Stephen, The First Christian Martyr: Part 6

Opening

A verse that I couldn’t shake as I thought of Stephen and who he was and what he did, in Luke 12:8–12, Jesus told his disciples this, “‘Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.’”

Introduction

Main Point of the Text (MPT)

If you will, please open your Bibles to Acts 7.

Stephen, one of the seven chosen to be in charge of the tasks of serving tables (Acts 6:5), a man who had a good reputation, who was full of the Spirit, full of wisdom, full of grace, and full of power (Acts 6:3; Acts 6:8) was performing great wonders and signs among the people (Acts 6:8).

At the beginning of Acts 6, we learn that during this time a group called the Synagogue of Freedmen, a synagogue comprised of Cyrenian, Alexandrian, Cilician, and Asian Jews who were once in slavery but had been set free, rose up and began to argue with Stephen (Acts 6:9) which led to Stephen being dragged away and brought before the Council (Acts 6:11-14), of which he accused of:

Speak blasphemous words against Moses (Acts 6:11).

Speak blasphemous words against God (Acts 6:11).

Speaks against this holy place, holy place being the temple (Acts 6:13).

Speaks against the Law (Acts 6:13).

I mentioned that the flow of Stephen’s defense will be this: Abraham > Joseph > Moses (Joshua) > Temple (David and Solomon) > The Law (Murders of Jesus)

Stephen had finished his defense.

Recap:

Responded to the accusation of speaking blasphemous words against God (Acts 6:11) through the retelling of Abraham and Joseph’s stories (Acts 7:2-7; 7:8-16).

Responded to the accusation of speaking blasphemous words against Moses (Acts 6:11) through the retelling of Moses’s story (Acts 7:17-40).

Responded to the accusation of speaking against the temple and the law (Acts 6:13).

Stephen had faithfully defended himself and the gospel. Those who were prosecuting him had now became the defendants and he, defendant turned prosecutor, as his his accusers were now the ones who stood convicted of blasphemy against God and His gospel.

His words of conviction against his accusers are found in Acts 7:51–53 “‘You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.’”

How would the Council respond? What would their response mean for the future of Christ’s church? Let’s find out.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Scripture Reading: Acts 7:54-8:4

Prayer

Body

Point 1: The Life of a Martyr

Scripture: Acts 7:54–58

Explanation:

Acts 7:54 begins to speak to the actions of those who Stephen had just convicted, these men were betrayers and murders, just as he had said and they would prove it.

Verse 54 tells us first that when they heard these things they were cut to the heart.

In some translations such as the NASB, it says that they were cut to the quick, the Greek word here being diapriō, that literally means “to saw in half”, in other words, as John MacArthur puts it, “Stephen’s words ripped apart the veneer of their false spirituality and exposed them for the blasphemous hypocrites they were”.

We have seen this word used before in Acts 5 after Peter had called the Council murders as well (Acts 5:30), but that time Gamaliel’s advice kept the Council from acting and this time things would end up different for Stephen.

These men were angry, they were furious, they were frustrated, they were so angry that Luke tells us that they gnashed at him with their teeth, language that echos the same actions of those who will be confined to the lake of fire, as Jesus said multiple times from there will come weeping and the gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30), expressions of anger from those who will spend eternity there, suffering both physical and spiritual anguish.

If they weren’t already angry enough, Stephen’s actions in verses 55-56 would push them over the edge as Luke retells the moment saying, “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’”

While these men after being presented the entirety of redemptive history, their history, and how it pointed to Christ responded in anger, fury, and frustration, Stephen would do the opposite.

Stephen, being, the word for being in the Greek is hyparchō, meaning to belong to, so Stephen, in this moment, God’s Word tell us “he, being full of the Holy Spirit”, meaning he knew who was in control of the situation, he knew who it was that he would yield to, the Holy Spirit, would instead, with the gnashing of teeth going on around him would, would remain calm and fix his gaze on Heaven where God would allow him to be added to a list of few who ever saw a glimpse of Heaven while on earth (Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-3, Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:26-28, Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, and John in Revelation 4:1).

