The Acts of the Apostles 24

Subtitle: The Arrest of Stephen

Acts 6:8-15.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 20, 2022.

Stephen is one of the first deacons for the Jerusalem Church.  He helps to care for the widows who have no family and means of care.

Yet, it is clear in our story that Stephen has a passion that goes beyond taking care of widows.  He also wants to let his fellow Judeans know about Jesus the Messiah.

Let’s get into this passage.

Stephen’s ministry is resisted vs. 8-15

Stephen was listed first in Luke’s list of the seven overseers of the ministry to widows.  His name is a Greek name that means “crown.”  This is very appropriate since Stephen surely won a crown as Jesus promised in Revelation 2:10. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”  (NKJV).  At the end of chapter 7, Stephen will gain the title of the first Christian martyr, at least that we know of in the New Testament.

His name is typically vocalized as “Steven” in these United States, but the name would have been sad with an f-sound in the middle, Ste’-fan-os.  It is very common for historical names from the East to be Latinized.  Remember that these are Aramaic/Hebrew speaking people using the Greek language as a vehicle, that is then translated into Latin before moving further West into the English language.  Just a little research online will demonstrate that Eastern history records the names differently than here in the West.

Stephen clearly has a passion for doing more than feeding widows, as I said earlier.  He begins to powerfully minister in Jerusalem, but resistance develops quickly.  No doubt, if he had limited himself to just feeding widows, there would have been little resistance.  Yet, Stephen speaks out publicly about Jesus and this causes a stir.

There are already some descriptions of Stephen before we get to our passage.  We are told in verse 3 that Stephen would fit the description of being a man “of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.”  This is stated again in verse 5, so it is no surprise in verse 8 when it says he is full of faith and power.

Some versions have “grace and power, but that is not a big problem.  The grace of God is not activated except by faith in Him (see Ephesians 2:8,9).  Stephen had both the grace of God and faith in Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit also worked powerfully through Stephen.  We are told that he did great wonders and signs.  None of these signs and wonders are detailed, but the adjective “great” speaks for itself.  Of course, Luke gives us plenty examples of the apostles doing such.  Though Stephen was operating powerfully like the apostles were, there is no mention of him preaching in the temple. 

There is no room for ego in God’s church.  There is no contest for who has the most power of God, not to mention that we would not be the best judges of what is the most powerful work of God.  Would that all God’s people would be operating in great wonders and signs.  Yet, there are seasons in the work of God.  My job is to be so full of the Holy Spirit and faith that He can do through me whatever He wants.

Stephen draws the attention of a particular synagogue.  Jerusalem had many synagogues.  The Synagogue of the Freedmen is most likely a group of Jews who had been Roman slaves, and then had been emancipated, or manumitted.  This happened from time to time, but great number of Jews received freedom from Pompey in the first century BC.

Cyrene is on the coast of North Africa in modern day Libya.  Of course, Alexandria was on the coast of Egypt west of the Nile Delta.  Cilicia was a province in Southeast Turkey, which has the city Tarsus in it.  The Asia here is the province of Asia in Western Turkey on the coast towards Greece.  The cities of Revelation 2 and 3 are in this province.

These men began to dispute with Stephen, no doubt in public.  However, they were unable to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.  Notice that it is not “his wisdom and spirit.”  Stephen clearly spoke by the wisdom of Jesus and with the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is important for believers to rely upon the wisdom of God’s word and the help of His Holy Spirit.  Without these, we are doing the same thing as the world and will have varying results, all natural.

Since they are unable to stand against him publicly, they stir up the people and leaders to arrest him.  In debates, the term ad hominum is used to refer to an attack against or to the person, or human, that you are debating.  It is a common deflection to attack the person when you are unable to disprove their point.  The extreme form of this is to become physical and to use whatever power one can to make a person retreat from their argument.  These men secretly induced some to twist Stephen’s words to be blasphemous against Moses and God (more on this later).  Stephen would have slipped under the radar if they had not brought attention to him, being how the apostle’s ministry was so public and the focus of the elders.

A large group seizes, or arrests, Stephen and take him before the Sanhedrin to lay charges against him.  At this point, we should point out that it is important to know that Stephen most likely does not know where this is all headed.  He is simply being faithful to Jesus and the Gospel.  He just cares about his people and has great faith.

It is interesting that God clearly protects the apostles at this point.  All twelve of them have just been released even though the council wanted to put them to death.  Yet, at the same time, God is going to allow Stephen to be martyred.  We do not always understand why God protects one and not another. We could even ask if those who are allowed to be martyred are more blessed than those who are not.  Regardless, this question really has no solution other than that God’s wisdom is above ours.  He displays His power in some through deliverance, and His power in others through their martyrdom.  They are simply two very different witnesses that are both important.

Stephen is falsely accused of blasphemy.  They say that he is speaking blasphemous words against the holy place and the Law (of Moses).  The main blasphemous statement they hone in on is this, “Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 

We can recognize parts of the Gospel in both charges.   As the Messiah, Jesus has been given authority over heaven and earth.  Jesus had made it clear that Jerusalem would be completely torn apart by the Romans after his rejection.  To be fair, this is clearly represented as a judgment from God for rejecting His Anointed King.  This is nothing more than almost every prophet in the Old Testament had stated.  Thus, it cannot be blasphemy.  Similarly, Jesus had fulfilled the Law of Moses, and was leading Israel out from under its yoke into the law of the Spirit, of life in Christ Jesus.  Therefore, many of the customs of food, offerings, and sacrifice for sin would no longer be effective.  What is blasphemous about these?  Jeremiah spoke about a day when God would create a New Covenant with Israel (Jeremiah 31).  Stephen was not speaking against any of these things.  He was speaking for God and His Anointed Prophet-King.

The last verse tells us that Stephen looks like an angel before the council.  Some commentators believe that there was something visible upon Stephen, such as a glow.  We do see that angels, and heavenly beings, are sometimes described in terms that emphasize glowing, or bright light.  At the very least, there is a powerful peace and composure upon the countenance of Stephen that could be described as not of this world.  He does not look like a man who is facing excommunication, or even execution.  He has the look of an angel, which most likely infuriated his opponents.

What is my composure and demeanor in the face of the anger and incivility of this world?  How do I respond when people employ under-handed tactics against me, and twist my words?  Stephen was a man full of the grace of God.  He had great faith in Jesus, the Gospel, and that he was doing God’s will.  Like his master, we will not see him lashing out at his accusers and yelling at them.  Instead, we will see him speak the truth in love, though it cost him his life.  Stephen would follow his master in laying down his life in order to wake them up to the great sin they were committing.  May God help us to follow the Holy Spirit with great faith, no matter where it may take us.  He is worthy of every sacrifice that we make in His name!

Arrest audio