Stephen’s final moments show his Christlike love for his enemies and his incredible vision of the glorified Jesus Christ standing at God’s right hand to welcome him home.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
We come this morning to one of the holiest and most significant moments in the glorious history of the church. The greatest work of the church from its inception is the glory of God in the spread of the gospel of Christ. Jesus’ final words to his newborn church were
Acts 1:8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The journey of the Kingdom of Christ by the bold proclamation of the gospel by witnesses has been filled with astonishing courage and amazing, selfless love. Jesus knew that his own death would be a pattern, a paradigm, an example of how the gospel would spread to the ends of the earth and to the end of the age:
John 12:24 Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.
His death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins would be once-for-all and an utterly unique death. But his self-denying death is a pattern for how his witnesses also must be willing to lay down their lives to save others. By the blood of martyrs has the church advanced in every century.
In today’s account, we look on by the power of the Spirit’s words to the death of the man chosen by God to be the first Christian martyr. Countless thousands and even millions would follow in his footsteps. But he was considered worthy of the honor of going first.
Oh how I yearn to imitate Stephen!! But Stephen is just imitating Christ, as we shall see beautifully at the end of this message. No man has ever died in a more Christlike pattern than Stephen does here.
Context:
As we jump in at verse 54 of Acts 7, we are coming in at the end of a powerful account, one that we have been studying for several weeks.
Stephen was a truly great man, one of the greatest men in church history.
We first meet in in Acts 6 as the early church had to solve the problem of the Greek widows being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
Stephen was declared to be “full of the Spirit, full of wisdom” (6:3) “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (6:5); “full of God’s grace and power” (6:8)
Stephen was overflowing with God and with the Holy Spirit; the fruit of the Spirit was in him, as was the amazing power of the Spirit.
We see that power in his bold evangelism for Christ. Stephen stood boldly by the power of the Holy Spirit surrounded by hostile Jews in various synagogue settings, Jews from Syrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. He argued boldly from scripture that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. His enemies rose up with more and more hostility… but Stephen was more than a match for them:
Acts 6:9-10 These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
His enemies accused him of four-fold blasphemy against 1) God; 2) Moses; 3) the Law of Moses; 4) the Temple
So, they seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court… the same men who had officially condemned Jesus to death, also for blasphemy.
When he was arraigned, it seems God gave Stephen the gift of a radiant face, glowing like Moses’ did. Stephen was full of the glory of God and full of power… as well as full of love. He was not fearful, neither was he cringing, defiant, manipulative, deceptive, or any carnal way. He was filled with God’s Spirit and ready to speak.
The high priest fiercely asked him, “Are these charges true.” Stephen’s lengthy and brilliant defense was recorded for us by the Holy Spirit.
He had four goals: 1) to seize their attention; 2) to defend himself against the charge of four-fold blasphemy; 3) to convict them of the sin of rejecting and executing Jesus; 4) to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.
He attains three of these goals in verses 2-53 with a masterpiece of public speaking. He seizes their attention by rehearsing their favorite topic: the story of their Jewish ancestors. He defends himself from the charge of blasphemy by speaking reverently about the God and Moses, the Law, and the Temple. Here is no blasphemer, but a deeply devout man, filled with zeal for the glory of God.
But he is boiling the frog… little by little building a case toward an explosive end. He says the Twelve Patriarchs of Israel were jealous of Joseph and rejected him, though he was later their savior. And how the Jewish nation had rejected Moses, though he was later their savior. And how the Jews had not obeyed the Law by their consistent pattern of idolatry, and how the Jews had idolized the Temple and effectively worshiped it more than the infinite God who could never reside in a temple made by men. He turned the tables on them!
Acts 7:51-53 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him– 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Stephen has achieved three of his four goals… seizing their attention, defending himself against the charge of blasphemy, charging them of the sin of rebellion against God by rejecting his messengers and his laws… and ultimately by killing THE RIGHTEOUS ONE… Jesus.
BUT he has not yet proclaimed Jesus as the Christ the Son of God. The Spirit will move in him powerfully to do that as he dies.
