City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

⁴⁸ Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

⁴⁹ “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
    or what is the place of my rest?
⁵⁰ Did not my hand make all these things?’

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. ⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

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^{[Or rushed with one mind]} 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 7:48-60 (ESV)

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

² “Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
³ “Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
⁵ Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
⁶ “On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38:1-7 (NASB)

Reflection

Today I have selected this portion of Steven’s speech because I think of it often.  The beginning of the speech is such a complete history of the Jewish people that he can not be discounted as a simpleton or a crazy man.  Stephen knew the history of his people.  He showed himself approved.  He did not only know the history, he was able to quote the scripture well enough to portray God accurately.  When he quotes “What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?” he is correcting the Jewish leadership, just like God corrected Job.  Jesus came to serve Man and save him, but this does not mean that Man is in charge.  And God does not need man’s help to run the universe.

We are like five-year-olds helping our fathers around the house. 

If unattended, we would do much damage to ourselves, and others.  And Stephen gives us a history of that damage, from the time of Moses and the patriarchs until this day.  But now that Jesus has come, as C. S. Lewis says, “a broken arm in the universe has been fixed.”  The days of such chaos are over.  Stephen rebukes the Jewish leaders because they have “…uncircumcised hearts and ears….”  The problem is not their deeds, it’s their hearts.

Finally, it’s important to see that the stoning of Stephen is not just a milestone for the church, it is a unique event in human history.  In all the Bible, this is the only time that it is recorded that the Son of Man was standing at the right hand of God.  In all other instances, Jesus is seated.  It is as if the master is standing to observe the work of the student. From this event, it is said that Stephen was the first Christian martyr.

When I did a search on the word Martyr, I found that the most popular definitions immediately connect martyrdom with dying for a cause. I had to go to the fifth definitions to find this one, with includes the word “witness”:

“Martyr – One who, by his death, bears witness to the truth of the gospel; one who is put to death for his religion.”

I’ve always understood the word “martyr” to mean “witness.”  That is to say, Stephen’s witness of the gospel was so extreme that he suffered death for it.

Application

In our daily lives, we can so easily make ourselves out to be the one who is really suffering.  We say things like “it is so unfair that I’m the one who always has to….”  It is so easy for us to fall into this trap.  In reality, things are not as extreme as we might like to think.  We are not that faithful, and even if we were, would it be right to complain this way?

I know it is a very high bar to compare our simple complaints about life with Stephen’s martyrdom, but let’s be honest, we really don’t have much to complain about here.  If we take nothing else from this passage, take this.  While being stoned and looking at the thrown of God, what is on Stephen’s heart?  He does not want the sin of those stoning him to be held against them.  In our most difficult circumstances, we should not lose sight of the goal – the redemption of our fellow man.  Yes, you might have been forgotten or mistreated, but that is no reason to lose sight of God’s redemption of others, or even of ourselves.

Prayer

Dearest Lord, I pray that You lead me to the cross daily.  Teach me to love those who wrong me, mistreat me, and disregard me.  Let me be a witness of Your glory, Your grace, and Your redemption.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.