What a moment this must have been for this faithful disciple of Christ as he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God!

In mere moments he wouldn’t be seeing that from earth, rather in Heaven as he would make his way home to his Savior and Lord.

But we can’t ignore this simple fact of the moment, many times when we read of Jesus being at the right hand of the of God he is said to be seated (Colossians 3:1), but not in this moment, no in this moment Jesus would honor the promise He made back in Matthew 10:32, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”

There in front of God, in the eyes of Stephen, Christ had acknowledge him by not remaining seated, but instead standing before God, His Father.

Stephen couldn’t contain his excitement, he tells the Council, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Instead of rejoicing with him, they would again respond in anger, fury, and frustration as verse 57 tells us of their actions following the moment, they would cry out with a loud voice, they would cover or stop their ears, and they would run at him with one accord.

Now I know I have refereed to the Greek many times in this sermon, but for you to understand the reactions of these men the English simply doesn’t cut it.

When it says they ran, the Greek word here is hormaō, which means to rush as in a stampede.

This wasn’t like they had just slowly jogged towards him, no, they ran as that of a stampede of angry, raging bulls ready to destroy anything in their path to get to the target, nothing would stop them from getting their hands on Stephen, they had heard enough, Stephen would perish for what they believed to be blasphemy.

In verse 58, they would take him and cast him out of the city and stone him, reflecting what the Law had said should be done to blasphemers back in Leviticus 24:14.

Then, as the end of verse 58 tells us, in attendance would be Saul, otherwise known to us as Paul, who the witnesses would lay down their clothes at the feet of.

Yes, Paul, known at the time as Saul was there and more than likely he was involved with the stoning of Stephen (I will refer to him as Paul the rest of the sermon as not to confuse you), being the one the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of, a sign that they would be true and faithful witnesses, confessors of the false truth that would later be told about Stephen, that he was stoned due to the blasphemies he spoke as the stoning that was occuring illegal since they weren’t supposed to be stoning someone without a Roman being present.

As William McDonald would say in his commentary on this very moment concerning Paul and his presence here, “It is as if the Spirit would say to us, ‘Remember that name. You will hear it again!’”

Application:

But I wish not to focus on Paul just yet, as the man, Stephen, remember his name, had just defended not only himself, but the gospel of God, had just been taken out of the city of Jerusalem to be stoned for his faithfulness to a faithful God.

What does it look like to be a martyr today? How would you describe a modern day martyr?

Us, in the western world, in particular, the United States of America, perhaps much of Europe as well, would most likely have a different answer to this question than those in the eastern world, places such as India, Iraq, Pakistan, North Korea, Africa and China, just to mention a few.

For us in US, who are able to proclaim the name of Christ freely and openly without worry of being killed, although I am sure their are instances where that hasn’t always been the case, martyrdom looks like the possible loss of a friend, an atheist arguing against us, maybe sometimes it can escalate to our entire family disowning us, but for those outside the US, the western world, death is the price that many pay for their faith.

Illustration:

Allow me to share with you the story of Manche Masemola, remember her name, published by the Westminster Abbey, an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England.

The year was 1919, and Father Augustine Moeka, as he was called, established a mission at Marishane, located in Northeast Africa. A young lady, Manche Masemola, born ~1913 in Marishane, accompanied by her cousin Lucia, would attend the mission, coming to classes twice a week, hearing and being taught the gospel.

Manche’s parents would discourage her from going, being afraid that she would leave them, or refuse to marry someone from their local tribe.

Manche would defy their prohibitions, so they would beat her.

Many times Manche would tell Lucia, her cousin, and Moeka, the founder of the mission that she would die at the hands of her parents.

It was on or near February 4th, 1928, that this would become reality as Manche’s mother and father would take her away to a lonely place and kill her, burying her next to a granite rock on a remote hillside, but that wouldn’t be the end of Manche’s story as her story was not over, God had a purpose that I am sure Manche rejoiced over.

In 1935, nearly 7 years after Manche’s death at the hands of her parents, a small group of Christians would make a pilgrimage to the grave.

