The Voice of the Martyr - Acts 6:8-7:60

© May 11th, 2025 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Acts

Sometimes people are remembered for a singular event in their lives. They may have done all sorts of things, but one sticks out in people’s minds. Maybe you had that experience in school. In a small community where everyone knows each other for their whole lives, something you did as a child can continue to impact people’s view of you for the rest of your life. Some feel like they wear a scarlet letter because of a mistake they’ve made in the past. But it’s not always negative things that get remembered. Sometimes you can do something so special and unique that it stands out in people’s minds forever. Most people know very little about Neil Armstrong, but they know he was the first man to walk on the moon. Many people don’t know much about the lives of the presidents, but we know they served the country. And sometimes soldiers are remembered for a singular moment of incredible bravery. Sometimes a single event is forever associated with a person.

In our passage this morning, that’s what we see with Stephen. We met Stephen last week as we looked at the account of the apostles selecting seven men to run the food program for the widows in the church. Stephen was among those selected for this responsibility. Today we look at the only other account we have of the life of Stephen, but it is the one most closely associated with him. Today we look at the account of Stephen’s martyrdom at the hands of the Jewish leaders.

Before we get too deep into this story, I should define what it means to be a martyr. The word comes from the Greek word that means witness. After Stephen, however, the word carried an additional connotation. A martyr is a Christian who is killed for their faith. Stephen became the first (sadly not the last) martyr of the Christian church. He witnessed boldly for God, and it cost him his life. Nonetheless, I believe it was a trade he would happily make again.

Today we’re going to look at a long passage of scripture with the goal of seeking to understand not only the facts of what happened, but understanding Stephen’s motivation, his message, and his dedication. The example of his life, though short, continues to instruct millennia later.

Stephen at the Synagogue

We don’t know exactly how much time passed between verses 7 and 8 of Acts chapter 6. Most people assume there is at least some time between when Stephen was appointed to help run the food program and when he was martyred, but we really don’t know. What we do know is that Stephen defended the faith, which got him in trouble.

8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. (Acts 6:8-12, NLT)

We mentioned last week that there were two groups of Jews in Jerusalem at this time. One group spoke Hebrew (or Aramaic) and the other spoke Greek. Stephen was likely part of the latter group. We are told that some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves began to debate with him. This was likely a synagogue of Greek-speaking Jews. It’s distinctly possible that this was a group to which Stephen himself had once belonged. We are told that it was made up of Jews from much of the surrounding area. One of the places mentioned is Cilicia, which is where the town of Tarsus was located. Tarsus was the hometown of Saul, who we know better as Paul. That doesn’t mean Saul was among those who debated with Stephen, but it seems like a distinct possibility.

Stephen performed amazing signs and miracles among the people, just as the apostles had done. But this is the first time we have seen a non-apostle performing such signs. Stephen was being used by God to great effect. When he began to debate with the men from the synagogue, they became frustrated because they couldn’t stand against the wisdom with which he spoke. The reason for that wasn’t because Stephen was a genius, but because he was filled with the Spirit of God, and he was also defending the truth! He could not be disproven because he was on the right side of the argument, and the Holy Spirit was working through him, frustrating the arguments of these other men.

Since they couldn’t attack his arguments, they began to attack him instead. This is a common approach in debate. In logic, it is known as a fallacy called ad hominem, which literally means, “against the man.” So because they couldn’t defeat Stephen’s arguments, they decided instead they would aim at an easier target that would yield the same result. They would attack him instead.

This should serve as a reminder to us that people may attack us for our faith and beliefs, even if we have done nothing wrong. Sometimes people are not lashing out at us because of something we have done, but because they have no other way of silencing a message they don’t want to hear. Some people will choose to attack rather than to listen to the message of the gospel. It’s what happened to Jesus, to Stephen, and to many of the other apostles, so we should not be surprised if it happens to us as well. In those times, we must remember to be faithful, because the Lord is working.

At the Sanhedrin

The men could not silence Stephen, so they brought him to the Sanhedrin, hoping to discredit him there, and to prod these leaders into doing something to silence him.

