Acts 7:59-60, “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.”
The death of Stephen as the church’s first martyr is very inspiring to all who take serving God serious because his life of courage challenges every disciple to give their all for Jesus, Acts 6:8-7:60. Stephen was one of the first deacons to be chosen to serve the Apostles in the work of feeding the needing. The standard of being a deacon (which in the Greek means, “to be a servant/waiter”) was to be “full of the Spirit and wisdom,” Acts 6:3.
Though much of Stephen’s life is not known before being appointed as a deacon, it can be safely assumed that for him to have been chosen at such an early stage of the church he probably was also part of the 120 in the upper room that received the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:15. In turn, to have been apart of the original 120 he also most likely had either personally followed Jesus or was close to the ones who did. Meaning, Luke records in his gospel that Jesus had at times 72 disciples following Him that He could send out in 2’s to preach, Luke 10:1. Therefore, Jesus might have personally trained Stephen as a preacher.
We may not know for sure how Stephan was trained; but we do know without doubt that he was well regarded by the disciples and was a gifted preacher. His street preaching was powerful, full of signs and wonders, and was irrefutable to Jewish opposition. Acts 6:8-10 records, “8 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… 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.”
Now consider this, Stephen was a great preacher, most likely trained by Jesus and was used in mighty ways, however, his life was cut short because of being martyred. As a result, Stephen’s life serves as an example of boldness and courage in the face of opposition. He chose to live a courageous life instead of a long life. He could have back down, denied his faith, or just tried to compromise with those who hated him but instead he choose to lose his life for Christ’s sake, Matthew 10:5-42.
May we all have the faith and courage of Stephen to never stop speaking God’s Word even if it costs us our friends, jobs, or even our very lives. Because of disciples like Stephen the Christian faith is stilling growing in persecuted countries around the world. To God be the glory! The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the gospel!
There are three lessons we can learn from Stephen’s short, but inspiring life, (1) Be a devoted student and learner (disciple) of Jesus and His Word. Because Stephen was able to extensively quote the Bible it is clear he was a devoted student of the Word, Acts 7:1-53. (2) Be bold in preaching the gospel of Jesus even if it offends. Stephen boldly chose to be loved by God and hated by man, Acts 7:54. (3) Forgive all those who persecute you. Stephen prayed like Jesus and asked for the forgiveness of all his enemies, Acts 7:59-60. Saul of Tarsus, one of the witnesses, eventually became Paul the great leader of the church.
I pray if you ever face persecution like Stephen did you will choose a God filled life over a long life. And may we all never forgot the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:10-12, “10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Reflection
Are you willing to give your life for Jesus and His gospel?
Action
- Ask God to remove all fear of persecution from your life.
- Study the Word of God and prepare yourself to be a witness for Jesus wherever you go, 2 Timothy 2:15.
- Like Stephen, by faith, be bold in the face of persecution!
