Grace in the Face of Persecution
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Full of Anger vs. Full of the Spirit
Full of Anger vs. Full of the Spirit
having defended himself against the trumped up charges of blasphemy Stephen turned his attention to the hypocrisy of his accusers
spoke the truth to them although it was painful and even offensive for them to hear
Stephen loved these wicked men enough to confront their sins (proof: he prayed for their forgiveness!)
if sinners are never confronted with their sin how will they know what to repent of?
apart from repentance there is no salvation
3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
no one who refuses to repent will be forgiven and without forgiveness there is no salvation
The Council Enraged
The Council Enraged
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.
when Peter & John witnessed to them in ch.5
when hauled before the council to answer for disobeying their command to stop preaching the famous response: we must obey God rather than men
their response when confronted with their sin:
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
contrast with those who heard Peter’s preaching at Pentecost who also had been “cut to the heart” (2:37)
humility, repentance, what must we do?
when confronted with their sins it was as if they had been stabbed in the heart or sawn in two
why?
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
suppressing the truth is the natural thing for non-christians to do
Jesus to the Pharisees:
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
unable to bear the truth of their sinful state the council became enraged
the veneer of their false spirituality was torn away and they were exposed as the hypocrites they really were
this also happens when the Word is faithfully preached
how do you respond when confronted by the HS through the Word?
the response of the council: “they ground their teeth at him” (v.54)
to clench and/or grind teeth
example of hitting finger with hammer
grinding of teeth at that time was an expression of disrespect, hatred and malice
in doing this they set themselves in the camp of sinners who oppose the righteous
like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.
The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,
this will be the reaction of those upon whom the bowl judgments of Revelation are poured out (Rev 16:8-11, 17-21)
the most awful judgments to fall on the earth will not be enough to cause stiff-necked sinners to repent
instead they will angrily gnash their teeth as they blaspheme God
also describes the attitude of those who are consigned to hell
a place of weeping a gnashing of teeth
some have interpreted this as remorse or shame at rejecting Christ
this is not how the scriptures describe those who remain obstinate against the command to believe on the Lord Jesus
as enemies of God on earth they resist and fight against him and they carry this attitude with them into hell
a place of weeping for the loss of their sinful pleasures
they grind their teeth in anger against God, frustrated that they cannot escape their suffering
they do not weep and grind their teeth because they wish they had accepted the offer of salvation
having hardened their hearts throughout their lives on earth God hardens their hearts in hell where they will suffer in anger and hatred against God
even though this was now the third time the Sanhedrin had been privileged to hear the gospel they remained stiff-necked, hard of hearing and understanding, resisting the HS
how gracious the Lord is to unrepentant, hell deserving sinners!
even though they had put Jesus to death God faithfully sent witnesses to them!
rather than soften their hearts, the grace of God had the opposite effect
their anger escalated with each encounter with the truth of the gospel
first they commanded the disciples not preach (4:18), second they commanded again not to preach and beat them (5:40), now they are about to kill Stephen
having rejected the offer of the gospel over and and over again Stephen rightly compared them to their wicked forefathers
a sobering fact that when people repeatedly harden their hearts God steps in and hardens them
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
see also Ex 8:15,19,32; 9:7,34 vs. Ex 10:1; 11:10
Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit
Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit
Acts 7:55a
But he, full of the Holy Spirit ...
while his accusers became enraged and ground their teeth at him Stephen remained calm, fully yielded to the control of the Holy Spirit
note that it says he was “full of the HS”
this was one of the things that characterized Stephen in his ministry in 6:5: a man full of faith and of the HS
he was full of the Spirit before he was chosen to minister to the widows and he was full of the Spirit as he ministered to them
when violent persecution came he was still full of the same Spirit
having made it his habit to let the scriptures dwell richly in him the HS filled him making him holy and useful
being full the the Spirit he was able to calmly stand against his enemies without fear or malice
when the storm of fury and anger surrounded him he enjoyed calm assurance
a very powerful witness when words no longer penetrate
God often uses the suffering of faithful believers as a witness to unbelievers
Spiritual Sight vs. Spiritual Blindness
Spiritual Sight vs. Spiritual Blindness
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.
because he was full of the Spirit Stephen looked up
fixed his eyes on what is unseen rather than his enraged enemies
looked where he would find comfort and strength
the HS gave Stephen the ability to see the glory of God
Moses, Isaiah and others were given this rare privilege
how they responded depended on their individual context
for Isaiah his vision of God was terrifying because he had been called to speak against the sins of Israel
seeing his own sin he fell down and said
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah’s vision of the glory of God caused him great fear and shame
when Moses asked God to show him his glory Israel had broken the covenant and God had said he would no longer be with them lest he destroy them
Moses needed reassurance that he still had favour before God and thus asked God to show him his glory
God caused all his goodness to pass before Moses
Stephen was about to be killed for his faithful witness, so God opened his eyes to see his glory that he might be strengthened to go through the ordeal of being stoned
when God showed Stephen his glory he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, not sitting
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Jesus waiting to receive Stephen
contrast this with what Jesus said to the council
Jesus said they would see Jesus sitting, a posture of judgment
Stephen’s description of Jesus as “the Son of Man”
Jesus used this title more than “Son of God” to emphasize his humanity rather than he deity
focus on weakness and frailty
Paul described how Jesus became the Son of Man in Php 2:6-8
Jews focused on the glory and the conquering power of the Messiah
the thought of Jesus as the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God was unthinkable
why did this description of Jesus cause his accusers such alarm?
