A Tale of Two Reactions

When Jesus walked the earth, he spent a lot of time teaching his followers. Many of the things he taught were hard teachings - things that do not come naturally to us. Things like put God’s kingdom ahead of our own, and don’t live for treasures in this life but in the next. Perhaps one of the hardest teachings is LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. ⭐

Luke 6:27–28 CSB

27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

After Jesus left this earth to be with the Father, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to empower his people to live the way Jesus commanded and taught. The books of Acts and the MAJORITY of the New Testament after the gospels is about the people of God working out what it means to live the way Jesus lived, to act the way Jesus taught.

THIS is still the struggle in our day.

Our society is angry. Our society is reactive. Our culture is often very intolerant. In many ways it resembles the culture of the Sadducees. However, as kingdom people, we are called to live like our king - the one seated at the right hand of the Father. How we live represents the NAME of God. How we live displays the image of God.

ASK: so let me ask you, “How do you treat those who oppose, mock or mistreat you?” “How do you treat your enemies?”

Last week we examined the entire narrative of Stephen, a disciple that was killed for following Jesus. This morning I want us to zoom in on the end of that narrative, but first, let’s review a bit to keep the big picture in focus.

⭐Acts 1:1-8:3 is the account of the establishment of the church in Jerusalem. The place that condemned and crucified Jesus was the birthplace of the church.

The church was established with:

⭐Jesus as its cornerstone - Acts 4:11 “11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.”

⭐The kingdom as its message - Acts 1:1–3 “1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

⭐Repentance as its calling - Acts 2:36–38 “36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

⭐The Apostles as its leaders - Acts 1:26 “26 Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias and he was added to the eleven apostles.”

⭐The Holy Spirit as its enabler - Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

⭐Signs and wonders to validate it - Acts 2:43 “43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.”

There was a lot of newness to the church.

Many of the things they were facing they had not faced before. Many of the decisions they had to make were not common to them. They were in new territory, so how did they know what to do? We examined how the Apostles referenced the Law & Prophets when determining what to do as a church (like replacing Judas) as well as when defending the person and work of Jesus. They made the Word of God the foundation of their doctrine.

There were problems in the early church. ⭐

We have examined how the Apostles referenced the Law & Prophets when determining what to do as a church (like replacing Judas) as well as when defending the person and work of Jesus. They made the Word of God the foundation of their doctrine.

The early church faced opposition from without -> such as the Sanhedrin.

The early church faced problems from within -> such as deceivers and people being overlooked.

In spite of the challenges, the church kept growing. The people of God, empowered by the Spirit of God kept doing the work of God and sharing the Word of God, and the church kept growing!

There was communion or community in the church. ⭐

This church group was known by a few things:

They took care of each other.

They were generous towards each other.

They spent time together.

They ate meals together.

They were unified - (do NOT read that as they all got along!)

They were all Jews (Hellenistic or Hebraic) They were Greek speaking or Aramaic speaking, but they were all JEWS.

THE TRANSITION.

At the end of Acts 7 we are introduced to a character named Saul. Saul will be a key figure in the church spreading out beyond the city of Jerusalem and the gospel going to the non-Jewish regions.

This morning we are going to close out book one if you will, the establishment of the Jewish church in Jerusalem. Let’s look at 7:54 - 8:3 together. This passage records the response to the defense that Stephen gave to the Sanhedrin which we covered last week: ⭐

Acts 7:54–8:3 CSB

54 When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. 58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep. 1 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

I think there is something we forget about this while scene with Stephen. We should remember that Stephen was NOT one of the Apostles! He was a disciple, a follower of Jesus, but he was NOT one of the Apostles. His defense during his trial sounds very similar to what Peter and John were saying, but he was not one of the leaders. He was obviously recognized as a man full of the Spirit and wisdom. He was also not JUST waiting on tables, as Peter put it. He was serving, preaching, performing miracles.

