THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR.
-FEB. 21.-ACTS
6:8-15; 7:54-60.-
“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”-Rev.
2:10.
APPARENTLY Stephen’s
martyrdom occurred not a great while after Pentecost, but the interim had been
a period of considerable progress. At the time of the ascension “about one
hundred and twenty” were reckoned as being in full and deep fellowship in
Christ; ten days later at Pentecost three thousand converts were added; shortly
after five thousand more as recorded in our last lesson; later (Acts 5:14)
“multitudes, both men and women, were added to the Lord;” still later, “the
number of the disciples was multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great
multitude of priests were obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:1-7.) This period of
gathering the ripe wheat and establishing them in the doctrines of Christ was a
very necessary prelude to the period of trial, persecution and suffering which
shortly followed. The persecution, however, was no less a divine mercy than
the previous peace and prosperity: the divine rule for the Gospel Church
evidently is that each member shall be “made perfect through suffering.” The
stoning of Stephen was merely the beginning of the general persecution which in
one form or another has continued ever since, and must continue until the last
members of the body of Christ shall have proven themselves faithful even unto
death and been accounted worthy of the crown of life mentioned in our golden text.
Stephen, it will be remembered, was chosen as one of the assistants of the
apostles and was known as a deacon-minister or servant-the original intention
being that the service should be chiefly with reference to the temporal
interests of the Church. His choice would indicate that he was considered at
the time a man of ability, and that faithfulness to the work entrusted to him
led on to still greater privileges and opportunities for service. Accordingly
we find him in this lesson ministering spiritual things with imbuement of the
spirit and ability closely approaching that of the apostles. He was full of
faith and power, says our common version, and no doubt truly, but the oldest
manuscripts render this “full of grace and power.” Both were true, because
he could not have had the grace and the power without the faith. “This is the
victory which overcometh the world, even your faith.” In Stephen’s case the
faith working by love had produced zeal for the Lord and his cause; and the
faith and zeal blended with the spirit of holiness gave Stephen extraordinary
grace and power, as pointed out in verse 8. And the same combination will
produce like grace and power in all of the Lord’s people in proportion as these
elements of character are found in each.
Tradition has it that Stephen’s ability as a speaker (verses 9,10) brought
him into special prominence and that as a religious logician he met with the
learned men of his time, amongst whom it is said Saul of Tarsus was one. The
Jews, while in a general sense one in religious matters, were nevertheless
broken up into various little cliques and schools of thought, much after the
manner of the denominations of Christendom today. The classes here mentioned as
disputants with Stephen are supposed to have represented the advanced
philosophies of that day, combined with Judaism; but all of their philosophy
could not cope with the wisdom and spirit of the truth which were with
Stephen. Naturally this led wicked hearts to envy, malice and hatred; for
those who are not above all things lovers of the truth are always moved to more
or less hatred when successfully opposed by the truth.
(11-14) Many have supposed that Stephen met his death at the hands of a
mob. But this is incorrect. Those who were his enemies because unable to
resist the force of his arguments had no authority to stone him, nor did they
wish to appear before the people in the light of persecutors of their
opponent. They therefore suborned or procured witnesses outside of their own
cliques to bring charges against Stephen before the Sanhedrin and then while he
was disputing with them the official representatives of the Sanhedrin came upon
him and “caught him” and brought him before the council,-as though caught in
the very act of blasphemy.
At the trial the witnesses testified falsely in the sense that they
misrepresented the words and arguments of Stephen, putting them in a false
light. There was, nevertheless, probably considerable truth in the charge that
Stephen said that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy their city and change the
customs of Moses. Had they confined themselves to a strict statement of the
matter as Stephen represented it, they would not have been false witnesses;
but, evidently anxious to serve those who employed them as witnesses, they
exaggerated Stephen’s statements to the extent of misrepresentation of certain
connecting facts and statements in his discourse.
(15) It is recorded that when the apostles, Peter and John, stood before a
similar council, a short time previous, their judges marveled at their courage
in view of the fact that they were unlearned men. So also Stephen was
courageous. Notwithstanding the fact of his arrest, and that he was on trial,
and that if found guilty the punishment would be death by stoning, according to
the law, Stephen was not daunted. Instead of a look of fear and servility, or
of anger, malice, hatred and defiance, the record is that they beheld his face
“as it had been the face of an angel;”-a face beaming with love, kindness,
interest in their welfare, desire to do them good, of purity and holiness of
motive, combined with humble confidence in God and fearlessness of men. We
believe that to a greater or less extent this is the case with all who receive
the holy spirit, in proportion as they progress in the knowledge, faith, love,
zeal and character of Christ their Lord. This change does not come
instantaneously; it comes gradually. The spirit of the world places the marks
of selfishness and hardness upon the countenances of all the slaves of sin, in
proportion as they are faithful thereto. But when the spirit of the truth is
received and these become freed from the slavery to sin and become the servants
of righteousness, the result is a proportionate displacement of the marks of
slavery upon the countenance and an illumination instead, which more and more
approaches the angelic. Look the worldly man or woman in the face, and see how
the cares and battles of and for sin have left their traces: look then into the
faces of those who are fully and intelligently the Lord’s, and notice how the
marks of care are superseded by a look of confidence and trust and peace
proceeding from the hearty acceptance of their new Master’s spirit. And this
illumination will be found most remarkable and conspicuous when such saints are
actively engaged in telling the good tidings, and particularly when opposing
the error.
