Stephen confronts us with an issue that has been a common part of Christianity for the past two thousand years: that of giving one’s life for the Gospel. As far as we know, he was the first martyr of the church.
Stephen is only mentioned seven times in the Bible, but the effects of his life continue to ripple down through history. As the church grew, it became apparent that the disciples needed help. While the word “deacon” is not used explicitly with Stephen, that’s what he was. His responsibility was to take some of the burdens of the Apostles so they could devote more of their time to prayer and ministering the Word. Stephen was one of seven chosen and the one we know best.
I preached a sermon a few years ago entitled, “What Are We Full Of.” I used several verses in Acts chapter 6 that tell us what Stephen was full of. He was full of the Holy Ghost, he was full of wisdom, he was full of faith, he was full of grace, and he was full of power. That is an amazing testament to how great a man he was. It was this fullness and anointing that rested upon Stephen that got him in trouble with the same self-righteous religious leaders who hated Jesus.
In addition to being a deacon, he was also an evangelist. God was using him, with miracles, signs, and wonders being part of his ministry. Those who hated his ministry accused him of blasphemy. He was arrested and brought to trial.
Stephen was well versed in what we call the Old Testament because he gave one of the greatest summaries of God’s dealings with the Hebrew people, dating from the promise God made to Abraham up to the fulfillment of the Messiah, who was Jesus.
You can see the depth of the depravity when his accusers begin to bite him like wild animals. It was then that Stephen lifted his eyes towards the heavens. God parted the veil and allowed him to see Jesus, “Standing at the Father’s right hand.”
Some Bible scholars question this because they had taught that when Jesus ascended to the Father, He sat down, representing Christ’s finished work. Of course, that is just their opinion. Perhaps it was because Stephen was the first to give his life for the Gospel, and Jesus stood up out of respect for Stephen’s sacrifice. As we know, Stephen would be the first of many.
In his dying moments, Stephen also said something significant from a prophetic standpoint. Apart from Jesus Himself, Stephen is the only person who identified Jesus as “The Son of Man.”
Some of the last words Jesus spoke on the cross were, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Stephen echoed the words of Jesus in his dying moments when he said in Acts 7:60, “Lord, lay not sin to their charge.”
Satan and all of hell probably rejoiced when Stephen took his last breath, but little did they realize what they had unleashed. One of the men who was present was a man named Saul, who came from Tarsus. In Acts 22:20, he said he was the one who had the oversight of Stephen’s death. He held the garments of those who killed Stephen. This same Saul would later become one of the greatest preachers the world has ever known. We know him better as the Apostle Paul. I don’t think he ever forgot how the face of Stephen must have looked as he saw the glory of God.
We also learn from Acts 11:19 that Stephen’s death caused the church to reach beyond Jerusalem. It actually began in Acts chapter 10 when Peter went to the home of Cornelius, who lived in Caesarea. Tertullian, one of the early Church fathers of the second century, coined the term, “the blood of the martyrs is seed for the church.” Anytime the church has faced persecution, she has always increased. The early Church was greatly persecuted, yet there was an incredible harvest of souls. While America has been spared the kind of persecution we read about in the Bible, may I remind you that today, people will die all around the world for just one reason: they have accepted Jesus as their Savior. Man can kill the body, but not the soul. (Matthew 10:28) Stephen’s ministry seems to have been brief, but what an impact he made. God is still looking for people who are full of the Holy Ghost, full of wisdom, full of faith, full of grace, and full of power. What are you full of?
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