In the above focus we are introduced to a man called Stephen. As a deacon in the church, he carried out a daily routine of feeding widows, but Stephen was also a man full of the Holy Spirit and power. We can also assume he displayed the gifts of the Spirit readily: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22) He personified Christianity: born again, a new creature, a new life. He was once a slave to carnal flesh, captivated behind the bars of the self-willed nature of his old self, but as Paul tells the Galatians, Jesus came to set us free from our self-willed nature and its concomitant sins. As Christians we are no longer slaves to the sins of the flesh, for our spirits are forever free to be citizens of the heavenly realm, forever known as children of God. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) But now in this focus we see men who are enslaved in their fleshly nature; once physically slaves of the Romans but now freemen, belonging to the Synagogue of the Freedmen. They are very zealous for the tenets of the Jewish religion; consequently, Stephen and all other Christians who teach the freedom of Christ are considered apostates, enemies of God. These fervent supporters of Judaism began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Stephen was full of Jesus Christ and God’s Spirit. He possessed the wisdom and knowledge of God, for all true wisdom and all perfect knowledge comes directly through knowing Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote: My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the TREASURES of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3) Stephen’s foes, befuddled by the wisdom an knowledge of Stephen, turned to lies and deception. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. Their treacherous scheme of using lies to persuade others to believe what they wanted people to believe was also used to condemn Jesus to death. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. (Matthew 26:59) Paul received the same teatment of people lying about him. We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. (Acts 24:5-6) Lying is an age old trick to distort the truth or to convince people to believe something that is blatantly false. It is interesting to note that at the end of Revelations, we see that all liars will receive eternal damnation. The seriousness of lying is explicit in the Old Testament, for it is one of the Ten Commandments. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Deuteronomy 5:20) We now see with Stephen these men who are supposedly strong advocates of Moses’ laws and regulations openly violating one of the Ten Commandments. They, as was done with Jesus and Paul, are willing to lie to get their way. They also are willing to murder innocent people, another violation of the Commandments, to satisfy their hatred of the Good News. Their own design of Judaism led them to violate the scriptures, and the basic tenets of Judaism.
As a Christian, Stephen was not tied down to believing that Jerusalem or the Temple were the only places to worship God. He understood Jesus' words that were spoken to the Samaritan women at the well. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24) Yes, the time has come to worship God in the Spirit and in truth. No place was more holy than the place he was standing on, for Stephen was now the temple of the living God. His lips would relate the truth of God. He would expose the knowledge of God, for he possessed Jesus IN HIM, revealing God to the dark and sinful world. Jesus said for Christians to be lights, and Stephen was a brilliant light, even to his last breath. Knowing Jesus, he knew the wisdom of God and the knowledge of God. He knew the mysterious plan of God that was hidden in the heart of the Father from the beginning of time. That mysterious plan was Jesus, the Son, the gate to becoming right with God. Salvation is Jesus, freedom is Jesus, eternal life is Jesus. Every bit of life is wrapped up in Jesus. He is the direct metaphor of THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. In the above focus, we see men with knowledge of the world and of the scriptures, yet living in darkness. They were openly against the light of God. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:9-13) These Judaic followers existed in darkness but did not know it. Therefore, they could not confront successfully Stephen’s understanding of God. They were living by regulations and religious tenets, but not by the Spirit of God. They were living by the strength of their will and not by the power of the Holy Spirit. The law was imposed on them, not in them, not in their hearts. So they could not argue with Stephen successfully. HIs light revealed clearly their darkness, even of the Old Testament, the prophets and their words. They could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
As with David, Stephen was committed to God wholeheartedly. God was Stephen's home, not just an idea for him of an eternal dwelling place somewhere. God was his home, his inheritance: as with David and the Levite priests. ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22) Stephen would follow God even to his death by stoning. He would die with God on his face. For him it was as Moses prayed, Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. (Psalm 90:1-2 NLT) Stephen would go back to God after his death; he would go home. Moses went back to God; his home was not Canaan, but God. We who are Christians have a dwelling place forever, for through Christ’s work, we have been made right with God. God is Spirit and we will dwell with him. As we are IN CHRIST we will dwell as children of God. Sometimes we forget that reality, and we pray without acknowledging who we are IN CHRIST and who God is as the Creator. The prayer that Peter and the believers lifted up to God after he and John were released from the Sanhedrin’s imprisonment is a fantastic prayer of acknowledging God and also our place in his creation. This prayer also recognizes the adversaries to God's plan of saving men from eternal damnation. “Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one." (Acts 4:25-26). Sometimes in our prayers, we forget the greatness of God because Jesus is so personal and intimate in our lives. This prayer emphasizes the truth of God. He is the only God, the only life, and He has created all that exists. The prayer goes on and describes the futility of mankind rebelling against their God. The people do rage against their Creator, and they do plot against the work of God’s salvation by coming against Christ. In Peter and the believers' prayer they honor God, and expose the truth of man’s rebellion against the Almighty. The prayer exposes the truth of man’s existence; his degradation and sinful state. It does not exclude anyone from the responsibilities of killing Jesus. All of mankind is guilty, even in holy Jerusalem. “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. (27) Kings, governors, rulers, Gentiles and Jews were aggressively against God’s plan of salvation, his Anointed One. God knew beforehand men and women would reject his salvation plan through his Son, Jesus Christ. Now, this prayer beseeches God to reveal himself to a dark world through his servants. Give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (29-30). This was exactly what God did, even Peter’s shadow healed people. After such a powerful and explicit prayer, honoring God and stating the truth of life, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 4:31 NLT) God exalted his servants by filling them once more to the brim with the Holy Spirit. They went away from that meeting place with renewed boldness to speak of Christ everywhere. Later, we see Stephen full of boldness and the likeness of the Spirit, willing to give his life for the cause of the Good News, for The Way to be right with a perfect and eternal God, the creator of all life. May we all follow The Way with the courage of Stephen. Amen!
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