The MAKING OF A MARTRY
Acts 7
2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a]
4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’[b] 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’[c] 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[d] For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’
27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’[e] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’[f] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’[g]
35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.
37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’[h] 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.
39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’[i] 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:
“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’[j] beyond Babylon.
44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[k] 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
50 Has not my hand made all these things?’[l]
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors 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 given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 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. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 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. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 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.
Who was stephen?
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch,
a convert to Judaism.
Acts 6:1-7: As the Apostles’ numbers grew, because of the size, certain people became overlooked, such as the Gentile widows (opposed to the Hebraic widows). Seeing a need to delegate roles, the disciples elected the first seven deacons known to the Christian faith. These deacons had to “be full of wisdom and the Spirit.” These deacons would take charge of the distribution of food to the widows, among other duties. The disciples chose Stephen, and six others, and prayed over them as they began their ministry.
Acts 6:8: Stephen performs various wonders and signs. Throughout the history of the early church, various charismatic gifts such as healing, belonged to several followers of Christ.
He was likely Jewish: Jews, from an early age, memorized portions of the Old Testament. They had a strong knowledge of the Scriptures, as seen in Stephen’s speech featured in Acts 7
.
Stephen belonged to this Hellenist group. The New American Bible notes that the Hellenists here were most likely Palestinian Jews who spoke only Greek. In contrast, the Hebrews referred to in the account of Stephen’s death were probably Palestinian Jews who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic and also Greek. Together, they formed the Jerusalem Jewish
Christian community.
In general, the term Hellenist was applied to anyone who was culturally Greek.
The audience that he is talking to.
Members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen argued with Stephen. Scholars think these men were freed slaves from various parts of the Roman empire. As devout Jews, they would have been horrified at Stephen’s claim that Jesus Christ was the much-awaited Messiah. That idea threatened long-held beliefs. It meant Christianity was not just another Jewish sect but something entirely different: a New Covenant from God, replacing the Old.
who are members of the Sanhedrin ?
FREEDMEN, SYNAGOGUE OF THE (συναγωγή τῶν Λιβερτίνων). The term occurs in the NT in Acts 6:9. It refers to those who together with Cyrenians and Alexandrians and others opposed Stephen. They apparently opposed him on theological grounds, but were not able to withstand the wisdom by which he spoke. To oppose Stephen they hired false witnesses who accused Stephen of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God. As a result, a mob gathered and he was arrested and accused before the council. Their only accusation was that he said Jesus would destroy the Temple and change the customs of Moses.
who is stoned to death?
Leviticus 24:16 ESV
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.
Deuteronomy 17:2-5 ESV
If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, 3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods.. Then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones.
Leviticus 24:14 ESV
“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. (Anyone who curses their God )
Deuteronomy 17:6 ESV
On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.
Application?
How did Stephen become like this? Didn’ t he fear life? There are five things that we can learn from the life of Stephen.
HE WAS FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
How did he become full of the Holy Spirit?
Biblically, the main evidence of being filled with the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Those qualities are not produced overnight or by an ecstatic experience, but over months and years of walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). Being full of the Spirit does not imply sinless perfection. No one achieves that in this life. Even the most godly of saints have their areas of imperfection and weakness. Even after a lifetime of walking in the Spirit, a godly man or woman can fall into sin,
HE WAS FULL OF WISDOM.
What gave him that wisdom?
Greek word for “wisdom” is used only four times in Acts, twice of Stephen (6:3, 10) and twice in his message before the Sanhedrin (7:10, 22). Proverbs 2:6 states, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Thus wisdom comes from knowing God, and Scripture reveals His wisdom.
God’s wisdom is summed up in Jesus Christ and the cross. To those who are perishing, the cross is foolishness, but to those who have been called by God, Christ is both “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:18, 24). To be people full of wisdom, we must grow in our understanding of the cross of Christ, where human pride is humbled and God’s grace is exalted.
HE WAS FULL OF FAITH.
How did he build up his faith?
Stephen is described in 6:5 as being full of faith, referring to his faith in God. Stephen’s sermon in chapter 7 shows that he believed in a sovereign God who called Abraham out of a pagan country and through His covenant dealings with Abraham and his descendants, brought Jesus the Righteous One to save His people, in spite of their history of rebellion. God is sovereign even in the matter of the cross of Christ (2:23; 4:27-28).
HE WAS FULL OF GRACE.
What was that experience in the life of Stephen that he was full of grace?
inward experience of grace flows outward into a gracious spirit toward others. Stephen’s being full of grace means that he was a gracious man. He did not curse his persecutors as they threw stones to crush his bones, but rather blessed them by praying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (7:60). The most effective witnesses have a clear understanding of the gospel of God’s grace and they are gracious toward others, even to those who are rude, offensive, or do them harm.
Who is that Stephen to me?
Jesus, the salvation himself.
Stephen’s life speaks volumes. Definitely he’s a martry. He teaches us a lot.
Learning the scriptures.
What is the evidence of my faith? Who will believe me if I cannot relate the scripture to my audience. He convicts the people by saying
‘The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
Investing time and energy to getting to know people, connecting it to the information that I have, gives people a rich perspective. Stephen was not an ordinary man. He might have dedicatedly read his scriptures, learnt from it. No one could sway him from the word of God.
How many of us here are living a life of not knowing the treasures from the word of God?
The word of God will transform us. It will show us the truth and no one would be able to deceive us or confuse us. Many of us fail to explain the Gospel. We ourselves are unsure, how can we even clear the doubts of the world. So the first step is not Martrydom, it is to know the scriptures.
Secondly, for what was Stephen selected? To feed the poor widows. Did he only feed them? Every Leader’s / Hero’s story starts with a small beginning
The scripture speaks for itself. he did not limit himself to only feeding the widows, but he grabbed every opportunity to testify, heal and deliver.
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 6: 3
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 6: 8-10
Stephen was not an overnight product. There was a lot of learning, teaching, execution, exercising of his belief that happened. He also had to take bold courageous steps of talking to people in the Sanhedrin.
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44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
Is it easy to let go of all the hard work and all your life’s earnings, expectations for one small thing? The world may laugh at us. The value of that pearl (God’s Kingdom) will be known to only those have found it’s worth. The worth is far more than my life, my career goals, my dreams.
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This verse speaks volumes – The making of a martry
What does my life look like today? Do I desire to know the worth of this Gospel? Why is it so precious? Precious than their own life? If people are dying for this Gospel, definitely means there’s more to it. Jesus’ cross is worth more than a lifetime. Stephen understood it.
I am sure many of us would say, wow what a great man Stephen was. I could never do that because, I have a lot of responsibilities, I am not a spiritual person, I am new, I am old etc. I am sure, when Stephen was in charge of the widows, he also could have thought the same thing. However, what transformed him? The passion and the love of God, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ made him realize that I am not only to live in that box of feeding but I need to do so much more for God.
We may be in the stage of just getting to know God,
Just reading the scriptures and understanding
Just being helpful with the ushering team or the street kids team
Or just showing up Sunday after Sunday. That’s fine but don’t limit yourself to only feeding your family and yourself. There’s so much more to do in the kingdom of God. Have the eagerness to understand that precious pearl. It’s not an Easter Story. We were rescued from a brutal death – eternally.
We don’t know what kind of a start Stephen had but he ended well.
I don’t know what kind of a start you had but you can have a beautiful ending like Stephen – A life with no regrets, no …only ifs, a Life full of forgiveness and grace.
Let’s begin the journey together..
Sandra wife of Virjil .The Renewed Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that Renewed Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Karanjade, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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