Acts 7:54-8:1a (NIV)
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
The whole Sanhedrin, like the members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, were unable to stand against Stephen’s wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking (Acts 6:9-10). So, when Stephen’s logic and scriptural knowledge totally defeated them, they were left with only two paths: the path of repentance or that path of violence. Unfortunately, they chose the latter.
The Greek of verse 54 indicates that Stephen’s words “cut them to the quick,” hitting home with their raw assessment of the spiritual state of these leaders. Their first response to such conviction should have been tearful confession and repentance, but Stephen’s words were right on the money: they were stiff-necked and would not yield to correction, and they were uncircumcised in ears and heart, unable to receive God’s words.
At that moment, to reinforce Stephen’s courage so that he would be able to stand strong even in the face of immanent death, God gave him a quick peek behind the curtain. In a moment, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father, looking with approval on the job he was doing.
But when he described what he was seeing, though it was accurate in every detail, all that the Sanhedrin heard was blasphemy. The idea that Jesus, whom they had convicted of blasphemy and murdered, would be established at God’s right hand was elevating Him to equality with God, something that would not fit into the narrow confines of their rigid, hidebound theology.
Emotion immediately took control over reason, and they grabbed Stephen, yelling at the top of their voices to drown out his voice, took him outside the city, and stoned him. They were so corrupted in their hearts and minds that they saw their actions as noble and God-honoring. They were blind to the hard, cold fact that they were in the process of repeating the deep sins of their ancestors, persecuting and killing God’s prophets.
The polar opposites at the end of this episode are Stephen and the young man named Saul. Saul, a Pharisee who had studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), was not a member of the Sanhedrin. So, his participation in the stoning was limited to watching the garments of those who were throwing the rocks. But Luke notes that Saul was in absolute agreement with what they were doing. He, too, has been stung by Stephen’s words, and he, like they, had been moved to hatred, anger, and violence instead of repentance.
At the other end of the scale was Stephen. Although his uncompromising stand against what the Sanhedrin was doing and the worldliness of its members would earn him the title of “hater” today, his last words tell a different story. Far from cursing his enemies and calling down God’s wrath on them with his last breath, he prayed for their forgiveness, for God to not hold this massive sin against them, even as the stones were flying.
Father, the contrasts here are breathtaking. Those who believed they were righteous and holy filled to overflowing with hate for a man who had merely held up a mirror in which they saw their own sinful disfigurement. And the one they claimed was a sinner and blasphemer filled to overflowing with love to the point that his dying words were for the benefit of his murderers, echoing the words that Jesus spoke as they drove nails into His hands and feet: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 NIV) Lord, I need a heart like Stephen’s, so full of love and mercy that I am not afraid to confront sin, to urge repentance, and to forgive those who won’t receive me, even if they kill me. Keep me focused today on doing Your will, full to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit and Your agape love for others. Amen.
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