The Stoning of Stephen

The Stoning of Stephen - The Unstoppable Mission

Introduction:

Open your Bibles to the book of Acts this morning

Acts chapter 7 verse 54, found on page 861 in the black church Bibles under the seat in front of you

Our study this morning wraps up a three part look at the life of Stephen

It is part of our larger look at the book of Acts - A study called “The Unstoppable Mission of the Church”

As we have noted, the book of Acts is the story of the continuing work of Jesus - how His mission to seek and to save the Lost is being fulfilled

Before departing for heaven, Jesus passed on His mission to the Apostles and the church

Luke is showing us how that mission began and how it spread - so that we might know the importance of completing it

His larger outline for the book follows the three part mission that Jesus gave - to be witnesses (of the gospel) to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth

Our passage here in chapter 7 is the transition passage - moving the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria

And what we will see here is that the gospel is not always moved the way that we would like

Up till now, the gospel was flourishing in Jerusalem - despite the attacks of the evil one, the gospel still spread and multitudes were coming to Christ

There was persecution in threats and beatings - there was infiltration by hypocrites and even the threat of dissension in the church - but the Gospel still spread

Now, the church will be hit with their biggest blow yet - and what Luke wants us to see, is that this is the plan of God - this is the means by which He is going to spread the witness of the gospel

When we left this passage last week, Stephen had finished his Sermon

Remember, Stephen had been arrested, presumable for teaching in the Synagogues of the Hellenistic Jews - they could not reason with the God given wisdom of Stephen regarding the gospel, so they accused him of blaspheme

The religious leaders then questioned him - asking if these things are true

From there, Stephen preached a sermon that wove together the unified message of the Scriptures - the fact that all Scripture points to Jesus as the fulfillment of all of prophecy - that This Jesus is the True Savior, the True Word, and the True Temple - he is the prophet promised by Moses and He is not a new religion, but the fulfillment of Gods plan of redemption.

When he finished, he revealed that there are two lines - those who are of Abraham by Faith and those who Reject the plan of God and are like their fathers before them - the same ones who rejected the prophets and rejected the Word of God

His final words were of harsh rebuke, that were intended to shake them from their stupor - they were the loving rebuke that warns of the danger of rejecting the gospel

today we will see their response - we will see their true colors

With that, I invite you to stand with me, if you are able, for the reading of the Word of God

Read Acts 7:54–8:3 (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.

1 And Saul approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

This is the Word of the Living God

Pray

Stephen was the first Christian to die for his faith… but he would not be the last

Persecution and murder have become one of the chief tools of the devil

In part I suppose it is a vain attempt to stop the growth of the church - but as we have seen already in the book of ACts and we will continue to see - the mission of the church is unstoppable

I suppose even more so, it is the rage of the evil one against the Almighty - for he cannot kill God, but he can attack and kill the bodies of those who are children of God

Yet, we are reminded by Jesus…

Matthew 10:28 (ESV)

…do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The warning is to fear the Living and Holy God - for He alone can destroy for all eternity in the fires of hell

Certainly Stephen new this - as have countless others

It would not take long before persecution and murder became the chief tool of the enemy

After the great fire of Rome in 64 AD, the Emperor Nero blamed the Christians and opened the doors for persecution

It is said that he used to roll Christinas in tar and use them to light the streets at night

Some of the early church fathers died by the hands of the wicked

In 108 AD, Ignatius of Antioch, who was a disciple of the Apostle John, would be marched to Rome and sent into the Colosseum to face the lions by whose teeth he would die

Still, the gospel spread and even into the nobility of Rome - Agatha was one such noble Roman lady - She stooped to help poor and suffering Christians, in 250 AD, and was arrested for her crime - she was burned at the stake when she refused to recant

Years later, the blossoms of the reformation would be watered by the blood of Martyrs

John Hus, remembered as the goose, preached articulately the gospel of Jesus Christ - only to be branded a heretic and burned at the stake on his birthday in 1415 - at the last second he was offered a pardon if he would but recant - Instead, Hus said… “what I taught with my lips, I seal with my blood” (last Words, Herbert Lockyer, pg. 146)

The reign of terror on Christians has no age limit

Little Willie Brown was martyred under the rule of Bloody Mary, Queen of England in the 16th century

He was just a boy when he was marched off to be executed - he was tied to a stake and as the the fire was kindled, he asked if there was anyone who would pray for him - one person responded with cruelty - “I will no more pray for you than I would for a dog” (last Words, Herbert Lockyer, pg. 142)

As the blaze grew, the strength of the Spirit filled the boy and his final words were… “Son of God, shine Thou upon me”

WE could go on - for the martyrdom of Christians goes on - today, more Christians are martyred for their faith than at any other time in history

The pattern was set with Stephen - the rage of God haters was unleashed on the children of God - yet the common thread of all the martyrs has been a peace that passes understanding

They do not fight back - and they do not recant - by the power of the Spirit of God they proclaim Christ right to the end

The account of Stephen should serve as a reminder of the cost and an encouragement that God is faithful

AS we look at the text, I want us to see the contrast that Luke is showing us between those who have faith and those who reject

Because, sometimes it is difficult for us to see the difference, but when persecution comes, there is no doubt - things become very clear as to who are children of faith and who are children of rebellion

Remember, those are the two categories that Stephen outlined in his sermon - the true children of Abraham (children of faith) and those who are rebel like their fathers

I also want us to see the cost of following Christ and prepare ourselves for the way that it will cost us

We will start with the three contrasts that Luke shows us in the text and then conclude with the cost to follow Christ

3 Contrasts between Faith and Rebellion

The first one is…

1) Sound and Sight

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.

