“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people…”
Stephen, one of the men selected to serve, rose to prominence among the Seven. Not only did he serve faithfully but he also served powerfully as the Holy Spirit worked through him to demonstrate the works of the kingdom of God among them. Signs and wonders…the very things Jesus promised would happen through those who believe…
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:12 NIV
…were multiplying through Stephen…
…and some didn’t like it.
Well…that set the cat among the pigeons! Persecution! Some fanatical Jews from out of town…Hellenistic Jews who would feature big in this story…faced off with Stephen. Problem was…they had no answer for the powerful works of the Holy Spirit.
“Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.”
Acts 6:8-10 NIV
Some people didn’t like what Stephen was doing…so they told him, in no uncertain terms!
Argue…yes, but even arguing with Stephen didn’t work. You see, Stephen had the weapon of truth in his heart, and it came out of his mouth…and truth in the Spirit’s power cannot be defeated!
The arguments were hot and fierce. The trouble was that arguing would never solve the problem. You see, the issue was not about who could win by a better argument. The real issue was a matter of the heart. Those who opposed Stephen had no intention of believing in the one who was doing the miracles through Stephen, or the message to which the signs were pointing. Like their leaders, their hearts were as hard as granite.
So…they did what they did best to discredit Stephen…they lied. They did the devil’s work. Character assassination! If you can’t win the argument fairly, throw stones at your opponent! Of course, they had allies…friends in high places. They falsely accused him of blasphemy…just like those who accused Jesus. They lined up and briefed false witnesses to testify against him. They did everything by the book! Two or three witnesses. They played to the gallery…the religious leaders who were only too willing to fall in with their scheme.
“So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
Acts 6:12-14 NIV
Hearsay is not evidence so, to conform to the law, these hypocrites produced their “witnesses”. This sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it? Only a short while before, Stephen’s Lord had suffered the same treatment…and the same fate…but, his Lord’s promise was to be with him.
As Stephen stood before his accusers, something strange, unusual, unearthly, even scary began to happen…
To be continued
“Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
Acts 6:11-14 NIV
Stephen was arrested and hauled before the Sanhedrin…
To be continued