13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. (Acts 6:13-15, NLT)

Stephen had not done anything wrong. He was simply preaching the truth. The issue was that they didn’t like what he was saying and wanted to silence him. So, because he hadn’t done anything wrong, they had to convince some witnesses to lie about what he had done. The charges they leveled against him? That he had said Jesus would destroy the temple and change the customs of Moses.

At this point, we are told that Stephen’s face became as bright as an angel’s. We don’t know exactly what this means, but it certainly brings to mind what happened to Moses when he had spent time with God.

29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. 30 So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:29-30, NLT)

This happened every time Moses was in the presence of the Lord. The people feared him when his face glowed, so they made him wear a veil so they couldn’t see his glowing face. I don’t know if that’s exactly what happened to Stephen here, but Luke surely intends for us to make the connection between Moses and Stephen. He also intended to show us that God was present with Stephen, even as he stood trial before the Sanhedrin, and even as he was being falsely accused by people. The world may have been against him, but God was with him. Stephen seemed to understand this, which led him to speak boldly to the high priest.

This was the same group of people who had arrested Peter and John, then imprisoned the apostles, commanding them not to preach about Jesus. By this point, they were surely getting tired of the problem of Jesus-followers. Nonetheless, the high priest asked Stephen if the charges against him were true. He was not prepared for the answer Stephen would give.

Stephen’s Sermon

Most of Acts 7 records Stephen’s response to the high priest’s question. Surprisingly, however, Stephen’s response does not read like a defense. He doesn’t attack the lying witnesses, and he doesn’t defend himself. Instead, he launches into a long speech (the longest sermon recorded in Acts) in which he systematically dismantles everything the Jewish leaders held dear.

Stephen walked through Jewish history, starting with God calling Abraham out of Haran, to bringing Jacob and his family to Egypt, to calling Moses out of the land of Midian, then calling the Israelites out of Egypt. His point was that God was not confined to any one place. God has shown himself to work in many places, not just the Promised Land.

As he spoke about Moses, he also pointed out that Moses had predicted the Messiah would come when he said,

37 “Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’ (Acts 7:37, NLT)

Then Stephen talked about how the Israelites worshiped God in the tabernacle in the wilderness until Solomon built the temple. But even though God allowed Solomon to build it, He indicated that He did not dwell in a temple made by human hands.

“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who actually built it. 48 However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says, 49 ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the Lord. ‘Could you build me such a resting place? 50 Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’ (Acts 7:47-50, NLT)

This seems like a strange way to respond to the charges that had been leveled against Stephen, but there was a method to his madness. Stephen was systematically dismantling everything these Jewish leaders held dear and trying to help them see that God was doing something new. He was trying to help them see that the Messiah had come, but they couldn’t see past their traditions and misguided notions.

Stephen’s sermon attacked three “sacred cows” (if you’ll pardon the pun). First, that the promised land was where God resided. Stephen made it very clear that God had called people from all over the world. He spoke to Abraham in Haran. He spoke to Moses and the Israelites in Egypt and in the wilderness. God was leading them to the promised land, but the land itself was not nearly as important as the Lord. God could work in places other than the land where they lived.

Second, that the temple was where God resided. The temple was a magnificent structure. Herod’s temple (the temple standing at this time) was a spectacle. Jerusalem sat high on a hill, and at the top sat the temple, covered in gold. You could see the temple from a long way away, and the Jews had come to believe the temple was the only place to truly encounter God. Stephen was pointing out that God had never limited himself to a temple or tabernacle. God was far bigger than any manmade object could be. As such, God could work in places other than the temple courts.

Finally, he said they weren’t the followers of Moses they claimed to be. Moses had prophesied about the Messiah. He had given them the law, but they were not upholding it. You didn’t need to look any further than the proceedings happening right there to see that they didn’t really submit to the law of Moses, they sat in judgment over it.

Stephen reached his fiery conclusion with these words.