They would return again in 1941, then again in 1949, and eventually, as the mission would grow and churches would be established, in 1969, Manche’s mother, her murderer would be baptized into the church after giving her life to and finding faith in Jesus Christ, the very reason that she had killed her daughter over, she now understood why he daughter was so compelled to go to the mission.

Manche’s story lives on, as in 1975, the name of Manche Masemola was added to the calendar of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

Now, hundreds visit the pilgrimage site every August.

According to resources like the Christian Post, in 2023, at least…yes, at least, 13 Christians were killed for their faith per day.

People like Stephen, people like Manche, remember their names, are dying everyday so that the gospel of Christ may be spread yet we won’t as much mention his name unless we are in these four walls and if we do it is only to other Christians out of fear of being rejected by anyone who doesn’t believe.

They, people like Stephen and Manche, live a life that echos that of Christ, dying so that those who are lost in sin may find victory in Christ…which leads me to my second point…the life of a martyr is a life that echos Christ!

Point 2: A Life That Echos Christ

Scripture: Acts 7:59–60

Explanation:

As verse 59 tell us, they stoned Stephen and as they stoned him, he was calling on God.

This is how he first echos Christ as even in death Stephen still clung to the Father just as Christ did when he died, but it would go much deeper than this.

The Greek word for calling here, being epikaleō, does not only mean to call on someone for help, no, it also meant “to appeal to a high court”.

In this moment Stephen was speaking to the only one, the only being that he considered Lord, God, Himself.

Despite the suffering, Stephen would stay faithful to God, seeking comfort from Him in his final moments, remaining true to Christ and His mission.

As he called on God, he would say, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Not only was he calling on God, but in this moment he even acknowledges Jesus as Lord, believing that Jesus was God, just as Jesus said He was in John 10:30 when He told a ground of Jews that surrounded Him in Jerusalem, “‘I and My Father are one.’”

More than just acknowledging Jesus as Lord, he echos Jesus again, using the same words as He did on the cross to appeal to the Father.

In Luke 23:46, just before Christ breathed His last breath, he would cry out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit”.

As Stephen’s last breath approached, he to would say they same telling Jesus to receive his spirit.

Verse 60, “Then he knelt down”, as one would do in worship (Mark 15:19), again showing that God was the only one he would kneel down for and God’s Word said that as he did this he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin”.

Stephen’s words once again echoing those of Christ as He hung on a cross, placed their by the very ones who now stone Stephen, would say in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

The heart, the love, that Christ had for those who killed him, that’s what Stephen echoed.

And finally, following those words, just as Christ, Stephen would die or as Luke puts it, “he fell asleep”.

How peaceful does that sound?

The Bible here doesn’t declare Stephen’s death as, “And when he had said this, he died”, no, it says, “And when he had said this, he fell asleep”.

What a beautiful way to put it, what a lovely way to describe the death of a believer, and what power such a phrase can have!

Stephen had already seen what awaited him, Christ standing at the right hand of the Father.

I love how MacArthur puts in here, “Peacefully, calmly he slipped into the presence of the Lord. Unquestionably, his Master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’ (Matthew 25:21).”

For the one who dies a child of God, death is no more than falling asleep awaking to the glory that awaits us in Heaven.

Just as for Christ, Stephen’s last moment, his death echos Christ as the grave had no hold on him and he was in Heaven with the Father.

Application:

Stephen sought to live like Christ, he would die like Christ and his faith in Christ guaranteed that he would be resurrected like Christ.

Can you say the same? Can you look at your life as say that you have sought to live like Christ? Can you say that you are willing to die like Christ? Do you know for sure that you are guaranteed to be resurrected like Christ?

Stephen could and he showed that through his life as described in Acts 6 being a man who had a good reputation, who was full of the Spirit, full of wisdom, full of grace, and full of power (Acts 6:3; Acts 6:8), he showed that through his death here in Acts 7, and God showed him his future in what he saw as he gazed up at Heaven just moments before he died (Acts 7:55).

And now, maybe you’re asking yourself how you could be as Stephen was, a faithful servant whose life echoed Christ?

