The First Christian Martyr
Introduction: Quintus Septimius Tertullian, the great second century apologist of the Christian faith, once said to the enemies of the Church, “We multiply whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed.” Later his statement was put into a motto and a rallying cry for the early church: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” That was true in the first century and it is still true in ours.
Some of us remember the death of five young missionary men in the jungles of Ecuador over thirty years ago. It seemed so futile, but never in modern times has a godless tribe of people been so thoroughly converted as were the Aucas in the years following that brutal crime. And literally hundreds, if not thousands, of young missionaries were led to various fields of service because of the example and witness of those martyrs. Our text today records the planting of the first seed of blood, which would be the harbinger of many more to come. In the weeks ahead we shall see the fruit that became its harvest.
Contrary to religions such as Islam, the Church of Jesus Christ has been founded by shedding its own blood, not that of others; by enduring violence, not by inflicting it. I do not consider such horrible events as the Spanish Inquisition or the conquest of Latin America by the Conquistadors to be exceptions to this fact, for those deeds were perpetrated not by the Christian church, but by a sick and distorted institution which falsely bore its name.
Persecutions have made Christianity grow; martyrdoms have crowned it. How true that is of the story of Stephen, which covers from verse 8 of chapter 6 through the verse 4 of chapter 8. That’s over seventy verses, and I’ve decided that I should preach the entire portion this morning. The reason is that it all fits together as a unit, and I wouldn’t be able to get back to it for three more weeks.
The outline we use will focus upon Stephen’s arrest, his defense, and his execution.
Stephen’s arrest
Let’s read Acts 6:8-15:
Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
7 The word of God kept spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council. 13 They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking against this holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And all who were sitting in the Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.
The account of Stephen’s arrest really must be prefaced by a review of his character.
His character (6:3, 5, 8). You will recall from last week that Stephen was one of the Seven selected by the early church to take care of administrating the Benevolence Fund so that the Apostles could give themselves more to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Among the qualifications established by the Apostles for each of the Seven were a good reputation, a fullness of the Spirit and a fullness of wisdom. Verse 5 adds that Stephen was a person full of faith. In verse 8 we are told that he was also full of grace and power. All in all, there are five different entities he was full of—wisdom, faith, grace, power, and the Holy Spirit. Quite a Deacon, wouldn’t you say?
I’m especially impressed with the two qualities mentioned in verse 8: grace and power. It is so important that those two qualities be balanced by each other. A gracious weak person rarely gets anything done. A graceless powerful person walks all over people in his drive to accomplish things. But a gracious powerful person is a sight for sore eyes.
His conflict (6:9-10). In the process of his witness and his ministry, Stephen ran into some fierce opposition in the Synagogue of the Freedmen. While there was only one Temple in Jerusalem, used primarily for worship, there were a number of neighborhood synagogues, which were used principally for education. The synagogue named here was apparently one frequented by Hellenistic Jews, of which Stephen was one. People from many different Greek-speaking countries and three different continents attended there, and Stephen seized the opportunity to evangelize them. They argued with him but were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
It is my opinion that among those disputing with Stephen, and perhaps even their leader, was a young intellectual named Saul. He was, after all, from Tarsus, the principal city of the province of Cilicia mentioned in verse 9, and he is specifically mentioned later in the chapter. One scholar has suggested that he had possibly been brought to Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin to spearhead an attack on the indomitable and troublesome followers of Jesus. Trained under Gamaliel and one of that master teacher’s most brilliant students, he developed legendary debating skills. At this point in his life, however, his intellectual prowess was no match for one who possessed both wisdom and the Spirit of God.
His indictment (6:11-15). Unable to silence him in open debate, Stephen’s opponents adopted another course. Informers were put up to misrepresent his arguments in the most damaging light. The word “induce” in verse 11 indicates that they were paid for their testimony. This was not the first time, of course, that the righteous have been subverted by false testimony. In this respect Stephen stands in the company of the likes of Naboth, the Jezreelite, and, of course, our Lord Himself.
The false witnesses claimed that Stephen had spoken blasphemous words against Moses and against God (interesting that Moses comes first in that enumeration, isn’t it?). These charges are expanded in verse 13: “This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” Now these false witnesses were not necessarily outright liars. It is far more likely that they took some true statements Stephen made and distorted them so as to misrepresent his intentions. After all, the Lord Himself had predicted the destruction of the temple, though He never said He would do it.
Regarding the other allegation of contempt for the customs which Moses handed down, it is probably true that Stephen showed contempt for the “traditions of Moses,” for most of those customs hadn’t come from Moses at all, but rather were later Pharisaical additions. Stephen may also have preached concerning the temporary nature of the Mosaic system, since it was fulfilled in Christ and no longer held believers in bondage. Whatever he said, it was apparently sufficient to rile the people, for they were supersensitive regarding Moses and the Temple.
The indictment having been made, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Stephen, whose face resembled that of an angel. I think it is instructive to remember that when this same council tried Jesus, they had to cover his face (Mark 14:65).
The high priest asked him, “Are these things so?” And Stephen offers his defense.
