Audio - The Stoning of Stephen
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The 12th Sunday in Trinity
The Stoning of Stephen
August 23, 2009
TEXT: (Acts 7:54-60 NKJ) When they heard these things they were cut to
the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of
the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing
at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the
Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 57 Then they cried out with a
loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast
him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at
the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling
on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and
cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when
he had said this, he fell asleep.
Before we begin let us consider some of the verses preceding our text—we learn
that Stephen was selected to help the Apostles because he was full of the Spirit
(Acts 6:3-5 NKJ) "Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
business; 4 "but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the
ministry of the word." 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they
chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, …
Stephen was a man of faith—called by God to serve—and he was given special gifts
that gave him the power to perform great wonders and signs among the people
(Acts 6:8-14 NKJ) And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and
signs among the people. 9 Then there arose some from what is called the
Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and
Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom
and the Spirit by which he spoke. 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 upon him,
seized him, and brought him to the council. 13 They also set up false witnesses
who said, "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy
place and the law; 14 "for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth
will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us."
Stephen was brought before the priests of the synagogue and questioned for the
charge of blasphemy by his false witnesses—Stephen testified of the Christ, and
was eventually drug out of town to be stoned because the priests, scribes,
members of the council, and the Pharisees could not prevail in arguments against
Stephen—they could not succeed in their argument because they were not arguing
with Stephen—but they were arguing with the Holy Spirit—just as Jesus told us it
would happen
(Luke 21:12-17 NKJ) "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on
you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will
be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. 13 "But it will turn out
for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 "Therefore settle it in your hearts not
to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 "for I will give you a mouth
and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
16 "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends;
and they will put some of you to death. 17 "And you will be hated by all for My
name's sake.
STEPHEN’S EXAMPLE OF FAITH
Stephen was amongst the first group of deacons (or lay pastors) selected to
serve the Church—he preached the doctrine of faith—the Jews considered his
statements blaspheme—he preached about Jesus at every opportunity—for example,
Stephen preached about things promised and stated by Jesus
(Matthew 26:61 NKJ) … "This fellow [Jesus] said,`I am able to destroy the temple
of God and to build it in three days.'"
Stephen told the Jews—“just because they had a temple—doesn’t mean God is
pleased with them—Stephen cited Scripture—God is a God of heaven
(Isaiah 66:1 NKJ) Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My
footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of
My rest?
Stephen’s point was that God is too big to be contained in any building—or even
in Jerusalem itself—heaven is God’s throne—earth is His footstool—Stephen could
have quoted King Solomon–upon completion of the Temple
(1 Kings 8:27 NKJ) "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and
the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have
built!
The temple of God is no longer the brick and mortar temple—God now dwells in the
hearts of believers—God the Holy Spirit—and isn’t it interesting that the
Apostle Paul—a participant in the killing of Stephen—instructed us concerning
the temple of god
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NKJ) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God,
God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Stephen stood before the council—declared Jesus is Lord—and was telling the Jews
not to trust their salvation to the temple, Jerusalem, the priests, or anything
else outside the promise of God—only faith in Jesus the Christ would provide the
gift of salvation—the Jews put their fate in their works—similar to many today
BUILDING CHURCHES DOES NOT SECURE GOD’S FAVOR
Some take pride in constructing a huge, grand building for God—building a church
is not wrong—but don’t think you’re doing it for God—we can’t build a church as
a monument of our love for God—the only reason to build a church—to give
Christians a place to worship and pray
[Luther] “There is no other reason for building churches than to afford a
place where Christians may assemble to pray, to hear the Gospel and to receive
the sacraments; if indeed there is reason. When churches cease to be used for
these purposes they should be pulled down, as other buildings are when no longer
of use.”
God gave us no special command to build church buildings—Luther was especially
concerned about the sacrifice of the Church (the people of God) to build a
church (a building, for example, the Roman church called St Peter’s) because the
German people of his day were being asked to donate large sums of money to
support the construction project
[Luther] “…it would be well to overthrow at once all the churches in the
world, and to utilize ordinary dwellings or the open air for preaching, praying
and baptizing, and for all Christian requirements.”
Jesus preached for three years—only three days of His preaching took place in
the temple—John the Baptist never preached in the temple--
the apostles preached in the marketplace and in dwellings—Philip preached in a
chariot
A building does not make a church—believers of the true Gospel message make any
place a church—Luther had a low opinion of those who focused on church buildings
instead of service to God’s people
GOD’S COMMANDMENTS CANNOT BE FULFILLED BY MAN’S WORKS
Stephen was stoned to death by men who thought they were perfect keepers of the
Law—Stephen knew their salvation depended on faith—Stephen knew those who threw
the stones that killed him—some commentators suggest that there is evidence of
Stephen being a student of Gamaliel—the same teacher as Paul studied under—they
could have been classmates—this could also explain why Stephen was singled out
for attack—a studied Jew following Christ would present a problem to the Jewish
leadership
TEXT: (Acts 7:58 NKJ) and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.
And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
EXAMPLE OF COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT
Notice Stephen’s example of love
TEXT: (Acts 7:59-60 NKJ) And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God
and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out
with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had
said this, he fell asleep.
When he prays for himself, no mention of kneeling or raising his voice—when he
prays for his murderers—kneels—cries out in a loud
voice—painless—quiet—comfortable—a Christian death—Stephen was looking at our
Lord when he died—it appears that he didn’t feel the pain—he felt the comfort of
Jesus as he finished his journey called life
TEXT: (Acts 7:55-56 NKJ) But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into
heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56
and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the
right hand of God!"
We’re reminded of Jesus’ promise
(John 8:51 NKJ) "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall
never see death."
Heaven’s window wasn’t opened just for Stephen’s comfort—it was opened for the
comfort of all Christians—to remove the terror of death
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!