Stephen Stoned to Death
TRANSLATION
(54) When the members of the Sanhedrin heard these words, they were irate and ground their teeth. (55) But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (56) He exclaimed, “Look! I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (57) At this they covered their ears and, shouting with loud voices, they together rushed at him, (58) dragged him outside the city, and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses left their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. (59) As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (60) Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (1) And Saul approved of his death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the region of Judaea and of Samaria. (2) Then godly men buried Stephen and mourned greatly for him. (3) However, Saul continued to attack the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and imprisoned them. (4) But those who had been scattered abroad preached the word wherever they went.
OBSERVATIONS
Stephen’s convicting account of Israel’s rejecting and persecuting the prophets God had sent to them was enough to provoke his listeners. But it wasn’t until he cried out that he saw Jesus “standing at the right hand of God” (vss. 55 & 56) that the crowd became so infuriated that they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death. Other repetitions in this segment included several names: “Jesus” (vs. 55), “the Son of Man” (vs. 56), “Lord Jesus” (vs. 59), and “Lord” (vs. 60), as well as “stoned/stoning” (vss. 58 & 59), “Saul” three times (vss. 58, 1, & 3), and “Stephen” twice (vss. 59 & 2).
OUTLINE
I. When Stephen’s testimony climaxed with his vision of Jesus at the right hand of God, members of the Sanhedrin in fury dragged him outside the city and stoned him. (54-60)
II. After Stephen’s death, the believers endured a time of severe persecution led by Saul. (1-4)
IDEA STATEMENT
In his death which in many ways resembled the death of his Savior on the cross, Stephen testified powerfully to the risen Christ by what he saw, what he said, and how he died.
APPLICATION
A common sentiment among church historians is represented by the following statement: “No one has ever hindered the church’s growth through persecution. Indeed, whenever the world persecutes the church, it grows even more.” This statement serves as a particularly apt description of what happened after Stephen, the church’s first martyr, was stoned to death. While the early believers were clearly distressed by what had happened to this godly man, his death proved to be the catalyst for the spread of the Gospel beyond the confines of Jerusalem. The persecution that immediately followed served to disperse many believers into Judea and Samaria. In this way, God made sure that the Great Commission, given by Jesus to his apostles to make disciples not only in Jerusalem but in an ever-expanding area, was carried out according to Jesus’ plan: “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
In his death Stephen gave testimony to the risen Lord by the way he died, specifically by his two statements, first, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and then by his saying, “Do not hold this sin against them,” which reminds us of Jesus’ final words of forgiveness on the cross. Stephen’s report of seeing the risen Lord standing at the right hand of the Father in heaven also provided a powerful testimony to the Savior’s resurrection.