes not just onto Stephen but onto the entire church. And the Christians are ‘scattered.’ It’s heartbreaking…they lose their homes, their jobs, their social standing. Because of their faith they are driven away from their homes and into Judea and Samaria.

But wait…isn’t that where Jesus told them they’d go in Acts 1:8? Glad you asked. Yes, yes it is. Jesus told His followers that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem (where they are now), Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. That is God’s mission and nothing will stop it. In fact, God will use anything to accomplish that mission. Including persecution. All this time, the church has not left Jerusalem. But not any more. God uses this evil persecution and death and turns it for the good of His people and they are driven by this persecution to the very place God had already ordained for them to go. Only a Sovereign God can pull that off!

But there is one more thing God does to show He is in full control. Saul is the chief persecutor of the church. This is our first introduction to him. Without reading ahead we would only view him as an enemy of God and His people. But God specializes in transforming His enemies into friends. Saul is powerfully converted to faith in Christ in chapter 9. But for right now, he is the enemy. Here is what I love about a Sovereign God…Stephen is the first Christian martyr. He is the first recorded evangelist outside of the apostles. He is the first one to take the gospel to the people around him. And now he is taken out. But in the very same text, as the first evangelist is taken out, God introduces us to the greatest evangelist. We say goodbye to Stephen and hello to his replacement, whose life and ministry will drive the rest of the book of Acts. It is this same Saul, whom we know as the Apostle Paul, who will take the gospel to ‘the ends of the earth.’ God knows what He is doing. He is fully in charge of the narrative He is writing. Find comfort and confidence in that reality on the day you die. Find comfort and confidence in that reality today.