His powerful conclusion, directly charging the Jewish leaders with the same sin as their fathers—resisting the Holy Spirit by killing God’s messengers and deliverers—sends these Jews into a frenzy. That is where we pick up our outline today.
We see a series of contrasts… Stephen is directly and powerfully contrasted with his enemies:
· They are filled with rage; Stephen is filled with the Spirit
· They are spiritually blind; Stephen is granted an amazing vision of heaven
· They are Satanic hate-filled murderers; Stephen is Christlike in his love and his death
· They minister death to him; but from his death comes life… his own heavenly life, and Saul’s eternal life.
I. Filled with Rage vs Filled with the Spirit
Acts 7:54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
A. The Cause of their Rage
1. Simply put: PRIDE
John 7:7 [The world] hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.
2. Stephen has accused them clearly of the sins of their fathers
3. He has assaulted their national pride, showing their fathers always resist the Holy Spirit; there was no prophet they yielded to
a. Elijah had to hide in the desert from the rage of Ahab
b. The Jews put Isaiah in a hollow log and sawed him in half
c. Jeremiah was thrown into a miry well to die
d. Amos was threatened with immediate arrest if he continued to preach against the King of Israel and their idolatrous worship
e. Zechariah son of Berekiah was murdered between the temple and the altar
4. It all started with Cain and Abel
1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous
B. Gnashing their Teeth
1. They were gnashing their teeth at Stephen
2. This shows a level of intense hatred and frustration
3. At every stage of Stephen’s ministry, both in the synagogue and now in front of the Sanhedrin, they were impotent against Stephen’s arguments and personality
As Jesus said: Luke 21:15 I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
4. This gnashing of the teeth is a display of IMPOTENCE… but rather than seeing the wisdom and truth of Stephen’s words and repenting, they raged at him
C. Like the Inhabitants of Hell
Matthew 13:42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Those condemned to hell will spend eternity gnashing their teeth in agony and impotent rage
They will never repent, just as is said in the final judgments on earth:
Revelation 16:10-11 Men gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
Repentance is a gift of God’s grace. He doesn’t owe it to anyone, and he doesn’t give it to the damned. Neither did he grant repentance to the Sanhedrin the day; they were FILLED WITH RAGE!
By direct contrast:
D. Stephen was Filled with the Holy Spirit
Acts 7:55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit
Now we’ve already noted that Stephen was a man continually filled with the Holy Spirit. His life was constantly controlled by the Spirit; he displayed the fruit of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit in word and deed
But this moment… this is a SPECIAL filling of the Spirit.
First, filled with the Spirit resulting in the fruit of the Spirit
Second, empowered by the Spirit to say the words he was saying
Third, filled with the Spirit to see a heavenly vision as we’re about to describe
1. The contrast between Stephen and his enemies could not have been more stark
2. They were like raging animals, irrational, roaring, ready to shred his body; he was like an angel from heaven, peaceful, filled with wisdom, words of light, a heart of love for God and even for them
The next contrast… spiritual blindness vs. heavenly vision
II. Spiritual Blindness vs. Heavenly Vision
A. Stephen Saw God and Heaven and Jesus
Acts 7:55 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.
That is one of the most amazing visions God has ever granted a man while he lived on earth. We’ll unfold it more in a moment; but first, see the spiritual blindness of his enemies
B. The Spiritual Blindness of His Enemies Established
Acts 7:56-57 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.
1. He says BEHOLD! But they see nothing… they are blind
2. But this is line with the point of Stephen’s entire defense
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears!
3. Stiff-necked = rebellious; uncircumcised hearts and ears = insensitive to spiritual truth; blind and deaf to it.
4. This is what the unbelieving Jewish nation has always done… been blind to spiritual light and deaf to spiritual truth
C. Isaiah’s Well-Known Prophecy
Isaiah 6:9-10 “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
1. Their physical display of this spiritual truth
Acts 7:57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him
Acting so holy they can’t hear such blasphemy. But what they are actually doing is acting out with their bodies what has always been true of their hearts and souls
D. Jesus’ Words Repeated
1. Stephen said IN THE SANHEDRIN!!!:
Acts 7:56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
2. The very words that had gotten them to condemn Jesus to death!
Mark 14:61-64 the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.
