Stephen the Martyr

Introduction

Last week, we examined what happens when Satan rears his ugly head in the Church, causing division and chaos, particularly in the story of Ananias and Sapphira. The issues in the early church included difficulty with persecution and dishonesty. In Acts 6, we return to internal matters. There are ethnic issues to sort out, which are always tricky problems in a community that is open to all types of people. However, the community works through what is a potentially destructive situation.

The Church functioned the way it should, they came together identified the problem and designated people to help share the load. Among those designated was a man by the name of Stephen. Notice that he was the only one that was identified as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.

Summary of the Jerusalem Community

Now, the new community is growing in Jerusalem with three imperfect verbs used in Acts 6:7

Acts 6:7 ESV

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

First, the word “was growing” as the message is being spread. (the word of God continued to increase)

Second, the number of disciples was "multiplying " and greatly multiplying.

Third, even a great crowd of priests “was being obedient.” This is one of only two references to Jewish priests in this term.

So they were....

Growing

Multiplying

Obedient

Persecution in Jerusalem Moves the Message to Judea and Samaria as a New Witness Emerges

Even though some of the leaders, such as Stephen, give their lives for their testimony, and the church is scattered under Jewish leaders, such as Saul, the Word still grows.

‌Young and old kids have always been drawn to pop culture and its icons, particularly in the sports arena. ‌A popular jingle that rang out in the heads of young basketball fans around the world in the 1990s as kids sought to imitate NBA superstar (Michael Jordan) the jingle went “Be Like ______________.” ‌Gatorade even resurrected the tune to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Who did you want to be like when you were a kid? Many young children grow up wanting to be like their moms and dads. Regardless of who your model was as a child, every adult Christian should seek to imitate the same model: Jesus. The goal of the Christian is to be like our Savior. Paul wrote about this pursuit in Philippians 3:10-14, growing more and more like Jesus, which was his life’s aim. ‌We now meet a man who was as much like Jesus as anyone in Scripture up to this point: Stephen. Luke describes Stephen’s Christlike character, ministry, and death.

His death is the first martyrdom we read about in the New Testament Church. Persecution began with threats. It grew to include floggings. In this passage, it involves stoning. ‌Our focus here, however, is not on Martyrdom. Rather, I hope what we discuss will make us wrestle with the question.

Big Idea: Do We (REALLY) Want to Be Like Jesus?

What does it mean for us to be like Jesus?

To be like Jesus is not simply gathering facts about Jesus’s life and copying them, like children idolizing their favorite basketball players tend to do. It’s not just about having the Michael Jordan sneakers. You can put the sneakers on and look the part, however, no matter how often you wear the sneakers it is not automatically going to make you a superstar basketball player.

As Christians, we must realize that we can now pursue Christlikeness because we have been united to Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Through such a union with Christ, we can now live out Christlikeness. Galatians 2:20

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The first part of seeking to follow in Stephen’s footsteps, who followed Christ Jesus, is to unite with Jesus by being willing to suffer. Stephen’s story shows us that suffering connected to honoring the Lord is worth it!

Acts 6:8–14 ESV

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”

We know virtually nothing about the history of Stephen, except that he was a Hellenist, a Jew who became a Christian. Luke describes him as a man of faith and full of the Holy Spirit.

Stephen was known for his wisdom and in view of his address before the Sanhedrin he appears to be an educated person. Presumably he attended the Jewish theologians in Jerusalem and Alexandria.

Stephen is uniquely equipped for the unique things God has called him to do. Here is a Hellenist with the enablement that apostles have displayed. God will work through the various ethnic wings of the Church.

1. You are Controlled by Whatever Fills You.

Are you daily asking God to fill you with Faith, Power, and Wisdom?

If you are filled with Jealousy, the success of others will infuriate you. If you are filled with a need to be validated, you will crumble when others fail to give you that approval. If you are filled with lust, your sexual appetites will lead you into darkness. If you are filled with anger, you will quarrel and even murder with your thoughts. But if you are filled with God’s power and wisdom, you will live a life like Stephen demonstrated - an others-oriented, Christ-exalting life.

a) Be filled with the unanswerable Wisdom of Jesus.

Notice that the movement of reaction to Stephen arises among Hellenistic Jews. Some of them come from a synagogue composed of freedmen and slaves who now are independent. Their slavery most likely descended from Jews imprisoned by Pompey in 63 BC and later freed. The most interesting of the regions mentioned is Cilicia, which is Paul’s home region. The mention of Cilicia probably means the apostle probably attended this synagogue.

*They had no answers for Jesus's wisdom, so it is no surprise that they had no answers for Stephen's wisdom.

Dispute (Syzeteo)

This word is also identified with those who challenged Jesus. Jesus indicated that those who stood against the disciples could not oppose those such as Stephen. The situation also presents another answer to the prayer for boldness.