Stephen’s defense (7:2-53)
I have read that one of Harvard Law School’s professors regularly required the study of Stephen’s speech as an example of a water-tight defense. But in truth Stephen only lightly touches upon the accusations made against himself. His concern seems not to be the securing of an acquittal before the Sanhedrin, but rather to give a defense of his faith. In the end, Stephen perhaps considered that the best defense of himself.
While we obviously do not have time this morning to analyze Stephen’s speech in any kind of detail, I do want us to look for four recurring themes. After mentioning these themes, we will read the entire defense before returning to them.
- The blessings of God have never been limited to either the land of Israel or the Temple of the Jews; rather they extend to the world. (Stephen’s point seems to be that the Jews are far too provincial and wrongly consider God to be their own tribal deity, viciously attacking anyone who disagrees with their traditions and customs).
- Angels mediated God’s program throughout the Old Testament period. (Think of this in relationship to the fact that the Sadducean party in the Sanhedrin did not even believe in the existence of angels).
- Messiah Jesus was prefigured and predicted in the Old Testament.
- Israel, throughout its history, exhibited a pattern of rebellion against God and His prophets, which they continued to demonstrate against Christ and His apostles.
Now let’s read together Acts 7 1-53. It’s a lengthy reading but powerful.
Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
2 And Stephen said, “Listen to me, brothers and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and He said to him, ‘Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’ 4 Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. 6 But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years. 7 ‘And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me in this place.’ 8 And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.
9 “The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.
11 “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five people in all. 15 And Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there. 16 And they were brought back from there to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 “But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 19 It was he who shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home. 21 And after he had been put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in speaking and action. 23 But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian. 25 And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?’ 27 But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 You do not intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 29 At this remark, Moses fled and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons.
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely. 33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your countrymen.’ 38 This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness together with the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ 41 At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to serve the heavenly lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel? 43 You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will deport you beyond Babylon.’
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn received it, and they also brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. 46 David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:
49 ‘Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?
50 Was it not My hand that made all these things?’
51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, and you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; 53 you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
The blessings of God have never been limited to either the land of Israel or the Temple of the Jews, but rather extend to the world. This theme is presented in at least five different ways in our text. First, mention is made of the fact that the very father of the Jewish race, Abraham, was in Mesopotamia when God first appeared to him, and though he was given great promises by God, he never owned a square foot of property in the land of Israel. Stephen’s point seems to be that the people of God must be on the march, must pull up their tent stakes as Abraham did, leaving national particularism and ancestral ritual, and go where God may lead.
Second, Joseph, the great patriarch, spent most of his life in Egypt, and didn’t return to Palestine until his death, and even then, he was buried in Shechem, a part of Samaria.
Third, Moses, their greatest prophet, never set foot alive in the land of Israel. He was born in Egypt, was educated in all the learning of Egypt, became an alien in the land of Midian for forty years, met God at the burning bush in Sinai and heard him say that the place where he was standing was “holy ground.”
William Cowper expressed Stephen’s point poetically when he wrote:
Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,
There they behold Thy mercy-seat;
Where’er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
And every place is hallowed ground.
The Jews could never accept such a notion.
Fourth, the Tabernacle, their first great place of worship, was a mobile temple in the wilderness.
And finally, even the Temple, which they so highly revered, was not God’s house as they understood it. For God does not dwell in houses made by human hands. There is, perhaps, an implication here that the temple of God is now the mobile church rather than the stones and mortar standing on Temple Mount.
At any rate, one can see that all of these examples were designed to show his audience that the Jewish emphasis upon their land and temple, and their consequent hatred of Christians for de-emphasizing these things, was not due to their allegiance to the Old Testament, but rather due to a complete distortion of it.
Angels mediated God’s program throughout the Old Testament period. We already noted that Stephen’s face shown like an angel. But in addition to that, angels are mentioned four times in this sermon, every time expressly designed to show the Sadducees how fundamentally unfaithful they were to the Word of God.
The first mention of angels is in verse 30, where we are told that an angel appeared to Moses at the burning bush. In verse 35 that same angel is said to be the one who helped Moses become a ruler and deliverer of the people. The same angel is mentioned again in verse 38 as speaking to Moses. Finally, in verse 53 Stephen says that the Law was ordained by angels, but they still did not keep it. You can just feel the Sadducean blood pressure rising, can’t you?
Messiah Jesus was prefigured and predicted in the Old Testament. One can see this, first of all, in the case of Joseph in verse 9ff. “And the patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. And yet God was with him and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom.” There are numerous parallels there to the treatment of Jesus by the religious leaders.
Then the very birth of Moses under an edict of infanticide drew an unspoken parallel to Jesus’ birth. Moses’ ministry, too, prefigured Christ’s in that (verse 25) “he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand.” Rather they demanded to know, (verse 27), “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” The fact that God sent Moses to be both a ruler and a deliverer and that he performed signs and wonders would all point to the same characteristics in the life of Christ.
But nothing would catch the Sanhedrin’s attention like the quotation in verse 37: “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.” They knew that prophecy had not yet been fulfilled and they also knew Stephen was claiming Jesus was that prophet.