REMINDER: ⭐

“The ordinary people of God, equipped with the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, dedicated to the Son of God, can accomplish the mission of God.”‌

Stephen was on trial, he proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God and that the Sanhedrin put the Son of God to death. The Sanhedrin has already grilled Peter and John and KNEW their beliefs. Why was Stephen picked out? Was it because he was popular? Was it because the leaders were looking for others to punish to try to discourage people from following Jesus? Perhaps they assumed the disciples would not know as much as the Apostles and it would be easier to trap one of them and discredit them all?

Their response to Stephen’s defense is raw anger.

Acts 7:54 CSB

54 When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him.

They were enraged (filled with rage or anger) and they gnashed their teeth. At this point, had Stephen just kept quiet, they might have just flogged him and sent him on his way, or perhaps put him in prison. They could not stone him for being impertinent.

Stephen then had an apocalypse. He has a moment with heaven and earth overlapped - when the reality of the divine pierced through to the earthly.

Acts 7:55–56 CSB

55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Where was the glory of God often revealed in the OT? On mountains, right? And once the temple was built, the glory of God filled the temple in Jerusalem. Stephen was seeing the glory of God and it was NOT in the temple! And he saw “the Son of Man”, Jesus, standing next to the Father.

This could be taken by the Sanhedrin as Stephen speaking against the temple (which is isn’t). It would also be taken as Stephen equating Jesus with the Godhead (which he is!) However, this phrase is significant to the greater story of Jesus.

When Jesus was on trial, it was his declaration that he was the Messiah, the Son of Man, and that he would be seated next to the Father that was the final statement to condemn him to death: ⭐

Mark 14:60–64 CSB

60 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 61 But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all condemned him as deserving death.

Stephen had a vision where the heavenly was revealed to him. What was different between the statement of Jesus in Mark’s gospel and the statement of Stephen in Acts?

In Mark, the Son of Man is seated. This is a position of authority and rule.

In Acts, the Son of Man is standing. This is a position of advocacy.

It is as if Jesus is defending Stephen before the Father. Though his earthly accusers find him guilty of blasphemy, Jesus finds him innocent.

1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one.”

Jesus is still advocating for his people, for his followers, before the Father. Even for you and me!

Jesus was condemned to death for claiming to be the Messiah. Stephen is condemned to death for claiming to see Jesus in the role of Messiah next to the Father in heaven.

The 5 Reactions of the Sanhedrin

Luke gives is a play by play account that includes a lot of short, punctuated statements. ⭐

Acts 7:57–58 CSB

57 They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. 58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

It is obvious that this was an angry moment. ⭐

⭐They yelled at the top of their voices. Have you even been so angry that you have yelled at the top of your voice? Generally, at that point you may want to step back because you are probably out of control!

⭐They covered their ears. Why? Jewish tradition would imply that it was to keep the heresy from penetrating into their bodies. Do not listen lest it impact or infect you. It is interesting that Luke records this, because Luke also quoted Stephen as saying this: Acts 7:51 “You stiff necked people with uncircumcised ears”. When I think of circumcision I am not thinking of ears!

Physical circumcision was a sign of obedience to God and being a part of his covenant family - a child of Abraham.

Paul talks about the need for circumcision of the heart - where we surrender our lives in obedience to the Father as the true children of Abraham:

Romans 2:29 “On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.”

However, Luke talks about ears that do not want to hear ad acknowledge that what they hear is from God. They have ears that are deaf to God. They COVER their ears when they hear Stephen.

⭐They rushed at him. It was as if they wanted to do whatever they could to get Stephen to stop talking as quickly as possible.

⭐They dragged him out of the city. This is because they were going to stone him. The Torah taught that a person was to be stoned outside the walls of the city.

⭐They stoned him. They literally pummeled Stephen with rocks until he died from the wounds. This is a very painful way to go for sure! It was a public event meant to deter others from committing the same crime.

