The Arrest of Stephen
*There was a technical glitch in recording this sermon so the audio is not available. Below is the sermon transcript.
This sermon got an initial push from Ray Cortese, John Piper, and Todd Pruitt. Their ideas gave me some great catalyst, and I want to give them proper attribution and thanks.
We’ve been working our way through the book of Acts, the continuing story of the ministry of Jesus written by Luke to Theophilus. The story began with the Gospel of Luke - the story of Jesus’ life and ministry and crucifixion and resurrection. The book of Acts picks up right there, with this small band of believers in Jerusalem. But then, spoiler alert - it ends with the Gospel spreading across the known world, with thousands of believers and dozens of churches established.
How did that happen? How did we go from this one little sect in a rather unimportant and outlying city - to then see a global movement with thousands of converts from many nations, making inroads in the capital of the Roman Empire?
This passage is one of the great turning points. So far in our study we’ve seen how the church has been growing and developing with literally thousands being added at certain points. But maybe you’ve noticed that all of this has been happening within one city: Jerusalem. Jesus was crucified here, all of his Apostles were here. Every day they were going into the temple teaching and preaching - and the number of believers are growing, but it’s all contained within the community of Jerusalem. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we’ll see how that changes; and it doesn’t come by the choice of the Apostles.
But we’ll see this week - in the ministry of Stephen - how God has already been laying the groundwork, the foundation for the church to be ready and able to leave the incubator of Jerusalem and go out into Judea and Samaria and all of the world. And the key for success in this transition is seen in 3 particular renewals:
A renewed Mission; A renewed Message, A renewed Messenger
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
A renewed Mission
At first glance, this story looks rather similar to the stories we’ve seen already in the book of Acts. This is not the first time that the followers of Jesus have been opposed and arrested for teaching in the synagogues. We’ve seen that twice now already just in these early chapters. The fact that faithful proclamation of Jesus would be met with opposition and suffering is already established, and that theme continues here. Yet there are important ways that this story shows a development. We see some interesting details here in this passage that are different from what we’ve seen thus far in the book of Acts.
First: We saw last week that the Priests were beginning to believe in the Gospel message. It was no longer just commoners that were believing the Apostle’s message of Jesus as the Christ. This expanded audience would present a more urgent issue for the opponents of the early church. If the Apostle’s teaching about Jesus kept growing, and was now convincing even the Priests, then what would stop this new religion from taking the place of prominence among the people?
Second: it’s not just the Apostles teaching anymore. Here in this passage, we see Stephen also is speaking and proclaiming Christ - and that testimony is being confirmed by wonders and signs of the Spirit. Stephen was introduced last week, and was one of the first deacons in the church. The deacons were ordained and commissioned to serve the church particularly after the Hellenistic widows were being neglected in the distribution of resources. Now Stephen appears again, not just serving in mercy ministry, but also teaching in the synagogues. This is crucial, because Stephen was a Hellenist, he was Greek-speaking.
This gave Stephen the opportunity to teach and interact with a new audience. That’s the third development we see here: Where the Apostles were teaching in the Temple and the Hebrew synagogues, and meeting opposition there - Stephen’s audience was different.
V 9 - the synagogue of the Freedmen, the Cyrenians, and the Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia.
The freedmen were former slaves, Hellenists themselves. Cyrene is in modern day Libya, Alexandria in modern Egypt, Cilicia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, and Asia at that time wouldn’t have meant China, but Asia Minor - or another area of modern Turkey. These were people, like Stephen, who were Greek-speaking Jews, with particular differences in language and culture and practices.
The point is that the Gospel message is going to new people, new communities with diverse backgrounds. It was no longer just a sect within the Hebrew-speaking Jews, an internal problem for the Jerusalem officials. It is now spreading to international communities with different languages and customs.
This is a renewal, not something completely new. We saw it earlier in Acts 2, as the early believers began to speak the praise of God in different languages. We saw it in the last words of Jesus before His ascension, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The mission of the people of God has never changed.
This should sound very familiar from our previous study from Genesis. This is a fulfillment of that first promise given to Abraham: you will be a great nation, and through you all the nations will be blessed.
This mission has always been the same - for the glory of God to be multiplied in all the earth through His redeemed people made in His image.
This must be our mission as well. And this is a great time for us to renew our commitment to that mission. To know and offer the power of hope in Jesus.
