We have here, recorded by Luke, the death of Stephen. The first Christian martyr. Stephen was one of the first seven men chosen to be deacons by the early church. God accomplished a lot through Stephen in a very short period of time. Even though Stephen was a man of great spiritual power he also suffered greatly because of his relationship with Jesus. To put it plain and simple the Jews did not like Stephen. Stephen was running around testifying of Jesus and performing miracles in the name of Jesus and the jews hated him for it. So they decided to call together their best religious minds to debate spiritual matters with Stephen. But they could not overcome his wisdom and knowledge of the things of GOD. Seeing that they could not handle him,
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If found guilty, blasphemy was punishable by death. Death by stoning! That worth mentioning because when we think of a death sentence today we think of lethal injection. But this was far worse than being injected with something and falling asleep. This was violent, painful, and a very lengthy process. Yet Stephen did not recant or renounce Jesus, instead, he preached him all the more. When Stephen was given the opportunity to say something concerning his charges he seized the opportunity; he preached Jesus one last time. He took them on a ride from Genesis and the call of Abraham, all the way to the ministry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He preached with such boldness and conviction that they couldn't stand to hear it. As a matter of fact, v.54 says that his words cut them to the heart. They were brought under such conviction that these dignified, respected religious leaders ran to Stephen and began to b it them with their teeth. How did Stephen react? He told them that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the father and the flew into a rage, dragged him from the city and stoned him to death.
In this sad scene of the death of Stephen there is help for us today. Stephen seems to have passed through a place mentioned in the 23rd psalm of David. Yea as i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Many bible scholars have discussed this valley and have interpreted it many different ways. Some say that it refers to death. While others suggest that it refers to the hard places in life. I'm inclined to believe the second
If found guilty, blasphemy was punishable by death. Death by stoning! That worth mentioning because when we think of a death sentence today we think of lethal injection. But this was far worse than being injected with something and falling asleep. This was violent, painful, and a very lengthy process. Yet Stephen did not recant or renounce Jesus, instead, he preached him all the more. When Stephen was given the opportunity to say something concerning his charges he seized the opportunity; he preached Jesus one last time. He took them on a ride from Genesis and the call of Abraham, all the way to the ministry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He preached with such boldness and conviction that they couldn't stand to hear it. As a matter of fact, v.54 says that his words cut them to the heart. They were brought under such conviction that these dignified, respected religious leaders ran to Stephen and began to b it them with their teeth. How did Stephen react? He told them that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the father and the flew into a rage, dragged him from the city and stoned him to death.
In this sad scene of the death of Stephen there is help for us today. Stephen seems to have passed through a place mentioned in the 23rd psalm of David. Yea as i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Many bible scholars have discussed this valley and have interpreted it many different ways. Some say that it refers to death. While others suggest that it refers to the hard places in life. I'm inclined to believe the second