Luke often writes with very sensory language so that we can feel, smell, see, and hear what is occuring - and that is the case here

Using both sound and sight as contrasting senses for us to understand the contrasting natures

First, he identifies the rebellious with Sound - hearing

The Sound of Anger

In verse 54 they “heard” and in 57 they “stopped their ears”

Terms that describe sound

Perhaps he is pointing us to Paul’s words in Romans

Romans 10:17 (ESV)

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Or perhaps it was the words of Jesus that he wants to draw our attention to

Matthew 11:15 (ESV)

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

What we do note, is that the rebellious do not listen

Though they heard the Sermon of Stephen and the Word of Christ - they did not listen

There is a differenced between hearing and listening - hearing is the mechanical effect of sound reverberating off of the ear drum - listening involves paying attention and submitting to the instruction given

When they heard the Word of Christ preached, it “enraged” them - that is the word used here in the ESV - if you have a New American Standard it says “cut to the quick” and if you have a king James, it says “cut to the heart”

The word that is translated there literally means “sawn in two” - the heart is sawn in two

Now, sometimes we use the phrase “cut to the heart” in a positive way - that we were wounded properly - the callous of our heart was cut by the kindness of another - it is a usage that would imply a good response

That is not the case here - I think it is why the ESV chooses to use the word “enraged” - so that we don’t get confused

The words separated their heart from their reason - it separated their emotion from their restraint

Luke is showing us that the Sermon of Stephen so enraged those who heard it, that their emotions could no longer be restrained

This is the kind of rage that leads to murder - unrestrained anger and hatred

They literally stopped their ears - that is, they stopped their hearing - they put their fingers in their ears - like an angry toddler, they covered their ears with their hands and rushed upon Stephen with uncontrolled RAGE

Teeth clinched - voices raised - hands on their ears - rage unchecked - the heart of anger is a murderous heart - they were Filled with Hatred

Why? Why such rage? Because the sermon called them to repentance

The Sound of Anger is contrasted by Luke with…

The Sight of the Almighty

Where the Rebellious are Filled with Hatred, the Repentant are Filled with the Holy Spirit

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.”

Remember how this passage began?

Acts 7:2 (ESV)

And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham …

You might remember that we connected that phrase to Psalm 29 - a song about the power of the voice of God

The call is simply - listen to the voice of God and you will see the Glory of God

As we come to the end of the section, Luke lets us in on what Stephen is seeing - the Glory of God

He gazed up and saw the Glory of God - He saw Jesus standing to receive him

Friends, when you surrender to the wonder of the Scriptures - when you listen to the Word of Christ - you see the glory of God

When you shut your ears to the gospel, you become blind and fail to see the glory of God - and in your blindness, the heart of rebellion grows

Sometimes the rebellion flows in seething anger that is meted out in murder - and sometimes it is covered by the facade of peace and love

The 60’s were an era of rebellion that is often remembered under the guise of love and peace and the folk/hippie movement

And we sing songs like “Flowers Never Bend”

“The mirror on my wall

Casts an image dark and small

But I'm not sure at all it's my reflection

I'm blinded by the light

Of God and truth and right

And I wander in the night without direction

So I'll continue to continue to pretend

My life will never end

And flowers never bend

With the rainfall”

The quiet silencing of the ears in pretend land were flowers do not bend, is still a deadly form of rebellion

It is a facade designed to mask the hatred of the heart - but it cannot change the heart - only the gospel can do that - only the Holy Spirit can change a heart of stone - on the Holy Spirit can give ears to hear and eyes to see

To the one who lives by Faith, the Glory of God is shown around you and if God calls you to that moment of martyrdom, or that moment of persecution - know this, He will give you the strength to do what seems impossible now

The second contrast we see here…

2) Saul and Stephen

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.

1 And Saul approved of his execution.

Now, let us not run ahead of the Scriptures here - this is still Saul that we are dealing with - not Paul

The Contrast is Saul and Stephen

Saul

Saul of Tarshish -a young Pharisee (probably early 30s)- it is believed that he was born the same year as our Lord

Saul was a bright student, well versed in the Scriptures - he was trained by Gamaliel (in his day he was the most distinguished teacher)

Yet he was also known as a man of tolerance and patience - as was shown when the apostles stood before the council in chapter 5

He was the man who advised the council to let them alone - if this was a movement of man, then it would die out and if it was of God, they could not stop it anyway - and they might find themselves standing in the way of God

It would seem that on this point Saul and Gamaliel parted ways - for Saul was a man who was zealous - he was willing to kill in order to purge the world of these Christians

