“Stephen’s Witness”

Acts 6:1-7:2a, 44-60

(sermon note:

¹But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

² So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵ Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). ⁶ These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.⁷ So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁸ Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. ⁹ But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. ¹⁰ None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

¹¹ So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” ¹² This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

¹³ The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. ¹⁴ We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. ^7:1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” ² This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran.

⁴⁴ “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. ⁴⁵ Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

⁴⁶ “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was Solomon who actually built it. ⁴⁸ However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says, ⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the Lord. ‘Could you build me such a resting place? ⁵⁰Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’ ⁵¹ “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! ⁵² Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. ⁵³ You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.” ⁵⁴ The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.  ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ⁵⁶ And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” ⁵⁷ Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him ⁵⁸ and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a man who was fishing by the side of a lake one day. The game warden was out walking and checking permits. He noticed the man’s bucket was full of fish, so he asked him, “You don’t happen to have a permit for all those fish, do ya?” The man eagerly responded, “Oh no, these are all my pet fish.” The warden gave him a cock-eyed look. “Your pet fish, eh? Why would you bring your pet fish out to the lake?” “Well, every night I take all my pet fish for a walk to the lake. I let them swim for about a half hour and then I whistle, and they all come back and jump in my bucket, and we go home. We do this every night.” “Well, that’s just a crock of lies!!” said the warden. “No, no, let me show you!” the man exclaimed. “Well, I gotta see it,” the warden sighed with his arms crossed. The man took the bucket over to the water and gently tipped it over for the fish to swim into the lake. Five minutes later, the warden grumbled, “Well??” “Well, what?” replied the man. “The fish! Where are your pet fish?!” To which the man responded with a grin on his face, “What fish?”

It appears that man had more than a full bucket of fish at the start of his encounter with the game warden. He had a head full of wits and ingenuity too! And I don’t imagine that game warden was all that appreciative of it either. We don’t hear the rest of the encounter, but I suspect it didn’t end well, probably involving a hefty fine. Just as things didn’t end all too well for our friends, Stephen, in today’s reading. He, too, was full of something that got him into a whole lotta trouble…cost him his life, in fact. Initially we heard how the twelve disciples were impressed by how Stephen was “a man full of God’s grace and power” as they were choosing essentially the first deacons. He stood out among the seven men chosen for the role, so much so that he drew attention from fellow Jews who wanted to argue with him. The arguing was pointless for the Jews, so they decided to lie about Stephen and get him arrested. To prove his innocence, Stephen gave a long confession on the history of God’s chosen people. At no point had he spoken against the holy Temple and the law of Moses as his accusers suggested. He simply had a zeal for God and Jesus, and it naturally enraged his Jewish brethren just as the Jewish leaders had been enraged by Jesus himself. Apparently, Jesus wasn’t done enraging the Jewish community even after his death and resurrection! Stephen took up Jesus’ zeal and continued to incite the Jewish community. He should have stuck to only confessing the history of God’s people. But no, he had to go and incite them at the end of his confession:

“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

Probably not the best way to end a confession and defense for your life! But again, he couldn’t necessarily help himself. He was “a man full of God’s grace and power.”

Now then, how are we to reflect on this? Is it good to be “full of God’s grace and power?” It got both Stephen and Jesus killed. It seems awfully risky to be full of God’s grace and power. Well, I think Stephen allowed God’s power to get the better of him. He had no right to call his Jewish brethren a “stubborn people” who were “forever resisting the Holy Spirit.” They may have “deliberately disobeyed God’s law,” but God’s people have repeatedly disobeyed his law since the very beginning. God’s people have always been a disobedient people and Stephen was no more righteous than anyone else. He had fooled himself into believing otherwise and was consumed with God’s power. Unfortunately, he failed to temper it with the other gift he was full of, the gift of God’s grace. Sometimes I wonder if God allows us to disobey him just so He can bestow grace and forgiveness upon us. Our God loves us so very much and grace and mercy have a powerful way of conveying that deep love. You know the depth of someone’s love by their willingness to share grace and forgiveness. God loves us and wants to share his grace with us! When we realize the full extent of his grace, it’s hard not to share that grace with others. I think Stephen was either too consumed with God’s power or he had simply forgotten God’s grace in his life.

So in answer to the question, is it good to be full of God’s grace and power…of course it is! We are to be fully aware of God’s grace and empowered to share that awareness with others and help them become aware of it too. What a gift to be full of God’s grace and power! What a gift to know that God still loves us despite our persistent disobedience! What a gift to be able to help others come to know of his love! There is no greater love than the love of God! Stephen simply forgot to dwell in God’s love and grace. David, on the other hand, never forgot as we heard in his 16^th psalm, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (vs. 11) The apostle, Paul, also clung to the grace of God in his life. He advises in his letter to the Ephesians, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (3:19)

Stephen may have allowed God’s power to get the better of him, but Jesus never did. Stephen wasn’t Jesus. His words may have echoed the words of Jesus but only Jesus has power over life and death. Jesus willingly gave up his life to conquer sin and death. Stephen’s death was a martyr’s death, and we aren’t encouraged to die the same way. That said, we are encouraged to die to ourselves and live according to Christ as Paul writes in letter to the Galatians, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (2:20) Friends, be full of God’s grace and power and give thanks. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.