My advice to you is to let no one other than Christ inform you on how that looks lest you be led astray.

To share a brief taste, just before Jesus sent out the His disciples to share the gospel with the lost sheep of the house of Isreal in Matthew 10, He speaks to the hardships they may face such as being denied (Matthew 10:14), facing men that may seek to scourge them (Matthew 10:17), and being hated (Matthew 10:22).

But it was the last hardship of a disciple that He mentions that has rung loud throughout the ages causing many to walk away from the faith as they could not handle such a thing, in Matthew 10:34, Jesus’s last hardship of someone that would choose the life of a disciple, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

The words are simple, the hardship was plainly spoken, yet many choose to ignore it.

The gospel is a beautiful gift from God to all those who believe in Christ, that is plainly written as well in the Word, John 3:16 being the greatest example, but what many forget is that the work doesn’t end their, but continues and it doesn’t just lead to unity of a human beings, but rather leads to division between those who believe in Christ and those who don’t.

It is for this reason that Christ continues by says these words to the disciples, knowing that not everyone will come to belief in Christ and for that reason there will be division, there will be separation and that is something that a disciple of Christ must consider and understand.

Why else do you think that Stephen cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”

Stephen knew that the men who were stoning him were doing so due to their unbelief and in his last moments it was his love for them and his hope that they would one day come to faith in Christ that caused him to cry out on their behalf!

As disciples, as Christians, we are called to a mission, that mission is found in Matthew 28:19–20, to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”

In this statement from Christ declaring what it is that Christians are to do there are no mentions of easiness or simplicity, there are no mentions of altering or changing the mission, no, we are given the mission and must do whatever He asks of us to bring that mission to the world, for the gospel of Christ, as Paul puts it himself, is the power of salvation for everyone who believes and it is not something that we must be ashamed about (Romans 1:16).

Stephen was unashamed, he knew the power of the gospel so much that he died so that the Council might hear it, but the gospel wouldn’t die with him, no, his life would be one that furthered the gospel, not hindered it.

Point 3: A Life That Furthers the Gospel

Scripture: Acts 8:1–4

Explanation:

In our last set of verses for today, Paul is mentioned once again, Acts 8:1 tells us, “Now Saul (Paul) was consenting to his death.”

We know this to be true, because later Paul would speak to this following his conversion as he would speak to the Lord of Stephen’s death during his conversion (Acts 22:20).

Paul knew what he had been apart of and the death of Stephen was one that weighed on his mind and perhaps played a part in his conversion that we will get to when we get to Acts 9.

But it is this moment, when Paul is first mentioned that the book of Acts takes a turning point as Luke tells us that at that time, the time following Stephen’s death, a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

What Jesus had promised the disciples upon his ascension had now came true, Acts 1:8, His last words to them before he was taken up to Heaven, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The promise he had made to them concerning the reach of the gospel and how it would extend past Jerusalem, past Isreal, past the Jews, and penetrate the hearts of even the Gentiles had been fulfilled.

The gospel was not only meant for the Jews, but it was meant for anyone who believes in the name of Jesus Christ (John 3:16), for the Jew first and also for the Gentile (Romans 1:16).

Stephen’s story ends with devout men carrying Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

He had served well, he had, ironically enough, as Paul would later put it 2 Timothy 4:7, he had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, he had kept the faith and for him there was laid up a crown of righteousness that he was now wearing, which the Lord would had given him upon arrival.

And for Paul, the one who had consented to to Stephen’s death, he wouldn’t stop as he would continue to make havoc of the church, the phrase “make havoc”, meaning to injure severely or destroy in the Greek.

How would he do that?

He would enter every house, drag off men and men and commit them to prison.

Despite the consequences of being a Christian, Acts 8:4 offers the Christian of today a moment of inspiration, as those who faced these days were scattered, yes, but Luke tells us that they went everywhere preaching the word and it is because of their bravery, their boldness, their faithfulness that those who are in this room today that can call themselves a child of God.

As the worship team comes…is that you?

HOLY SPIRIT LEAD ME!

Altar Call