Israel, throughout its history, exhibited a pattern of rebellion against God and His prophets, which they continued to demonstrate against Christ and His apostles. This was evident in the fact that they sold Joseph into slavery and did not receive him until his second visit. So also, they rejected Moses the first time he offered them help and did not receive him until he came to them a second time. As verse 39 puts it, “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.” Could it be that Stephen is implying that Jesus too would not be received until His Second Coming?
If much of Stephen’s defense contained veiled references and subtle hints, he finally takes the gloves off in verse 51 and 52: “You men who are stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” Name one! Further, he claims, “they killed those prophets who announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.”
To call them stiffnecked and uncircumcised was not intended to get a light sentence! It was a bold and stinging rebuke indicating that while they were circumcised in the literal sense, their disobedience and unresponsiveness to God’s revelation were such as might have been expected from the Gentiles to whom God had not revealed Himself.
Stephen’s Execution (7:54-8:4)
The end of chapter seven and first few verses of chapter 8 record for us four different reactions.
54 Now when they heard this, they were infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently 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 shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one mind. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.
And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him. 3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.
4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places preaching the word.
Reaction of the Sanhedrin to Stephen’s defense (7:54-58). It was immediate and violent. To paraphrase William Congreve’s famous gem, “Hell hath no fury like a religious person confronted by his sin.” They actually gnash their teeth at him, scream, plug their ears so they can hear no more of the truth, and rush upon him like a mob. This should not surprise us.
Not many months before, another prisoner had stood at the bar before this same court, charged with almost the same offences. But when the hostile evidence broke down, the high priest put that prisoner on his oath to tell them plainly if He was indeed the Messiah. “I am,” said He: “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, and coming with the clouds of Heaven.” (Mark 14:62) No more was required; Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to death.
Now Stephen in the same place was making the same claim on Jesus’ behalf as He had made for Himself: he was claiming, in fact, that the words of Jesus had not been blasphemous and false but words of sober truth which had received their vindication and fulfilment from God. Unless the judges were prepared to admit that their former decision was tragically mistaken, they had no logical option but to find Stephen guilty of blasphemy as well.
They drive him out of the city (they would not think of killing someone within the sacred confines of Jerusalem) and stone him until he is dead.
Reaction of Stephen to their murderous intent (7:55-56, 59-60). His initial reaction to their anger and gnashing was to gaze into heaven, where he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and to say, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” This is the only time in the NT that Jesus is called “Son of Man” by anyone other than Himself. It shows, I believe, that Stephen grasped the fact that Jesus was more than a Jewish Messiah—He was the Savior of the whole world.
Jesus is normally pictured as sitting at the right hand of God. Perhaps the double reference to His standing indicates that He was ready to welcome Stephen into His presence. Isn’t it a glorious prospect to consider that Jesus is waiting to welcome us home? Nearly 15 years ago my grandmother died at my parents’ home, where I had stopped by to visit with her. I’ll never forget how she got up from the table, walked by the stairs, looked up and asked if we could see the angels upstairs. Then she collapsed and died. Countless other Christians have had similar experiences, all of which confirm that God welcomes His children home.
Stephen also said words that echoed His Savior’s words from the cross, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” He had learned godly attitudes well from the Master. And having said this, he fell asleep. Contrast that with the death of Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5; they did not “fall asleep;” rather they “fell down and breathed their last.”
Reaction of Saul to Stephen’s death (7:58, 8:1-3). Saul is mentioned three times within the space of a few verses here. The first reference is to the fact that those who actually stoned Stephen laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Perhaps he was the instigator, for often those who plan violence stand back and let others do the dirty work for them. At least he was there, and not only present, but consenting. Look at the second mention of him in 8:1: “And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.”
A third time he is mentioned is in verse 3 where Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, throwing them into jail. All of this he would greatly regret in due time.
Reaction of the Church to this wave of persecution (8:1-4). First, there was great mourning for this promising and godly young man, and he was given an honorable burial. But we read further in verse 4 that “therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the Word.” They did not walk to the slaughterhouse as so many sheep—they scattered when the persecution intensified. But they didn’t hide or cower. As a matter of fact, the persecution was God’s way of spreading the Gospel. Wherever they went they preached the Word.
Conclusion: Be honest with me now, what would you have thought if you were one of those early Christians? Don’t you think one of the questions foremost in your mind would have been, “Lord, why did you let this happen? Why would you allow such a brilliant, godly, powerful young man lose his life at the peak of his ability? Why didn’t You intercede and save him? Does it do any good to pray?”
But, as always, God knew what He was doing. When death is near, the Lord offers courage, not necessarily escape. Little did either Stephen or his fellow-Christians know that his death would be a mighty wind that would blow the seed pod open and plant a seed not only in the heart of his chief opponent, but across the world to bear million-fold harvest through the centuries. As great a man as he was, Stephen accomplished more in death than he did in life. Could it be that God may ask some of us for the same supreme sacrifice? Are we able? Yes, if the Holy Spirit is allowed to control our lives as He did Stephen’s.
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Stephen’s martyrdom
Angels