it took the Sanhedrin back to the mock trial of Jesus,
63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
When Stephen saw Jesus at the right hand of God and called him the Son of Man they either had to admit they were wrong in killing Jesus or execute Stephen as a blasphemer as well
Spiritual Blindness of the Sanhedrin
Spiritual Blindness of the Sanhedrin
the Sanhedrin refused to hear
covered their ears and cried out with loud voices in order to drown out what they considered Stephen’s blasphemies
man’s natural reaction to the truth!
just as Stephen had said, they were just like their forefathers who rejected Joseph and Moses and persecuted and killed the prophets
“rushed” is the word used to describe the mad stampede of the demon possessed herd of pigs into the Sea of Galilee (Mk 5:13; Mt 8:32)
in their stubborn hardness of heart they were reduced to frenzied murderous mob
Death vs. Life
Death vs. Life
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.”
The Council Stoned Stephen
The Council Stoned Stephen
cast him out of the city in accordance with Lev 24:14
“Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
stoning the penalty for blasphemy
Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
so having closed their ears and hardened their hearts the frenzied mob went about its grisly work of stoning Stephen
method of judicial vs. mob stoning:
In theory, the Talmudic method of how stoning is to be carried out differs from mob stoning. According to the Jewish oral law, after the Jewish criminal has been determined as guilty before the Great Sanhedrin, the two valid witnesses and the sentenced criminal go to the edge of a two-story building. From there the two witnesses are to push the criminal off the roof of a two-story building. The two-story height is chosen as this height is estimated by the Talmud to effect a quick and painless demise but is not so high that the body will become dismembered. [13] After the criminal has fallen, the two witnesses are to drop a large boulder onto the criminal – requiring both of the witnesses to lift the boulder together. If the criminal did not die from the fall or from the crushing of the large boulder, then any people in the surrounding area are to quickly cause him to die by stoning with whatever rocks they can find.
the description in Acts indicates that this was a mob stoning
v.57 - cried with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him
v.58 - they cast him out of the city and stoned him (no building from which to cast him down)
before they stoned Stephen we are told they laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul
indicates that he was very involved in the whole affair
one of the synagogues mentioned in Acts 6:9 was Cilicia, the area from which Paul came
it is possible that Paul was one of the debaters who had been silenced by Stephen’s bold and powerful testimony
even so, as he watched Stephen’s grace and power before the Sanhedrin and witnessed his peace and contentment and his love for his enemies as his life was taken from him the seeds of the gospel were planted and watered that day
Stephen Committed His Spirit to Jesus
Stephen Committed His Spirit to Jesus
as he was being stoned Stephen committed himself to Jesus
Just as Jesus committed himself to the Father on the cross (Lk 23:46)
that Stephen committed himself to Jesus was a testimony to his belief in the deity of Christ, equal to the Father
also showed that he expected to go directly into Jesus’ presence when he died
no soul sleep, no purgatory, no reincarnation, no ceasing of existence
to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8)
Love vs. Hate
Love vs. Hate
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.
Acts 8:1
And Saul approved of his execution.
Stephen’s Love
Stephen’s Love
to understand what Stephen was asking we must ask the question, “Does God ever forgive anyone who is unrepentant?”
answer is an obvious “no”
those who refuse to repent of their sins will not be forgiven and if they die unrepentant will be cast into hell
Stephen was therefore praying for the repentance of those who were killing him
Steven was praying for their salvation since that is the only way that God forgives sin
having prayed he fell asleep, calmly slipping into the presence of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Luke concludes Stephen’s death noting again that Saul wholeheartedly agreed with Stephen’s death
Saul’s Hate
Saul’s Hate
as Stephen was bruised, broken and crushed by the stones of the angry mob Saul sat there like a judge approving of his death
Application
Application
What Enabled Stephen to Suffer?
What Enabled Stephen to Suffer?
he was full of the Spirit
we are baptized with the Spirit when we are saved
something we have no control over
something God does
being full of the Spirit is something we have control over
using all the means of grace that God has given
time in and under the Word, personal and corporate prayer, worship, fellowship, service, witness
the result: the fruits of the Spirit are manifested in us
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
cannot have these things while serving your fleshly desires!
something we must work on before the crisis or trial
a daily spiritual discipline
problem of a lack of self-control
Embrace Suffering as Essential to Spiritual Growth
Embrace Suffering as Essential to Spiritual Growth
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
suffering the result of many difference factors
God disciplines those He loves (Heb 12:3-17)
connection between struggling against and resisting sin and the discipline of the Lord
Discipline:
the upbringing and handling of the child which is growing up to maturity and which thus needs direction, teaching, instruction and a certain measure of compulsion in the form of discipline or even chastisement
reproof:
show sin and summon to repentance
educative discipline, to educate by correction
chastises:
literally: to whip or scourge
figurative: corrective punishment
just as the proper education of a beloved child may require physical punishment God may strike his children
such suffering to be regarded by God’s children as proof of His love!
what is your response to your Lord’s reproof and chastising?