Now Jesus sends a messenger to speak this same truth again… again they cannot handle it; they cover their ears and scream in rage
E. The Completion of His Mission That Day
1. The fourth and final phase of Stephen’s mission that day
2. He has seized their attention with a compelling narrative of Jewish history
3. He has defended himself against their charges of blasphemy
4. He has convicted them of their sins in resisting the Holy Spirit
5. But he has one final work to do… to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God
6. The time has come for him to do that with his dying breath
F. The Glories of What Stephen Saw
Acts 7:55 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.
1. He saw heaven opened
a. Yet another verse that shows the sense of a barrier, a membrane, a wall between the physical realms and the heavenly
b. These were the heavens that were torn open when Jesus was baptized and through which the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and remained on Jesus
c. These were the heavens in which a door was opened allowing the Apostle John to ascend from the Island of Patmos in a vision to see the throne of God as recorded in Revelation 4
d. But by the grace of God now God opened it for Stephen’s eyes
2. He saw God’s glory
a. Moses wanted to see this on Mt. Sinai, but God refused
Exodus 33:18, 20 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
God said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
b. Stephen would see God and be taken out of life into heaven
c. The glory of God enthroned, ruling the universe… Stephen began his massage calling him “the God of glory”… now God reveals his glory to this man
3. He saw Jesus in heaven at the right hand of God
a. Where Psalm 110 predicted the Messiah would be exalted to
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
b. But we can only see that in our heart by faith in the word of God
c. Stephen saw it with his own eyes at the end of his life and he proclaimed it aloud
Acts 7:56 “Behold,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
d. It absolutely vindicates Jesus, the one this Sanhedrin had crucified for blasphemy; Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be and is at the highest place in the universe
4. But Stephen saw Jesus STANDING at God’s right hand
a. This is highly unusual, for Jesus is usually said to be seated at God’s right hand, as it says in Psalm 110
b. The Book of Hebrews makes much of this
Hebrews 1:3 After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 10:11-12 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
c. Jesus sits down as a clear display that his offering for the atonement of sins is ONCE FOR ALL TIME, never to be repeated; he doesn’t have to continually stand and make repeated blood sacrifices
d. However, that is in his role as our High Priest
e. In his roles as King and Protector of His Church, however, Christ rises as they are killing Stephen
f. He is vigorous, active to control earthly events for the benefit of his people
g. He will leave his heavenly throne at the end of the ages leading a heavenly army to destroy his enemies forever
h. Here also he is depicted as rising to give Stephen a martyr’s welcome into heaven
Stephen will cross the finish line of his life on earth a receive a victor’s crown
A foretaste of heaven: This vision of heaven was a perfection of what the Holy Spirit does in giving us a downpayment of our future inheritance… heaven on earth
It’s as though Stephen is already gone. They can’t touch him. In some sense, he’s already in heaven.
III. Satanic Hate-filled Murder vs. Christlike Love
A. The Spiritual Dimensions of this Scene
Acts 7:57-58 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.
Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit
His enemies are filled with the spirit of the Devil
B. Jesus Said to them Earlier
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.
In their rage, they are acting like demons
Acts 7:57-58 … yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him
The exact same word is used of the huge herd of pigs into which the Legion of demons left the demoniac of the Gadarenes causing them to rush headlong into the Sea of Galilee to their death
It is openly demonic. They are in a Satanic murderous rage, maniacally dragging this godly man by the feet out of the city
The stoning occurred by a man being cast down off a steep ledge; if the fall didn’t kill him, the next witness would throw a large stone down on his chest. If that didn’t kill him, they would all join in and throw stones down on him till he was dead. Because the witnesses had to lay their clothes at the feet of Saul, this process took time. Stephen didn’t die right away.