Just like the community of Jesus followers in Acts 6 were heading into a major transition, we are a church in transition. We’ve left one meeting place, and we’ve purchased property and are going through the process of approval to build. It would be easy for us as a church to get distracted in the midst of setting up and tearing down and wanting to establish a permanent campus - to lose sight of why we’re doing this: Where we came from and where we are going.
We were planted by Redeemer PCA in Raleigh with a desire to see churches multiplied in our area. Not just churches as meeting places, but a local community where the Gospel is preached and people are gathered and matured in the knowledge of the Scriptures and God is glorified. And by God’s grace we are established, and we’ve weathered hard storms, and we’ve been faithful to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to our community for 20 years.
And throughout that time, our mission has been the same. It’s right there in our name: to know and to offer the hope of Christ to our neighbors and to the world.
But you know what? There are still more people coming to this area. Drive around and you’re sure to see whole neighborhoods with dozens of homes that weren’t there 4 years ago. And you know what I always think when I see those developments?
Where are those people going to go to church? Where are they going to hear the Good News of the Hope of Jesus? Where are they going to be encouraged to live for His glory and His kingdom and not the worthless things of this world? Where are they going to go when the sufferings and trials of this life come against them?
That’s why we’ve been praying and continue to pray, not just that we would be established in a permanent campus, but that we would be honored to raise up and send out church planters into the growing communities of Rolesville and Youngsville and Franklinton and beyond. Just like Stephen was sent out to the Hellenist communities of Jerusalem, we want to see the hope of the Gospel proclaimed in each of these communities around us. We don’t want to build a big building, we want to plant many churches - local Gospel communities - where people are known and seen and the hope of Christ can be proclaimed to them in particular terms and they can be encouraged in Godliness in their personal needs and trials.
But I hope you also recognized the particular role that Stephen as an individual played in this.
Two ways that this is important and applicable: 1) Stephen didn’t see his role stopping just in organizing the distribution of resources. He was ordained and engaged as a deacon, but he was also attentive to the opportunities God gave beyond that. Stephen didn’t say - I’ve got this one job, the witnessing and proclamation of Jesus, that’s someone else’s job. This is crucial because:
2) Stephen was himself a Hellenist, a Greek-speaking Jew, and he used that as an opportunity to begin teaching about Jesus in places where the Hebrew and Aramaic-speaking Apostles had not. This was HIS community, HIS culture and people. He knew them: their concerns, their objections to the message, and was able to answer them in wisdom and power.
This brings us to a particular question for each one of us: what are the unique places of opportunity that God may be opening to you? How has God particularly shaped you - in your interests, abilities, your job, your stage of life, where you live - that may give you an opportunity to share the hope of Jesus?
I love how Micheal Ovack put it when we were talking about this passage earlier this week: No one is a neighbor to my neighbor but me. No one else here is a neighbor to my neighbor but me. So how might God use you in those unique places - on the ballfield, in the office, at school, in those places we frequent each day?
The teaching ministry of Stephen shows a renewal of mission in the church: to proclaim the hope of Jesus to all the world. This mission-clarity would enable the church to take advantage of the transition that was coming. And that quickly brings us to the second renewal
A Renewed Message
The mission of the church is intimately tied to its message. The mission of the church is to spread the message of Jesus. And we see the importance of the message clearly here in our passage:
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue … rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
The issue at hand was not the wonders and signs that Stephen was doing - but the message that he was teaching. The people of the synagogue disputed with Stephen, and his response was to answer them with wisdom.
And yet, rather than face the truth and wisdom of Stephen’s proclamation of Jesus, these Hellenistic Jews instead have him arrested and brought up on trial before the Jewish officials.
11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,
It’s been true since the beginning of the church: If we seek to follow Christ and to share his message, we will experience opposition. Just like Stephen, we will be opposed and will be misunderstood and will be misrepresented.
We can have 2 wrong reactions to this:
The first is to fear conflict and to avoid controversy. To try to explain away every misrepresentation and to think that any conflict must be because we have misstepped into areas that we should not speak.
That would be a mistake. The Gospel rightly presented will always be the aroma of life to some and the aroma of death to others. It’s not a failure of the presentation for some to reject it. Of course, we should always seek to make sure we are presenting the Gospel in a clear way, in a way that does not bring unnecessary confusion or offense. But it’s always going to be offensive to tell someone that they are a sinner guilty before a holy God, without hope apart from Christ. Even Jesus ended his interaction with the Rich Young Ruler to have that man walk away sad and apparently unconverted. So we cannot let the fear of conflict push us into silence and inactivity.