Stephen’s discourse before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:1-53) marks him as having
been a man of great ability. It reads more like the language of the Apostle
Paul than that of any other New Testament writer. And the Apostle Paul, then
Saul of Tarsus, is supposed to have been one of his hearers, a member of the
Sanhedrin.
The closing of Stephen’s address (verses 51-53) laid upon the Jewish
people, and especially upon the Jewish Sanhedrin as the representatives of the
religious law, the full responsibility for the death of the “Just One”-as his
betrayers and murderers. This pointed application of Scripture and facts, as
might have been expected, only aroused the evil hearts of the judges. Of those
converted by Peter’s discourse it was said, “They were pricked to the heart;”
but of these it is said, “They were cut to the hearts” by the words of
truth-the evil of their natures was aroused to the full, they gnashed on him
with their teeth-they were exceedingly incensed.
(55-58) Full of the holy spirit, Stephen was wholly unmoved by their
manifestations of anger. He was testifying for God and for the truth, and
instead of fear of man his heart was brought into the closer sympathy and union
with the Lord. The Lord knew all about the termination of the trial and what
the sentence would be, and no doubt gave Stephen a vision of heavenly glory-of
the Father, and of Christ at the right hand of his majesty. This no doubt was
for the strengthening of Stephen’s own faith for the martyrdom just at hand;
and perhaps also intended to act as it did upon his unjust judges. His
declaration of the vision which he saw capped the climax of their indignation,
at his supposed opposition to God and to Moses and to themselves as
representatives of the Law. They construed this to be additional
blasphemy-that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they condemned as a blasphemer, and
whose crucifixion they had procured, was acceptable to God; and not only so,
but made next to the Father-at the right hand of God, or place of power and
influence. Using this as a pretext, they terminated the trial and executed the
sentence of stoning-stopping their ears as though they would thus say, what no doubt
some of them actually felt, that such an exaltation of Jesus next to Jehovah,
far above Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the prophets was gross blasphemy which they
could not justify themselves in hearing and felt bound to resent by stoning the
blasphemer.
According to the Law, those who heard the blasphemy did the stoning; and
they laid their outer garments at the feet of Saul, which would seem to
indicate that he not only consented to the verdict that Stephen was a
blasphemer worthy of death, but that he was one of the leaders in the
prosecution, as well as an influential man in the Sanhedrin.
(59-60) Without attempting to dissuade them from their course, Stephen
offered up prayer to the Lord, and a beautiful prayer it was-not only for the
preservation of his spirit, but also that the sin might not be laid to the
charge of his murderers.
Thus he “fell asleep.” This testimony respecting Stephen is in full
accord with the testimony of other Scriptures. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and
the prophets “slept” with their fathers in death; and the Apostle, after
enumerating some of the faithful ones of the past (who were stoned, etc., in
hope of a better resurrection), grouping them all together, says (Heb.
11:39,40), “These all...received not the promise; God having provided some better
thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” They all
are represented as sleeping and waiting for the morning-the resurrection
morning-the Millennial morning-the morning of which the prophet David spoke,
saying, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning;” the
morning of which the prophet Job spoke, saying, “Hide me in the grave until thy
wrath be past [the reign of death during the present age with all of its
concomitants of sorrow, trouble and pain, are evidences of divine wrath]. Thou
shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of
thine hands.” Our Lord, speaking of the resurrection morn, the same great day
of awakening from the sleep of death, corroborates Job’s statement, saying,
“All that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth.” (John
5:28,29.) Stephen slept with the others, but as one of the overcomers of the
new dispensation he will have a share in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6), and
thus awake earlier in the morning than others not winners of the prize of the
high calling of this Gospel age.-Psa. 46:5, margin.
The expression “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” signifies that Stephen
understood that the spark of life, the spirit of life, was passing from his
control; and by this expression he gave evidence of his faith in a future life,
committing it wholly to the care of him who redeemed him from the power of the
grave and who is shortly to deliver therefrom all who trust in him.
Stephen’s faithful witness unto death was followed in turn by that of many
others likewise faithful unto death and heirs of crowns of life according to
the promise. The beneficent influences of the gospel of Christ have since
Stephen’s day so permeated the civilized world, and so affected it, that the
followers of Christ are not at present in danger of being stoned to death for
preaching his gospel. Nevertheless, the Apostle’s words still hold good, “All
who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” It is still
necessary to suffer with Christ, if we would be glorified with him and share
his coming Kingdom. But the persecutions of to-day
are more refined than in any previous period. The faithful to-day are not
stoned with literal stones or shot with literal arrows or literally beheaded,
but it is still true that the wicked shoot out arrows at the righteous, “even bitter
words,” and many because of faithfulness are reproved and slandered and cut
off from fellowship-beheaded for the testimony of Jesus. (Rev. 20:4.) Let all
such emulate Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Let their testimonies be
given with radiant faces like his. Let their eyes of faith perceive Jesus at
the right hand of the majesty on high as their Advocate and Deliverer. Let
their words be with moderation as were Stephen’s, and let it be true of them,
as written of him, “full of grace and power” and “filled with the holy spirit.”