The Passion of the Convicted

I love the story of Stephen. He is the first believer to be martyred, or at least the first one that is recorded. He speaks with such passion and knowledge. His love for Jesus is obvious. It’s a story that begins some time before he is brought before the teachers of the law.

He is called on by the church to ensure that everyone is cared for (Acts 6:2-6). He was one of seven who were blessed to do this job. He was mentioned as being full of the Holy Spirit (Oh to have that said of me.). It also says that he was doing signs before the people and that many were being saved.

Of course, the local teachers of the law were not happy about it. They began to argue with him, but because Stephen was so full of the Spirit he outwitted them. So, as they did with Jesus, they gathered false witnesses and had him brought before the Sanhedrin. He was accused of blasphemy, as was Jesus. No doubt many who were at Christ’s trial were there listening to this man who followed Jesus despite him being dead, or so they hoped. Still, Acts says that they could all see that Stephen appeared to them like an angel. Without diving into it, we can at least extrapolate that his appearance was changed. STILL, they did not believe. Instead, they ask him what he has to say against the charges brought against him.

This alone leaves me in awe. How often has the church rejected what God has clearly done and ignored the visual evidence of the Spirit? We have rejected movements that brought about revival. We have rejected change in the church even to the extent of not wanting to translate the bible for common people to read. We have put people to death for furthering the cause of Christ, and still the church at large maintained that it worshiped the God of heaven.

I call that out as a lie! Much of what the church has taught and lead others to believe has been nothing but a power grab for those at the top. It spits in the face of what Jesus himself taught, that those who are humble and serve all are the greatest in heaven. Giving to the poor is not enough to satisfy God’s calling for us, though it may be enough to satisfy some people’s guilt in the area of greed. He called us to feed, clothe, and house one another. We are passive when we should be passionate. We are silent when we should shout. We are careless when we should care the most. We speak too much and listen to God too little. We seek council from those who are just as blind as we are! I’m sorry but we don’t look like Stephen, we don’t look like the disciples. No, we look more like the Sanhedrin.

So, Stephen answers them. He begins by going over the history of the Jews. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the prophets. Then he comes to Jesus. “You stiff necked people!” He says (Acts 7:51). He points out that their ancestors, even meaning the people that think like them and act like them, killed the prophets who foretold of Christ’s coming. And they themselves, the men standing before him, had killed the promised Son of God.

Oh! That one had to hurt! In fact it made them so mad that they started shouting. But was Stephen done? No. God showed him a beautiful vision of Christ in heaven standing next to the Father! I love this. Stephen speaks out boldly to those who killed Jesus and is rewarded with a vision more exquisite than I think we can imagine.

This doesn’t please his accusers. No instead of listening, they drag him out of the city and begin to stone him. But still Stephen, a true believer, filled with the Holy Spirit, and example to us all, doesn’t stop there. He keeps going. He doesn’t cry for help. He doesn’t accuse them. He prays, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Before his accusers, he declares Jesus as Lord. He acknowledges his death accepts it and asks to be taken home. And, to top it all off just as his predecessor, the one he was willing to follow unto death, he asks that the sins of his murders not be held against them. That is twice these men have committed murder of a loved one of God’s and have been asked to be pardoned.

The vision of Stephen kneeling there in the outskirts of Jerusalem as he is being killed brings tears to my eyes. Church, how can we not want to be like this man? Who is our example? He believed fiercely, lived lovingly, and died fearlessly.

Yet, the church is not like him. The church, as I said before, looks a lot like those who murdered him. We may not take people out and stone them anymore, but we certainly don’t welcome them. It makes us uncomfortable. Well, why do the things of God make us uncomfortable? What are we missing? We are so busy bashing, condemning, and arguing with none believers that we have lost sight of our own short comings. We have slipped into a comfortable place where we are in charge of everything and leave no room for God to work in our lives, let alone in the place that we claim is his house! We welcome him in our worship but dismiss him with our living. We are no different than those that God accused of praising with their tongues but their hearts were far from him (Isaiah 29:13). These are the same people that murdered the prophets. The same that both Jesus and Stephen point out as being ancestors and in likeness with those that killed them (Luke 11:47, Acts 7:51-52).

Have we learned nothing? Are we still looking to be led by the law and not by the Spirit? When will we decide to seek His kingdom instead of our own? Brothers and sisters, we need to get on board with God. We need to follow the word not just read it. We need to seek God’s presence not just claim that he is with us. Wake up. He is returning. Don’t be asleep. Don’t miss him because you were so busy trying to be “good” or “righteous” according to your own standards.

I would rather live and die as Stephen did than to live well as a teacher of the law and lose everything before Christ.

Maybe more accurate than we would like to think