But there’s also the opposite danger: There are also Christians who go the route of controversy-hunting. We’ve experienced the hostility of the world, and we decide to camp there. Anything the world says or does, we feel like we have to have our own hot-take on it. And the danger is that we become known for these ephemeral, momentary flashes in the news-cycle instead of the changeless hope of Jesus. Which is not to say that there isn’t a place for Christians to think Biblically about everything from Crypto-currency or sportsmanship in the Olympics or any manner of other topics, but that’s not our central message - the one message we’ve been tasked as our mission.
So what is our message? What was Stephen’s message?
We’ll take a fuller look at his sermon next week, but we get a hint of what Stephen had been teaching and debating in the synagogues through the testimony that was brought against him. Take a look:
“We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” “this man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
So - the only way that this testimony would have any traction is if there was some measure of truth in it. Stephen’s accusers were putting a false spin on his teaching, but it would only work if Stephen had been talking about the Law of Moses, and the Temple, and Jesus.
And, just as a note, but did you notice a huge irony here? These accusers say that Stephen was calling for a “change of the customs that Moses delivered to us.” What is the main thing that most of us think of as what Moses delivered to the people of God? The 10 Commandments! And - pop quiz - of the 10 commandments, what is the 9th commandment? Thou shalt not bear false witness. SO…apparently they didn’t really care about keeping the customs that Moses delivered to the people. I just love ironies like that.
Yet these charges do look familiar. It actually sounds very similar to a charge from another trial - Jesus’ trial in Mark 14 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’”
In this case, Jesus HAD said something very similar to that: John 2:19, Jesus said “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
What Jesus’ accusers had missed is that Jesus was not talking about Solomon’s historical temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was talking about the temple of His own body; and his death and resurrection. That was the temple that Jesus said would be broken down and raised again - and it’s very likely that Stephen was making a similar statement.
But why is this important and controversial?
Stephen has been preaching the importance of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. That, as the Christ, Jesus was the fulfullment of the Old Testament sacrificial system. All of the sacrifices in the temple had been pointing to the need for blood atonement - that the only way to cover over our sins and have renewed relationship with God was through a costly, bloody sacrifice. Jesus’ blood was the final payment for all of the sins of His people. There was no need for a continued system of sacrifice for sins, because Jesus has paid for it all with his own death.
This is the message of the atonement – all of our sins can be forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished in His life and death. In all his life, Jesus never sinned, and so was completely blameless. And yet he took the curse of being killed on the cross. This was the curse that we all deserved.
Jesus took our guilt upon Himself and paid its penalty on the cross. And so we have full forgiveness. This is the significance of the resurrection: it vindicated that Jesus’ death had been effective and accepted by God. Jesus’ rising to life confirmed that God accepted the death of Jesus as our substitute.
This is the central message of the Church of Jesus Christ, and it remains the same. As we read earlier, it is the power of God unto salvation. It will never be replaced or exceeded.
I’m reminded of Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” This is the center - the foundation and fountain from which all other wisdom and teaching in our church must originate. This is what it means for Jesus to be our Hope - to know that all of our sins are hidden in Him and we are completely and fully loved in God because of His righteousness alone, and that same offer is available to any and all who would call on His name.
The Message is not an academic matter, a piece of news that we have to deliver. It is a universe-shaping, life-changing truth that must impact our own hearts.
We see in this passage how it has shaped Stephen himself
And so our final point this morning - the third thing that enabled the church to navigate through this transition time is renewed Messengers.
Notice how this passage ends - 15 And gazing at him (Stephen), all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Let me ask you this: Do stories like this from Stephen tend to inspire or intimidate you?
Really? Do you hear stories like this and think - OK, I can do that! Or do you sometimes feel like the call to carry forward the Gospel mission is for people smarter, younger, more talented than you?
I mean, look at how Stephen is presented in Scripture. He is introduced as a part of the group of deacons who must be “full of the Spirit and of wisdom,” and even among those men, Stephen is singled out as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” In our passage today, he is described as “full of grace and power”, courageously answering everyone in the synagogue with a wisdom and Spirit that his detractors could not withstand – all with no errors that they could legitimately use to attack him. And then, in the next chapter, we’ll see that Stephen goes from here to preach the longest sermon recorded in the New Testament. It’s a powerhouse.
And – to top it off – he looks like an Angel. Of course he does, right?
And sometimes when I read stories like that, it just leaves me intimidated. Like I’ve been asked to sing after Luciano Pavoratti. That guy’s a vocal superman - just let him sing again. I can’t carry a tune compared to that kind of immense talent.