Cultural Note: Have you ever been in a situation where what you believe is under attack or someone wanted to dispute your belief in Jesus Christ? How do you answer those who question your faith in Jesus? How do you respond when asked how you believe the Bible's words are true?

Stephen and others disputed possibly for days. But, as in the case of Jesus’s teaching, no one could withstand Stephen’s wisdom. Remember that in disputing with Jesus the Pharisees became so frustrated and enraged that they no longer wanted to ask Him an questions. At one point in Jesus home town of Nazareth the religious leaders became so enraged that they drove him to the edge of cliff to stone him.

The opposition comes not because of the miracles but because of Stephen’s preaching. It appears that Stephen made it his purpose to go to the local synagogue of his people where he must have known it would stir up controversy to proclaim the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Instigate (hyperbaton)

This word means that people began to cause someone to do something by hint or suggestion. The charges are that Stephen has spoken words of blasphemy, words of insult, against Moses and God. (Similar to the instigation of the mob at Jesus trial)

Possibly, the elements of the charge contain a serious misrepresentation of Jesus’s prediction about the temple as recorded in Luke 21 or Jesus’s warning that the temple is destined for judgment. Acts 7 will also imply this accusation. Zealous Jews would see acting against the Holy Sight or even speaking negatively about its potential demise as acting against both the law of Moses and God. It would also challenge the leadership, as according to their theological view, the temple would only be subject to judgment if the nation were in serious sin.

Cultural Note: How do people today miss the gospel's message because they are so blinded by their own traditions and functional God that they are following, allowing themselves to be misled away from the truth? (we are misled into believing a lie all the time)

The next course of action was to seize Stephen and bring him to the council for examination. This means that he was pulled out or directed against his own will.

Now you have a very tension filled scene with the prospect of blasphemy. The very same charge that lead to Jesus crucifixion. Stephen had to know how dire a situation he now found himself in.

What gave Stephen such confidence to stand in the middle of this religious group of bullies? He had not attended Bible college; he did not have a seminary degree. He did not even have a gospel tract memorized. Stephen, then, could be filled with confidence for only one reason: he believed a particular promise made by Jesus. He trusted in Christ’s words in Luke 21:12-18

Luke 21:12–18 ESV

12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

‌Now, Stephen is allowed to share an unprepared message loaded with unanswerable wisdom. Just as Jesus had predicted before his death that Christ’s faithful disciples would be brought before the religious leaders and eventually killed, just as Jesus was brought before the religious leaders and killed.  The promise we have is that God will be with us as we stand in the middle of the pack of ravenous wolves seeking to devour us.

We should not use this text as an excuse not to study God’s word. Stephen studied what it says, which is how he was able to retell all of the narrative stories of the Old Testament with such precision.

2. You are Validated by the Truth You Choose to Believe.

Everyone is guilty of approval-seeking behavior.

We all want our opinions and beliefs validated. The only problem in this situation is which truth you believe. In reality, Stephen led the people down a road of the truth that people were refusing to believe.

We read in Revelation 12:11 says that Satan is defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

What Truth Are You Choosing to Believe?

Nietzsche, son of a (by then dead) Lutheran pastor from a small, conservative town and family, was at this time a student in Bonn, drinking too much (and getting a beer belly) in his fraternity and even engaging in the odd duel and dropping by the odd brothel. Above all, however, he was expanding his mind. And with that came certain ideas. ‌Ideas about God, in particular.

They horrified his mother and younger sister, who otherwise adored Fritz. We now no that Fritz would become the bad boy of Philosophy that coined the expression, “God is dead.” ‌His sister Elizabeth, hoping to bring him back to the church and God wrote the following. ‌“it is much easier not to believe than the opposite, and the difficult thing is likely to be the right course to take.” ‌

Fritz, in part, agrees with his sister. However, he goes on to conclude that it is the faith that makes them blessed, not the objective reality that stands behind the faith. Even if they were raised to believe that Mohammed had the way to salvation. He argues that the state of proof adopted by religious people is based on experience. He contends that every true faith is infallible; it accomplishes what the person holding the faith hopes to find in it, but that does not offer the slightest support for proof of its objective truth.‌

“Here are the ways men divide: if you wish to strive for peace of soul and happiness, then believe; if you wish to be a disciple of truth, then enquire.”

Note: Stephen is giving the religious leaders not some pie-in-the-sky feeling of happiness and peace but the truth in front of each of them.

The validation of TRUTH Happens when.

a) When We Embrace the Kind of Love that Tells the (Hard) Truth

Notice that Stephen addresses the members of the Sanhedrin as “men, brothers, and fathers.” At the end of his third missionary Journey, Paul uses the same words to speak to the Jews in Jerusalem.