As they are raging, screaming, dragging, and stoning him, …
C. Stephen Becomes More and More Like Jesus Christ
No one in history has ever so beautifully displayed this while he lived still on earth as the dying martyr Stephen
His dying words were just like those of his Savior:
Acts 7:59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
At death, our spirit departs from our bodies… for believers, our spirits are instantly perfected and brought into the presence of the Lord; absent from the body, present with the Lord.
Stephen entrusted himself to his beloved Lord Jesus: “LORD JESUS”… yes, Jesus is LORD
D. Stephen’s Gracious and Loving Prayer
Acts 7:60 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.
Stephen had a heart of love for his enemies… Jesus said: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Again, just like his loving Savior
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
So beautiful to see Stephen’s conformity to Christ at the moment of his death.
IV. Death vs. Life
A. The Final Contrast… They Ministered Death, But God Worked Life
B. Stephen’s Life
1. Stephen’s true and best life was just beginning
2. Stephen slipped the bands of physical life and soared to a world we can only barely conceive of, joined other spirits made perfect in the presence of the heavenly assembly, the heavenly Zion, to see the glory God directly
C. Paul’s Future Life
1. Saul of Tarsus stood there witnessing the death of this godly man
2. In fact, he played as significant a role as he could have played without being a member of the Sanhedrin
Acts 7:58 Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
3. Saul had been trained at the feet of the rabbi Gamaliel and undoubtedly has led the way in trying to refute Stephen’s arguments in the synagogues but had utterly failed
4. Now he wanted Stephen DEAD
5. But the manner of his death haunted him, and Stephen’s dying prayer rang in his ears, and the scriptural proofs Stephen had pointed out to prove that Jesus was the Christ were so many GOADS in him driving him to faith in Christ
Augustine: “The church owes the salvation of Paul to the prayers of Stephen.”
Tertullian said famously in the year 197 during a vicious persecution by the Romans,
“Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust; your injustice is the proof that we are innocent. . . . The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.”
Jesus said:
John 12:24 Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Stephen’s life, prayer, and death were I believe the greatest factors in Paul’s conversion. God was willing to trade the earthly life of Stephen for the eternal life of Paul.
V. Applications
A. Non-Christian: What About You?
1. If Stephen were here, he would want to make sure that everyone here today is forgiven through faith in the blood of Christ
2. What good would it be for you to hear this sermon and die in your sins years from now?
3. Stephen’s life and death cannot save your soul… Jesus’ life and death and resurrection can
4. Trust in Christ!!!!
B. Christian: What About You?
1. Paul’s desire was to be conformed to Christ in his death
Philippians 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
2. Paul also said God considers his own people sheep for the slaughter
Romans 8:36 As it is written: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Are you willing to be one of those seeds that falls into the ground and dies so others may live eternally
C. Pray for the Suffering Church
1. Some bold men and women are presently in the crucible of testing right now, even today; pray for them!
2. Top ten persecuting countries in 2024: 1) North Korea; 2) Somalia; 3) Libya; 4) Eritrea; 5) Yemen; 6) Nigeria; 7) Pakistan; 8) Sudan; 9) Iran; 10) Afghanistan
3. Pray that God would give them supernatural boldness like Stephen
4. Zeroing in on North Korea:
Being discovered to be a Christian in North Korea is essentially a death sentence. Either believers are deported to labor camps as political criminals where they face a life of extreme hard labor which few can survive, or they are killed on the spot. The same fate awaits their family members. There may be between 50-70,000 Christians in labor camps in North Korea
5. Trouble also in Afghanistan, under the Taliban
The rising starvation rates in Afghanistan create an even higher security threat to these believers since now the Taliban are offering financial compensation to anyone who reports on Christians. Unless ransomed by their families, Christians captured by the Taliban’s kangaroo ‘courts’ face brutal torture and even death. If redeemed, the survivors and their families, often bankrupt from the exorbitant ransom demands, must flee their homes to avoid repeated kidnappings from the various Taliban gangs.”
6. PRAY for the persecuted church all over the world!
D. Honor Men Like Stephen
E. Complain About Your Own Sufferings Less
