Acts 7: 55But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 8: 1And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Let’s refresh our minds on Stephen’s life. What a role model! He was one of the first seven deacons of the first New Testament church at Jerusalem. He was slammed with accusations because of the gospel. He was put on trial. The religious leaders were vehemently against him. Luke said during the ordeal of his last day that his face shined like an angel. He saw the very Jesus they hated.
His story holds many gifts for us. Because of Stephen’s story we know there is a heaven. He saw it and relayed it to the crowd. Because of Stephen we know there is a God who sits on the throne. Satan is not on any throne in heaven. Because of Stephen we know Jesus is alive. He saw the very one the Jews had crucified. They refused to believe he rose from the dead, but Stephen saw him and told the people about it. He saw Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand. We have a Savior who ascended on high, a High Priest who gives us the means to boldly approach the throne of God. We can safely believe what Stephen saw. Jesus reached out to help Stephen, and he’ll do the same for us. His testimony was not in vain. We know that if we put our trust in Jesus, we will get to heaven. We’ll know the reality of it all.
These are wonderful things, but perhaps the best thing he gave us is not an object or a possession. It’s a person. He gave us Saul—the man who became the Apostle Paul. Saul was part of the crowd that day. He didn’t throw any stones, but 8:1 says “Saul was consenting unto his death.” He held the coats of the ones who stoned Stephen to death. Saul was dead set against the church. Even after Stephen’s death, he went into houses and arrested people because they believed in Jesus. He had an extreme hatred for Christianity. He was a religious man and didn’t want his world upset. He thought he knew more than anyone, even God. He made himself enemy #1 of God when he went after the followers of Jesus.
Saul saw Stephen’s face shine like an angel. He heard Stephen say “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Jesus saw Saul in the crowd that day. Later on he would say to him—it’s hard to kick against the pricks. Did you used to get mad at people who talked to you about the Lord? I did.
Why did Saul hate Jesus so much? Why did he hate Christianity? Why did he hate Peter, James, and John? It put him under conviction. Even with his status as a religious leader, he was lost. He was trying to be right with God by his own self-righteousness. Established religion might soothe the conscious a little, but it won’t do a thing for the soul.
Stephen didn’t fight or thrash around. Saul saw him simply fall asleep and die. I’ve often wondered if when Stephen made the statement about not holding this against them if his glance locked with Saul’s. Something pricked Saul. Stephen’s sincerity and forgiving love felt like an iron stake driven into Saul’s heart. This was one of the first times he had been jabbed by the Lord. He experienced the influence of Stephen’s testimony. If he could have gotten past himself, he could have seen what Stephen saw. Saul could walk away from Stephen’s dead body. He could get mad at the gospel. He could do what he wanted to the people. He could not get away from Stephen’s testimony.
Never underestimate the power of your witness. Don’t give up. Just when you think it’s not helping it may come through. Saul would do more for the Lord than Stephen did. Stephen’s testimony blossomed and gave us the writer of most of the New Testament. Paul wrote more about the character of Jesus than Peter. The only writer to match him in writing about Jesus was John. Saul became God’s greatest teacher of truth. Every question from A to Z that we have about salvation and the Lord is answered by Paul. It would be Saul who would give us the teaching of what every experience of Stephen revealed.
Your testimony is more important than you realize. Stephen served the Lord only a short while because he was martyred. He gave his life so this young man named Saul could be pricked in his heart with the spark that would set the world on fire for the Lord. Even the Roman government would say that the apostles, including Paul, were turning the world upside down.
Can you do that? Can I do that? We can with Jesus. We don’t realize who is affected by our witness, or just how powerful our simple witness is. It could be the very ones we think it impossible to be saved. With Jesus all things are possible.
Stephen’s most helpful gift to us was Saul. Because of him we understand more about God. If there was ever a prayer we should pray, it should be “Lord, help me not to give up. Help me to sharpen my witness. Help me look at others as someone you died to save. Help me to do all I can so that I can have a Saul to carry on after I’m gone.”
Stephen’s death was a terrible blow to the early church, but his successor was in the crowd in the ranks of an enemy. He went on to lead the charge as the 13th apostle. Due to Stephen’s testimony, God spoke to Saul. Our greatest workers may yet to be saved. They may be here one day singing and preaching.
Realize the power of your testimony. Never give up-to the death!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 