Peter considers them spiritual brothers and deeply respects their age and dignity. He calls them “fathers.” Like Paul in Athens, he attempts not to show his listeners flattery but to show respect for authority. He wants their undivided attention.

‌Has anyone ever been stung by a bee, wasp, or scorpion? The thing about the sting is that it keeps stinging even after the initial sting has begun. The worst is being stung by a jellyfish or a man of war. As a kid, I remember stepping on a man of war out from the beach at Galveston. The original sting was painful; however, it did not matter what my mom or dad did.

The sting kept getting worse. ‌This is what happens as Stephen so astutely unfolds the pages of the Old Testament to his accusers. This is what is happening in Stephen’s defense. The first sting was bad enough; however, the further he got into the history of the people of Israel, the sting kept on stinging.

‌Why are People wired to believe what they want to Believe?

‌ As human beings, we are wired to interpret new information as confirming our beliefs and rejecting it if it runs counter to those beliefs. ‌This is a phenomenon known as confirmation bias. Sara Gorman, a public health specialist, and her father, Jack, a psychiatrist, explore this matter in their book Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us.

They cite research that suggests that processing information that supports one’s beliefs leads to a dopamine rush, a psychological response that creates feelings of pleasure. ‌Moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, says that “extreme partisanship may be literally addictive. “On the flip side, “When something is inconsistent with existing beliefs, people tend to stumble. … Information that is inconsistent with one’s beliefs produces a negative affective response,” according to Norbert Schwarz, Evyn Newman and William Leach, experts in cognitive psychology.

This is known as cognitive dissonance. In a sense, people see what they want to see, in order to believe what they want to believe. In addition, everyone likes to be proven right, and changing their views is an admission that they were wrong, or at least had an incomplete understanding of an issue.

Beliefs are also tied to our identities.

If changing your beliefs means changing your identity, it comes at the risk of rejection from the community of people with whom you share that identity.”

The Jews had placed their identity in the Temple now for centuries.

The Jews prized the temple not because of its architectural magnificence but because God had promised to ‘put his name’ there and meet his people there.

Stephen Picked Four Major Epochs of Israel’s History, Dominated by four major characters.

1). Abraham and the Patriarchal Age (7:1-8)

‘The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia before he lived in Heran. “Leave your country and your people,” God said, “and go to the land I will show you.”

So, he left the land that he had known and went to the land of his inheritance. God had made a promise that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though, at that time, Abraham had no child to be the heir to possess the land. ‌Throughout all these stories, they are strangers in a land that is not their own, and the nation will be imprisoned and mistreated for four hundred years. After this time, they will come out and worship me in this place. Then He gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. ‌

Note: Notice that God appeared to Abraham first while he was still living in the Ur of the Chaldeans, while he and his family worshiped other pagan gods. Yet even in this idolatrous context, God appeared and spoke to Abraham.

The Validation of Truth happens when...

b). When God takes the (Divine) Initiative

It is no accident that God appeared, spoke, sent, promised, punished, and rescued. So, long before there was a holy place, there was a holy people to whom God had pledged himself.

2). Joseph (7:9-16)

‌‌If Mesopotamia was the divine place where God appeared to Abraham, then Egypt was the equally surprising scene of God’s dealings with Joseph. ‌Six times in seven verses, Stephen repeats the word ‘Egypt’ as if to make sure that his hearers have grasped its significance.

This was also a country that was not their own in which Abraham's descendants would be strangers and slaves for 400 years. Even though Joseph was a foreigner and slave in Egypt God was with him. God was not only with Joseph, but he was also preserving his family from dying in the famine as well.

3). Moses (7:17-43)

The Israelites' exile and slavery in Egypt lasted for four bitter centuries. Had God forgotten his promise to his people? No way, he had warned Abraham about the coming 400 years of slavery and mistreatment. But now, the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham.

The Validation of Truth happens....

c). When we understand that wherever God is, it is (Holy) Ground. (7:17-43)

If God is present everywhere, then every moment of every day, we are surrounded by ‘the holy place.”

vs. 33 “The place you are standing is Holy Ground.”

Note: You do not have to wait for Sunday to experience the Holy Ground with God. 1 Peter 1:15 reminds us that just as He who called you is Holy, you are also called to be Holy. You should be holy in all your conduct. you shall be holy as he is holy.

Now, the body is becoming the perfect temple where the living sacrifice occurs day and night.

4). David and Solomon (7:44-50)

Now, we have the story of David and Solomon, which includes the settlement of the promised land and the establishment of the monarchy. This is the first time Stephen brings up the religious structure itself, specifically, the Tabernacle of the Testimony that the people had with them in the desert.

The Validation of Truth Happens...

d.) When we Embrace the (UN-Containable) God.