Saul approved of the execution

It is likely that Saul was part of the Synagogues in which Stephen had preached - and it was likely that Saul would have argued with Stephen and not been able to withstand the wisdom of the Spirit with which Stephen was speaking (6:10)

No doubt Saul heard the final sermon and stopped his ears - but we get the impression that Saul had a more controlled rage - a more sinister demeanor

He stood by as the men stoned Stephen to death

The fact that the executioners laid their garments at the feet of Saul implies that he was already the recognized leader - that is further cemented when Luke tells us that “Saul approved” of it

And when we are told that Saul would ravage the church in verse 3

His was a sinister evil - not only killing, but recruiting others to do the work - leading others into wickedness

Stephen

Stephen is the other contrasted figure here

He is not shown as a man of sinister evil - a man of wicked intent

He is shown in a light that compares him with our Savior

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.”

Even to his dying breath, Stephen was pleading for mercy and grace to be poured out on his murderers

The phasing of his last statement is strikingly similar to the words of Jesus from the cross - and is, no doubt, intended to draw our attention to Jesus

Only Luke records these words of Jesus in…

Luke 23:34 (ESV)

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”…

The indication, is that in Christ we have the capacity to forgive like Christ

Stephen did not pick up the stones and through them back - he didn’t offer a curse on his attackers - he did not cry judgment on them - he pled with God for mercy and forgiveness

Where Saul was a zealot for a god of his own making - and his zealousy lead him to murder - Stephen was a zealot for Christ - and that lead him to Christlikeness - to be like God

In fact, you might say that Saul was like his god to - for ultimately the god of this world is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning (Jn 8:44)

The Rebellious follow the god of rebellion and the Righteous, by faith, follow the God of Righteousness

Third contrast…

3) Scattered and Stalked

8:1 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

The great fear of persecution is that it will kill the church

But we have already seen that fear only strengthens the church - it grows the church

Here too, that is is what we find

The Church now moves out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria

Because they were attacking - the Christians left

And specifically we are told that they were scattered

Scattered

This is a term that means to spread - like the sowing of seed

You scatter the seed across the ground spreading it evenly so that it covers the entire area

There is an intentionality with the scattering - though it may appear to be random, it is intentional

So too is the scattering of the people of God

In fact, if you were to do a study throughout the Scriptures, you would find time and again that people are scattered - either the enemies of God or the people of God - but it is always by the Hand of God

So too here

Remember, the command was to take the gospel to Jerusalem and to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the Earth

The Scattering of God is to take the gospel quickly to Judea and Samaria

Sometimes it is necessary for God to scatter us - otherwise we would, in our comfort, remain where we are

As the people go, they take the gospel with them

The scattering was done through the hand of Sual who was Stalking the church

Stalked

He was hunting Christians - dragging them out of their homes and arresting them - both men and women

The reference to “house after house” in verse 3 points to the nature of the gatherings

This is not just going into homes of suspected followers - this is Saul going in to the gatherings - the house church

The small and secrete places where the church was meeting to worship

This was the Holy place that Saul entered and ravaged - that term means “to corrupt”

He was corrupting the Holy Place when he entered to kill

The Stalking of the church was intended by Saul to kill the church - to shut it down

But God intended it to Scatter the church - so that the Gospel might Spread

Conclusion:

As I said at the outset, we live in an age when there are more martyrs than at any other time in history - Christians persecuted and slaughtered for living by faith in Jesus Christ

Yet we live in a country where death for our faith is rare at best - yet it does happen

When you stand up and declare that God has made man in His image and that He made them male and female - you will feel the prick of the sword - and you might taste death

There is no doubt, that is what happened to Charlie Kirk - it was his public proclamation that God made humans male and female that led to his death

For most of us we don’t taste the sword of martyrdom

But we do feel the prick of persecution

It comes in many ways

Sometimes it is public and in the courts - sued for not baking cakes to celebrate deviancy - charged with using the wrong pronouns - or arrested for hate speech

We are seeing more and more of this kind of persecution - Though most of the time, it is much quieter

Losing friends when you stand for what is right - losing positions in community groups - losing jobs for not being tolerant

Friends, it will cost you to stand for the gospel - it will cost you to name the name of Christ

But, if you do hold firm to the gospel - firm to Christ alone - you will see the Glory of God - and you will find it to be all-satisfying

Remember there are only two options Repentance or Rejection - Children of Faith or Children of Rebellion

Those who rebel will end like their fathers - in the place of heal where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth - that phrase, by the way, comes from Luke 13:28

It is the description of the place reserved for those outside of the House of God - the place where the workers of evil go

And when Jesus says there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” - he is using the same language that Luke uses to describe the grinding of the teeth by the killers of Stephen

It is the heart of rebellion that never ends - even when they see the Glory of God on the day of Judgment, they will not repent - they will beg for mercy - they will rebel for all eternity and endure the suffering of the wicked

The only hope is to listen to the merciful words of the gospel call - to repent and believe

Children of Faith will receive the promise of the Faithful Father - they will enter the house of the Father and behold the Glory of God

Pray

Benediction:

Romans 8:35–39 (ESV)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.