Faithful to Death

Faithful to the End: The Martyrdom of Stephen

Bible Passage: Acts 6:8–7:60

Summary: This passage narrates the trial and martyrdom of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, highlighting his faith, boldness in preaching the Gospel, and his vision of Christ at the right hand of God when faced with death.

Application: This sermon serves to encourage Christians to remain steadfast in their faith, even in the face of adversity. Stephen's example shows us how to embrace our calling with courage, speak the truth with love, and trust in God's sovereign plan, reminding us of the hope we have in Christ even in challenging times.

Teaching: The primary teaching of this sermon is the importance of standing firm in faith and proclaiming the Gospel boldly. It highlights how true witnesses to Christ embody His love and truth, illustrating that even in death, there is victory through faith in Jesus.

How this passage could point to Christ: Stephen’s martyrdom points to Christ's ultimate sacrifice and victory over death. Just as Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, this reflects Christ's authority and the hope of eternal life for believers, linking the theme of faithfulness unto death with Christ’s redemptive work.

Big Idea: Faithfulness to God can lead to unexpected trials, but through Christ, even in death, we find our greatest victory and hope.

Recommended Study: I suggest utilizing your Logos library to dive deeper into the historical context of the Sanhedrin and Stephen's defense as it relates to Jewish law. Explore commentaries that analyze the Greek terms used in this passage for clarity on Stephen's rhetorical technique. Look into textual criticism regarding the variations in manuscripts to understand any potential impacts on interpretation.

1. Stephen: Filled with Faith

Acts 6:8-15

Perhaps you could begin by discussing Stephen's remarkable character, highlighted by his great faith and the wonders he performed through the Holy Spirit's power. This section sets the stage for understanding how God uses ordinary believers for extraordinary purposes. Reflect on the resistance Stephen faced and note that being filled with faith and the Spirit can lead to both God's amazing work and opposition.

2. Scripture: Revealing God's Faithfulness

Acts 7:1-16

Consider exploring how Stephen uses the history of God's people to reveal the consistency of God's plan and faithfulness. His deep understanding of scripture allowed him to connect Israel's history to Jesus, challenging the leaders' misconceptions. Maybe emphasize the importance of knowing God's story and how His past faithfulness informs our present faithfulness.

3. Resistance: Patterns of Rejection

Acts 7:17-43

You could illustrate how Stephen highlights Israel's continual resistance to God's messengers, which parallels their rejection of Jesus. Encouragement might be drawn from reflecting on perseverance amidst spiritual opposition. Stephen’s speech serves as a reminder that God's purposes prevail despite human failures, reinforcing believers to stand firm in their witness.

4. Righteousness: Beyond Religion

Acts 7:44-53

Perhaps delve into Stephen's challenge to the religious leaders about true worship and obedience, contrasting it with their rigid adherence to tradition. Highlight how Stephen calls them to a relationship with God that transcends physical temples. This section invites reflection on the essence of spiritual maturity and true devotion to God.

5. Vision: Hope in Persecution

Acts 7:54-60

You might end with Stephen's vision of Christ and his peaceful martyrdom, focusing on the power of seeing Jesus even amidst suffering. This vision gave Stephen the strength to forgive his persecutors, mirroring Christ's own forgiveness. It emphasizes that our faith in Christ offers hope and victory beyond this life, encouraging believers to endure with grace.

Text: Acts 6:8-7:60

Central Idea of the Text: Even when faced with jail and death, the church cannot shut up about Jesus.

Proposition: Because Christ is King, his people cannot/must not disobey his imperatives and commands.

Purpose: All hearers should challenge all allegiances in their life to be submitted to Christ.

Read text Acts 6:8-7:60

Acts 6:8–7:60 ESV

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 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. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 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, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 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.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “ ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’ “You stiff-necked people, 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 announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 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. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 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. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 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.