‌Stephen holds the tabernacle and the temple in great esteem. Stephen now reminds them of the transition from the temporary tabernacle to a more permanent structure in the Temple. ‌Stephen’s point is not that it is improper to construct either structure, but that they should never have been regarded as, in any literal sense, God’s home. For the highest God does not live in a structure constructed by human hands. Remember that Paul had a similar response to the Athenian philosophers. And although the sentiment is not expressed in the Old Testament in so many words, Solomon himself understood it. ‌After he had rebuilt the temple after the exile, he prayed: ‘But will God dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less of this temple I have built! Instead of quoting this, however, Stephen's sites:

Isaiah 66:1-2

Isaiah 66:1–2 ESV

1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

It is not difficult, then, to grasp Stephen’s thesis. A single thread runs right through the first part of his defense. The God of Israel is a pilgrim God who is not restricted to one place.

It is evident from Scripture that God’s presence cannot be localized and that no building can confine him or inhibit his activity. If he has any home on earth, he lives with his people. He has pledged himself by a solemn covenant to be their God. Therefore, according to his covenant promise, wherever they are, there he is also.

Stephen's key point and argument is that the religious leaders and authorities are the real lawbreakers who have rejected the Savior, himself, the law fulfiller.

Finally, instead of discussing the Temple or the law further, Stephen points to Jesus, the fulfillment or culmination of both.

The persecuted Prophets

The prophets were stoned, sawed in half, others were killed by the sword, some were flayed alive.

Acts 7:54–60 ESV

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed 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, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

3. You are Called to be Witnesses of a (Beautiful) Death.

The beautiful truth helps us see how one filled with the Spirit lives and dies. Stephen asks Jesus to welcome him home.

There is something to be said for a beautiful life lived for Jesus, but I think just as powerful is the way we choose to die as Christians.

Now, don’t miss this. Saul himself would become the answer to Stephen's prayer! Saul would soon find forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He would become an unswerving recipient of the martyr’s request that this sin not be held against those responsible. In Romans 12, Saul would argue for leaving vengeance to God.

Saul must have never forgotten this moment as those involved in the stoning laid their coats at Saul’s feet, and then he heard the bloody pulp of a man spit the final words of his existence here on earth as a cry for God to forgive his executioners. We know that Saul never forgot this powerful testimony of a beautiful death.

Acts 22:20

Acts 22:20 ESV

20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’

a.) Death: The Great Witness

Note: There is some controversy over the fact that this execution takes place as capital punishment. Such executions were at the prerogative of Rome. The account suggests this was a mob-ruled execution. There had been not formal verdict given. This brings discredit to any credibility to the accusations of Blasphemy. However, the fact that the execution took place outside of the city and included the Temple in the charges is probably why they were able to get away with the execution.

‌Jesus is standing at the Right hand of God Notice that at the moment of his stoning Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. God is now opening up for Stephen a glimpse of heaven as an act of vindication for his claims. ‌Why is Jesus standing rather than His normal seated position?‌Jesus is in the “parousia” the second coming position as vindicating Judge. Jesus is now seen as an advocate for Stephen, a vindicator of his claims.

CONCLUSION

Have you ever seen your death as a beautiful witness?

I will never forget the day my Grandmother went home to be with the Lord.  She had been in hospice care for quite sometime before her death. We used to have this big electric organ in the front room of our house. When the hospice people showed up to verify that my grandmother was gone. My mom was playing the organ at the top of its volume, and the Hallelujah Chorus and my dad were singing at the top of his lungs.

Most people would have assumed that this was an odd reaction to my grandmother's death. However, anyone who knew my grandmother knew the beautiful life she lived for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You may never be called to be a martyr for the sake of Jesus Christ. However, all true followers of Christ experience a beautiful death like Stephen. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-58: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

As a pastor of over 25 years, I have seen death. I have been with families in the last moments of their loved ones' lives, passing from this life into the next. I believe that moment is the greatest witness for the realities of God, salvation, and heaven.

When a believer leaves this life, there is something incredibly beautiful and glorious. It will confirm your Faith when you see it.

When Stephen is stoned, his final action echoes that of Jesus but with one major difference. He “calls out” to heaven. This recalls Peter's exhortation that to receive salvation, one must call out to the Lord (Acts 2:21). At the moment that Stephen is truly alone in his life at an end, he turns to God and asks that his Spirit be received.

HAVE YOU CALLED OUT TO JESUS TO RECEIVE SALVATION IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST ALONE?

If your only testimony is that you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, then you are still lost. “Even the demons believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and died on the cross for humanity, and he shudders at the name of Jesus.”

THIS IS THE BLINDNESS OF TODAY’S CHURCH CULTURE

Until people surrender their lives to Christ by a conscious act of the will, they will not find salvation or have the eternal hope of Heaven.