Stonings were commanded for several things in the Scriptures. Here are a few of them

Acts Explanation of the Text

In the law, stoning was prescribed as the death penalty for the following offenses: worshiping pagan gods (Lev 20:2–5; Deut 17:2–7), prophesying in the name of a pagan god (Deut 13:2–6), divination (Lev 20:27), blasphemy (Lev 24:14–16), violation of the Sabbath (Num 15:32–36), adultery (Deut 22:22), and refusal to submit to one’s parents (Deut 21:18–21).

I think that last one would certainly help out a lot in society! lol 🤣 ⭐

Deuteronomy 21:18–21 CSB

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn’t listen to them even after they discipline him, 19 his father and mother are to take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown. 20 They will say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he doesn’t obey us. He’s a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

In this sense, when the Sanhedrin was acting against Stephen, they were fulfilling the law, or at least they believed they were: ⭐

Leviticus 24:14–16 CSB

14 “Bring the one who has cursed to the outside of the camp and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole community stone him. 15 And tell the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will bear the consequences of his sin. 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native.

In the custom of stoning people, there had to be at least two witnesses and the ones who are witnesses have to cast the first stones. ⭐

Acts 7:58–60 CSB

58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep.

Stephen’s Responses.

Responses to Death.

The responses of Stephen mirror those of the Savior with a few twists: ⭐

Jesus called out, Luke 23:46 “46 And Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” Saying this, he breathed his last.”

Stephen called out, Acts 7:59 “59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!””

What is the difference? Jesus called to the Father. Stephen called to Jesus. In doing this, they were BOTH referring to ⭐

Psalm 31:5 CSB

5 Into your hand I entrust my spirit; you have redeemed me, Lord, God of truth.

However, Stephen was attributing the the title of God of Truth to Jesus!

Responses to Enemies. ⭐

The last words Stephen SHOUTED were, “Do not hold this sin against them!” Again, this is an echo of the words of the Savior. But a little different:

Jesus said, Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.””

Stephen said, Acts 7:60 “He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” ”

Stephen asked for God to show mercy, but he did not declare those that murdered him as innocent or ignorant. They KNEW what they were doing, because Stephen already TOLD them what they were doing!

Ultimately, God does answer Stephen’s prayer, and this sin is NOT counted against Saul, and Saul does receive the grace of God and believes in Jesus.

It is easier to forgive sins of ignorance than it is sins of intention. If someone does something to hurt me and they were not aware that they were doing something wrong, I have an easier time dealing with that than the person who goes out of his/her way to do something to hurt me.

SHOULD IT MATTER? Not to a Jesus-follower.

And those are easy words to say but hard to live by. Yet, it was the prayer that Jesus taught us, right? ⭐ Luke 11:4 “4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.””

And with that, Stephen breathed his last, or went to sleep. We have our first martyr for Jesus - as least how WE define martyr, right? Does anyone know what the word Martyr means in the Greek? It means “witness”. We have had many witnesses, haven’t we?! The women at the tomb were the first witnesses. But Stephen was the first one killed for his faith in Jesus.

Aren’t you glad people are not so barbaric today? Well....

The Federal Republic of Nigeria ended the year 2021 with the ignominious distinction of being the country most hostile to Freedom of Worship. Nigeria also became “the Greatest Enemy of Christian Faith in the World” and “a country with the world’s largest Christian Deaths for the Year 2021.” No fewer than 5,191 of the victims were unarmed citizens hacked to death or shot by Islamic radicals or hostile members of the country’s security forces

https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/nigeria-is-worst-in-the-world-for-persecution-of-christians-in-2021

52,250 Nigerian Christians murdered since 2009

According to [the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)] findings, over the past 14 years at least 52,250 Nigerian Christians have been brutally murdered at the hands of Islamist militants. In the same period 18,000 Christian churches and 2,200 Christian schools were set ablaze.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-04/over-50000-christians-killed-in-nigeria-by-islamist-extremists.html

There is still hostility towards those that call themselves Christians. That hostility is very evident abroad and is growing here in the United States. And, just so we Christians don’t get to arrogant, we should remember that WE were the ones who were barbaric when wiping out those who were against us during the crusades.

