Did Stephen Want the Jewish Leaders to Stone Him?

Tom: In this our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the Book of Acts 7…we finished with verse 51, here we are with verse 52: “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed 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.” This is Stephen; he’s speaking as an angel, but he’s pretty tough, isn’t he? 

Dave: He is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I would say without a doubt. That’s a lot to consider, Tom. He is going to get killed…

Tom: Yeah.

Dave: …and why couldn’t he be a little bit more diplomatic, save a little to say at another time? And that is the temptation that we have today, you know? I think he’s an example for us, and we need to ponder his example.

Tom: Well, it’s got to be “not by might nor by power,” nor by some kind of idea that I have that may make it a little bit more effective, “but it’s by my Spirit,” says the Lord.

Dave: Very often people say to me, “Wow, you must have a lot of courage to say what you do,” because we do bring a lot of correction. I think it’s biblical; we don’t compromise. And I facetiously say, “Well, it’s not a matter of courage. I don’t have enough sense to know any better.” But I shouldn’t make a comment like that, because it’s not to be taken lightly. We have a responsibility when we take the Bible in our hands. This is God’s Word, and we must speak it forth. If it offends, that’s God’s Word.

Tom: Right. Let not us be the offenders, let the Word strike the heart.

Dave: Right, and Stephen is telling these men the truth. Now, how many of them were indicted in their hearts by that, we don’t know. But we know one of them who was, and he was present and that was Saul, and it will tell us about him.

Tom: Yeah, to become the apostle Paul.

Dave: Right. When he finally is arrested by Jesus, Jesus says, “It’s hard for you to kick against the pricks.” In other words, “Your conscience is being pricked. There is a sword driving through heart. Your conscience that says, ‘They are right and you are wrong; they are right and you are wrong.’” And as we go on in this chapter, it says they are beholding Stephen’s face shining like an angel, but I am getting ahead of it. 

But, Tom, this is something for me and for you to ponder, and I would say it’s something for every preacher of the gospel, everyone who stands up to take the Word of God in their hands and to speak it forth, we need to think about this. We could think of it in terms of - remember the watchman on the wall in the Old Testament. You give them a clear warning; their blood is not on your hands. If you don’t give a clear warning and the enemy comes and destroys them, their blood is on your hands. I would say that Stephen has delivered himself from the blood of these men. He has made it very clear exactly what the situation is, and you remember in Acts 20, Paul says the same thing. He says, “I am free, or clear, from the blood of all men. I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole council of God.” So, Tom, it speaks to my heart.

Tom: Mm-hmm. And, Dave, as we see evangelism being promoted in the church today, it’s sad sometimes, because, although many, I’m sure, are very sincere - they want people to come to the Lord or they want people to be saved - yet their approach many times…not all the time, but many times leaves out the kinds of things that would truly convict a heart. It’s almost like you bring them in, you bait them in, and then you switch - you give them something that they weren’t expecting but it’s still in an upbeat kind of “this is what God has for you” sort of thing…

Dave: Yeah, a wonderful life and so forth, which is true but that’s not how we come to Christ. We come to Christ in our need and as sinners, unworthy, repentant, and looking to Him for our salvation and thanking Him for it, believing in Him.

Tom: And, Dave, if not, then what’s the life change? I’m saying God changes your life, but my point is, unless we come to the end of ourselves and look to Him, how else can you have a commitment to somebody? Do you commit to somebody saying, “Oh, I’m going to commit to that person or to that thing because, man, it’s just going to make my life greater.” Well, if it doesn’t quite - and we’ve heard this before in some individual, “That didn’t quite pan out, didn’t live up to the expectations I had.” That’s not a person who has come to the end of themselves.

Dave: Well, the exhortation is sins forgiven and a home in heaven. Anyway, they have a bad reaction, Tom. They are not going to take this lying down; they are evil men. You could say, “Is Stephen violating what Jesus said?” 

“Don’t cast your pearls before swine,” or what Solomon said: “When you find yourself in the presence of a person who is not going to heed, don’t do it.” Tom, I would have to say Stephen was led of the Holy Spirit to do this, and it’s a lesson for us today. But it certainly wouldn’t have been the right strategy if he was trying to win them over; he wanted them to be convicted of their sin.

Tom: Mm-hmm. Verse 54: “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”

Dave: They’re really angry.

Tom: Mm-hmm. “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”

Dave: They gnash on him with their teeth because they’re cut to the heart, and yet their hearts are not right, and they are not willing to face the truth; they’re not willing to admit their guilt. They’re filled with hatred for him. He is filled with the Holy Ghost, and he’s looking up - amazing experience that he had - and God gives him a glimpse right into heaven. He sees the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, the right hand of the Father, and he tells them this. Wow! This is something worth describing to his accusers. 

He said, v. 56, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” 

So Saul was there present; apparently he didn’t throw any stones. He wasn’t, maybe, in that category of one of the religious leaders, one of the Rabbis, but he is consenting. Well, verse one of the next chapter, Saul was consenting unto his death. In other words, he’s in favor of this.

Tom: But it must have made an impression upon him, don’t you think, as seeds are planted and lives are given?

Dave: Absolutely. Yeah, that’s what I was saying: there is a voice inside of Saul that said, “They’re right, you’re wrong.” He saw the love of Jesus in this man. He saw proof that Christ was alive, had risen from the dead. You get that in the next verse, v. 60: “And he (that is, Stephen) 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.” Well, of course, a picture of death.

Tom: And, of course, Saul went on to persecute the church in major ways.

Dave: But he sees Christ in Stephen, the Christ who, as He hung on the cross, said of his murderers, tormenters, mockers, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And I don’t know how else you could explain it. Stephen wants these men who are stoning him, he wants them to be forgiven; he wants them to have the forgiveness of Christ. And again, we don’t know specifically - the Bible doesn’t tell us - but I wouldn’t be surprised but what we will meet some of these men in heaven (hey’re there already) who stoned Stephen, because they could not get out of their minds, out of their conscience, the face of this man shining like the face of an angel, and he is asking God to forgive them, not to charge them with this sin. And that’s Christ Himself, and I would hope that a number of them came to Christ. Everyone would who was willing.

Tom: Mm-hmm.. Dave, that’s something that the world doesn’t understand about martyrs. You were friends with Jim Elliot, for example, and people would say, “There he is, among these savages, basically, and his life is taken. So what’s the point? How would God use something like that?” But He did, and He does.

Dave: It’s an amazing story, Tom, and it really speaks to my heart. See, this is not a suicide bomber blowing himself up on a bus load of children. The so-called Muslim martyrs are murderers - they’re killing other people. They think that gains their entrance into heaven. Stephen is not killing anyone. There is no hatred in his heart against anyone; he loves them. A Muslim murderer who kills Jews…or in Iraq, they are killing one another. Sunni’s are killing Shiites and Shiites are killing Sunni’s…you don’t hear any of them saying, “Oh, forgive them, they don’t know what they do.” No, they have hatred, venom, vengeance in their hearts. Big difference between the Qur’an and the Bible as the Word of God.