But, I want to encourage you, there’s something more here. There’s particular hope for any of us who feel intimidated and out-classed by saints like Stephen. And it has to do with this detail that he had the face of an Angel.
When have we heard something like this before? Listen to this from Ex 34
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. And so Moses put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him."
When Moses would go in to meet with the Lord, he would leave and his face would be shining with glory. This luminescence, this shining, was not something that came from Moses. It wasn’t some beauty that he had, or the successful end of a specialized skin-care regiment.
This glory was a direct result of being in the presence of the Lord, – because he had been talking with God. Moses was spending time in intentional back-and-forth, hearing from God and speaking with the creator and sustainer of all things. And that encounter left him changed. Deeply changed, physically different. And it wasn’t just an internal peaceful feeling that Moses had - it was an evident, visible difference that was observed by the people around Moses.
And this is just the same kind of evident, visible difference that the council observed in Stephen. Even as they were opposing him, they observed that there was something gloriously unique and beautiful, and that difference came only from dwelling in the presence of God.
You might be thinking - that’s great for Moses, and great for Stephen, but how does that help me? Well, the Apostle Paul picks up on this same theme in 2 Corinthians 3, and says that this beauty, this glory, is available to all who trust in the Lord.
16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
What Paul is saying here is that this same glory, this same beauty from the Spirit that Moses experienced, that was evident on the face of Stephen before the council, is something that is available to all who turn to the Lord, who have experienced the atoning work of Jesus.
And it’s not a one-time thing. It’s not immediate. Listen again to verse 18 - “we all, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” It’s a progressive thing. As we dwell with the Lord, as we behold His glory and His goodness, he makes us more and more into the glorious image of Christ.
So if you’re discouraged, press on. Notice this: Sometimes the beauty of Christ isn’t something that we see in ourselves, but it’s something that others see in us. It’s a change that is so progressive and gradual that we don’t notice it, but others will see it happening in us. Like Moses and Stephen, the glory of God was something that others saw as something unique and different, but it wasn’t something that they themselves necessarily knew was happening.
Let’s close by getting practical. How does that happen? How do we behold the glory of God?
It happens in intentional times of prayer, of study of God’s Holy Word. Like how Moses took time away to meet with and talk with the Lord, we need to set aside times to read the Scriptures, to pray, to worship Him. That’s why we have these family worship guides printed, and why we reprint that same information in the bulletin each week. We want you to make this a priority in your life, in your home, in your family interactions. We encourage you to memorize the Scriptures so that you can keep HIs truth, His promises, His righteous will, His hope in the forefront of your mind.
And it happens right here and now. It happens as we gather in the name of the Lord, to sing His praises, to confess our sins and receive His pardon in Christ. It happens as we pray together and hear from His word, and as we gather at the table. This is the glory of God on display, and as we behold Him here, He changes us to reflect that same glory to the world.
So let’s go to the table now…
This sacrament is more than just a remembrance of Jesus’ death for us. It is certainly that. In this we proclaim Jesus’ death until He comes again. The bread reminds us of His sinless body broken for us, that we might be clothed in His righteousness. The wine reminds us that His blood was poured out to cleanse us from all of our sins.
But it is MORE than just that. It is also a meal, a family table where Jesus comes and meets with us. He has set a place for you, a chair and plate and napkin. He is present here, by His Spirit, and He reveals His glory that we might touch and taste and see and behold – that we would be filled and changed. That we would be transformed from one degree of glory to another.
It is a powerful tool of His grace, and so it’s important that we take it seriously. And so this is a celebration open to all who are trusting in Jesus by faith, who have followed Him in obedience by joining with a Gospel-proclaiming church, and are walking in earnest peace with your brothers and sisters. That offer goes to those who are a part of our local body, and to any who are visiting. But if that’s not you, if you don’t yet know the mercy of Christ, if you are under discipline of a church, or if you are not seeking unity with fellow Christians, then we would encourage you to not partake, but instead to use this time to pray, and to come and talk with me or any of the elders or officers of the church, and we would love to tell you more about the transforming grace and hope of Christ.
So let’s pray, taking some time in silence first and then we will pray together the Lord’s Prayer.
That the Lord Jesus Christ on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, gave it to His disciples, as I, ministering in His name, give this bread to you, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
In the same manner, He also took the cup, and having given thanks as has been done in His name, He gave it to the disciples, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Drink from it, all of you."