How then, shall we live?

As Jesus followers we are reminded to bless those who persecute us as pray for those who oppose us. ⭐

Romans 12:14 CSB

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

And also

Luke 6:27 CSB

27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you,

We should be more like Stephen in our response. Which means we should be more like JESUS in our responses. Remember, we never know what impact our kindness and our forgiveness will have on others. Much like Stephen, we may never see the fruit of our sacrifices for the kingdom.

Just as Stephen was introduced to us as part of one narrative and we were then given the rest of his story, Luke does the same with Saul.

Saul appears to be a part of the trial and the one that is in charge of the stoning. He is very zealous for his faith. He apparently did NOT agree with the advice that Gamaliel gave to the council, for Saul is going to do all he can to squash this group of rebels. ⭐

Acts 8:1–3 CSB

1 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

Saul was overseeing the stoning.

Saul agreed with the death sentence.

Saul ravaged [λυμαίνω] the church.

This is the only use of this word “ravaged” in the Bible. It means “to cause harm or damage.” He was going into private residences, finding Jesus sympathizers and putting them in prison. This sounds a lot like other religiously motivated, over-zealous regimes throughout history. However, what makes this unique is that this is Jew vs Jew. This is an internal battle and Saul intends to win by removing the offenders or putting enough fear into the Jesus-followers that they choose to abandon the Jesus boat.

However, as we will see in the weeks to come, it did NOT discourage believers! It empowered them! “The doors of opportunity swing on hinges of opposition”.

Acts 8:4 CSB

4 So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.

They did get scattered! They ended up going to Judea and Samaria, probably looking to get outside of the reach of the temple guard. The apostles stayed in Jerusalem, but the disciples were scattered.

We get the rear view mirror approach to the scriptures. Luke is recording things that already took place, and we get to hear how it all ends, and can do so in a matter of minutes to hours depending on how fast you can read.

But for these Jews, it must have been crazy and scary! YET, they kept on preaching the word. WHO was preaching? The believers - other than the Apostles. What were they preaching? The WORD. The fulfilment of the Law & Prophets through Jesus the Messiah.

So, what can we learn from all of this? ⭐

⭐If something is from God it will NOT be stopped.

Neither our own neglect or deficiencies, nor the best efforts of the enemies of the cross can stop God’s will from being accomplished.

Proverbs 19:21 NLT

21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

It would be good for us to keep this in mind, especially when things do not look like they are going our way. No matter that the Sanhedrin will attempt -> persecution or execution -> the kingdom of God will grow.

⭐Following Jesus is not easy and may be costly.

While Peter and John were freed from prison from an angel and were untouchable, Stephen lost his earthly life for the sake of the gospel. While we can pray for God to protect and deliver, we should ultimately be praying,

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We are NOT guaranteed that things will always be what we want, but we must never stop believing that God is good and has a plan. Our society believes in cosmic chance; Christians believe in a divine plan. Just because that plan does not go the way I want, and just because that plan may be costly, does NOT mean it is not God’s plan.

THESE events will be the catalyst for an even greater spreading of the gospel and the writing of a large portion of our New Testaments.

⭐Show kindness to your enemies because they are not beyond mercy.

No matter what others do to us or say to us, we are to treat them with the same kind of mercy that Jesus showed on the cross and that Stephen showed during his stoning.

Are you able to pray for those that are your enemies? If so, do you? And if so, HOW do you? Do you pray that God will destroy your enemies, like King David did, or do you pray that they will receive mercy from God and come to know him.

You never know who God will call and whom he will transform from hater to lover and antagonist to evangelist. We will see this in Saul, but do we believe it can happen for our enemies?