51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! 52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53 You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.” (Acts 7:51-53, NLT)

He was showing them that God was doing a new thing, but instead of following Him, they were clinging to their traditions and their comfort. They refused to hear anything that didn’t agree with their preconceived notions. Stephen said this wasn’t new. Their ancestors had attacked (and sometimes killed) many of the prophets before, and he said they were no different.

Aftermath

These men were not happy to hear Stephen say these things, but their reaction is still surprising. When Peter and the other apostles had spoken before them, they had wanted to kill them but felt their hands were tied. This time, however, would be different.

54 The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 56 And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” 57 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him 58 and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. (Acts 7:54-60, NLT)

They were literally shaking in utter rage at Stephen’s words, and then he said he saw the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. The Son of Man was the term Jesus often used of himself. These men knew exactly what Stephen was saying. He was reiterating Jesus’ claim of divinity, and not only that, he was claiming to have proof of it by claiming he had a glimpse of heaven.

This was the last straw. The religious leaders dragged Stephen out of the city and began to stone him. A few details to note about this. First, it was probably illegal. The Jews were not supposed to enact capital punishment except in very specific circumstances. It might have been acceptable if they determined he was a threat to the temple, but let’s be honest, this was just a lynch mob.

Second, the witnesses had to cast the first stones. The men who had testified against Stephen knew they were lying. To prevent such actions, the law said the witnesses (who knew the truth) had to be the ones to cast the first stones. These men hated the gospel so much that they willingly and knowingly committed murder.

Third, stoning someone is hard work. A person doesn’t die quickly from being stoned. You have to throw lots of heavy rocks at a person to kill them. This is why the men took off their cloaks. It was likely going to be a long, messy, and sweaty process. Luke foreshadows things a bit by pointing out that there was a young man named Saul who took care of everyone’s cloaks.

Fourth, Stephen imitated Jesus. It would have been easy for Stephen to curse these men whom he was just trying to help see the truth. It would have been easy for him to ask God to smite them. But he didn’t. Like Jesus, he still had a heart for those who were attacking him. He asked God not to hold their sin against them.

Finally, Stephen wasn’t alone. I can only imagine what the last moments of Stephen’s life were like. It would be painful, slow, brutal, and disorienting. And yet, he was focused on the Lord all along. He knew that even in this situation, he wasn’t alone. God was with him. Many have noticed that Stephen’s vision of Jesus saw Him standing, when most everything else speaks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. Most people believe Jesus was standing to welcome his servant home. Even in his darkest hour, Stephen knew the Lord was with him.

Conclusion

We have covered a lot of ground today. As we close, I want to draw a few applications. First, some people will resist the gospel no matter what. The gospel is divisive. It calls us to repentance. It forces us to deal with our sin. Therefore, it is not a popular message. Some people will not hear what we have to say—but that shouldn’t stop us from speaking the truth. When we are rejected, we should be reminded that people are rejecting the Lord, not us.

Second, people will attack us for our faith. When people become frustrated with the Christian faith, they will discover they cannot attack it, so they will take aim at us instead. To be clear, sometimes people attack us because we are uncaring or rude to them. There is nothing admirable about being attacked for being a jerk. But when we are attacked because we are speaking the truth in love, that is a different story. When people attack us for our faith, it should embolden us, and remind us to stand firm, trusting that God will continue to use us, even if we endure suffering as it happens.

Third, we should speak the truth, in love, anyway. Stephen’s example reminds us that God can use the hard times in our lives, the things that feel like failures, the things that hurt, and everything else for His glory, if we are just faithful. We should not be mean in sharing the message of the gospel, but we should be bold. We should be looking for ways to remind people that their only hope is in Jesus. There’s too much at stake to keep quiet.

Stephen was the first martyr, but God used his death to fuel the spread of the gospel around the world. This passage marks a hinge point in the book of Acts, where we begin to see that Jesus did not die only for Jews, but for everyone who believes in Him. That’s good news for us, and it’s great news for our world. Stephen’s example should give us the boldness we need to carry that message to everyone we meet.

© May 11th, 2025 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Acts