City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 7:54–60

Reflection

Stephen knew what he was getting into. When he was seized by Jewish religious leaders on false charges of blasphemy, he knew what was at risk. Jesus had warned His disciples they would be brought before the authorities, and killed, but He promised He would help them to be a witness for Him. (Luke 21:12-19). 

Stephen had a choice. He could have denied the charges, denied Jesus, and perhaps walked away with his life, or he could press the issue and become a witness for Jesus. He chose the latter and became the Church’s first martyr.

Whenever Cindy and I travel to a new country or region, we try to find out who was the first Christian martyr in the region. They are sometimes still venerated, often still honored, but almost always still remembered through church names, street names, or statues. And that is as it should be. As Tertullian said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the kingdom.” 

Stephen knew if he preached Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders that they might kill him. The religious leaders knew that Stephen knew that, which means that when Stephen chose to preach Jesus, the religious leaders would have known that Stephen thought the message was more important than his own life. 

In essence, Stephen was saying, “I love Jesus more than my own life, and I’m willing to risk my life so you can hear about Him.” Even in all the gnashing of teeth, the crying out, and covering their ears, they would not have missed that.

In a free market, the true value of anything is what people are willing to pay for it. Stephen made the point that knowing Jesus was priceless.

Application

It is unlikely anyone reading this post will ever be faced with the choice of martyrdom. We will likely never be faced with the choice of spilling our own blood to be a witness for Jesus. But we will be asked to risk something.

It may mean creating an awkward situation with someone we like or respect. It may mean risking a relationship with someone we care about. It may mean risking our pride. 

But whatever we risk, we convey the message that knowing Jesus is priceless.

Prayer

Lord, help me always to be willing to pay the cost to be a witness for You. Amen.