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Chapter 36
Death of Stephen
STEPHEN was very active in the cause of God and declared his faith boldly. "Then
there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and
Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake." These
students of the great rabbis had felt confident that in a public discussion they could
obtain a complete victory over Stephen, because of his supposed ignorance. But he not only
spoke with the power of the Holy Ghost, but it was plain to all the vast assembly that he
was also a student of the prophecies and learned in all matters of the law. He ably
defended the truths he advocated, and utterly defeated his opponents.
The priests and rulers who witnessed the wonderful manifestation of the power that
attended the ministration of Stephen were filled with bitter hatred. Instead of yielding
to the weight of evidence he presented, they determined to silence his voice by putting
him to death.
They therefore seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin council for trial.
Learned Jews from the surrounding countries were summoned for the purpose of refuting the
arguments of the accused. Saul, who had distinguished himself as a zealous opponent of the
doctrine of Christ, and a persecutor of all who believed on Him, was also present. This
learned man took a leading part against Stephen. He brought the weight of eloquence and
the logic of the rabbis to bear upon the case, and convince the people that Stephen was
preaching delusive and dangerous doctrines.
But Saul met in Stephen one as highly educated as himself, and one who had a full
understanding of the purpose of God in the spreading of the gospel to other nations. He
believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and was fully established in regard to
the privileges of the Jews; but his faith was broad, and he knew the time had come when
the true believers should worship not alone in temples made with hands; but, throughout
the world, men might worship God in Spirit and in truth. The veil had dropped from the
eyes of Stephen, and he discerned to the end of that which was abolished by the death of
Christ.
The priests and rulers prevailed nothing against his clear, calm wisdom, though they were
vehement in their opposition. They determined to make an example of Stephen and, while
they thus satisfied their revengeful hatred, prevent others, through fear, from adopting
his belief. Charges were preferred against him in a most imposing manner. False witnesses
were hired to testify that they had heard him speak blasphemous words against the temple
and the law. Said they, "For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall
destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us."
As Stephen stood face to face with his judges, to answer to the crime of blasphemy, a holy
radiance shone upon his countenance. "And all that sat in the council, looking
stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." Many who beheld
the lighted countenance of Stephen trembled and veiled their faces, but stubborn unbelief
and prejudice never faltered.
Stephen's Defense
Stephen was questioned as to the truth of the charges against him, and took up his defense
in a clear, thrilling voice that rang through the council hall. He proceeded to rehearse
the history of the chosen people of God in words that held the assembly spellbound. He
showed a thorough knowledge of the Jewish economy, and the spiritual interpretation of it
now made manifest through Christ. He began with Abraham and traced down through history
from generation to generation, going through all the national records of Israel to
Solomon, taking up the most impressive points to vindicate his cause.
He made plain his own loyalty to God and to the Jewish faith, while he showed that the law
in which they trusted for salvation had not been able to preserve Israel from idolatry. He
connected Jesus Christ with all the Jewish history. He referred to the building of the
temple by Solomon, and to the words of both Solomon and Isaiah: "Howbeit the Most
High dwelleth not in temples made with hands." "Heaven is My throne, and earth
is My footstool: what house will ye build Me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of My
rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" The place of God's highest worship was
in heaven.
When Stephen had reached this point, there was a tumult among the people. The prisoner
read his fate in the countenances before him. He perceived the resistance that met his
words, which were spoken at the dictation of the Holy Ghost. He knew that he was giving
his last testimony. Few who read this address of Stephen properly appreciate it. The
occasion, the time and place, should be borne in mind to make his words convey their full
significance.
When he connected Jesus Christ with the prophecies and spoke of the temple as he did, the
priest, affecting to be horror stricken, rent his robe. This act was to Stephen a signal
that his voice would soon be silenced forever. Although he was just in the midst of his
sermon, he abruptly concluded it by suddenly breaking away from the chain of history, and,
turning upon his infuriated judges, said, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart
and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the
prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of
the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have
received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it."
A Martyr's Death
At this priests and rulers were beside themselves with anger. They were more like wild
beasts of prey than like human beings. They rushed upon Stephen, gnashing their teeth. But
he was not intimidated; he had expected this. His face was calm, and shone with an angelic
light. The infuriated priests and the excited mob had no terrors for him. "But 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, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."
The scene about him faded from his vision; the gates of heaven were ajar, and Stephen,
looking in, saw the glory of the courts of God, and Christ, as if just risen from His
throne, standing ready to sustain His servant, who was about to suffer martyrdom for His
name. When Stephen proclaimed the glorious scene opened before him, it was more than his
persecutors could endure. They stopped their ears, that they might not hear his words,
and, uttering loud cries, ran furiously upon him with one accord. "And they stoned
Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And 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."
Amid the agonies of this most cruel death the faithful martyr, like his divine Master,
prayed for his murderers. The witnesses who had accused Stephen were required to cast the
first stones. These persons laid down their clothes at the feet of Saul, who had taken an
active part in the disputation and had consented to the prisoner's death.
The martyrdom of Stephen made a deep impression upon all who witnessed it. It was a sore
trial to the church, but resulted in the conversion of Saul. The faith, constancy, and
glorification of the martyr could not be effaced from his memory. The signet of God upon
his face, his words, that reached to the very soul of all who heard them, except those who
were hardened by resisting the light, remained in the memory of the beholders, and
testified to the truth of that which he had proclaimed.
There had been no legal sentence passed upon Stephen, but the Roman authorities were
bribed by large sums of money to make no investigation of the case. Saul seemed to be
imbued with a frenzied zeal at the scene of Stephen's trial and death. He seemed to be
angered at his own secret convictions that Stephen was honored of God at the very period
when he was dishonored of men.
He continued to persecute the church of God, hunting them down, seizing them in their
houses, and delivering them up to the priests and rulers for imprisonment and death. His
zeal in carrying forward the persecution was a terror to the Christians in Jerusalem. The
Roman authorities made no special effort to stay the cruel work, and secretly aided the
Jews in order to conciliate them and secure their favor.
The learned Saul was a mighty instrument in the hands of Satan to carry out his rebellion
against the Son of God; but a mightier than Satan had selected Saul to take the place of
the martyred Stephen, and to labor and suffer for His name. Saul was a man of much esteem
among the Jews, for both his learning and his zeal in persecuting the believers. He was
not a member of the Sanhedrin council until after the death of Stephen, when he was
elected to that body in consideration of the part he had acted on that occasion.
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