In the earliest days of the church, the gospel spread through Jerusalem like wildfire. And in the midst of that fire rose a disciple full of faith and the Holy Spirit: Stephen. He was one of the seven deacons chosen by the church, yet he also became the first witness in history to be martyred for the Lord. His brief life shows us how a person filled with the Spirit can keep looking to Christ even in the face of death.
The Chosen Deacon: Full of Faith and the Holy Spirit
As the number of disciples grew, a complaint arose over the daily distribution of food. So the apostles had the people choose seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to oversee the matter, and Stephen was the first among them. He did not merely serve tables faithfully; he was full of grace and power, doing great wonders and miracles among the people.
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.Acts 6:8 (KJV)
Wisdom and the Spirit They Could Not Resist
Some men rose up to dispute with Stephen, but they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Unable to prevail against the truth, they resorted to base tactics, bribing men to give false testimony, accusing him of speaking blasphemy against God and Moses, and dragging him before the council. Truth often draws persecution, yet persecution can never hold back the light that the Spirit shines through a faithful heart.
A Powerful Witness Before the Council
Standing before the whole council, Stephen did not plead for himself. Instead, he traced God's work through Israel's history, from Abraham to Moses. He recounted God's faithfulness and pointed out how the people, generation after generation, had stiffened their necks, resisted the Holy Spirit, and persecuted the prophets. His message is one of the longest addresses in all of Scripture, and every word bears witness: God had always been seeking His people, yet His people kept rejecting Him.
He finally declared boldly that their fathers had persecuted the very prophets who foretold the coming of the Righteous One; and now that this Righteous One, Jesus, had come, they had betrayed and murdered Him. These words pierced their hearts like a sword.
Seeing Jesus Standing at the Right Hand of God
When the crowd heard this, they were cut to the heart and gnashed their teeth at Stephen. Yet in that most perilous moment, Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed up into heaven and beheld a vision of glory.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.Acts 7:55 (KJV)
Scripture often describes Christ as seated at the right hand of God, but here alone Jesus is said to be standing. Some commentators say this is the risen Lord rising to welcome His faithful servant, as if He stood up in person to honor and receive the witness who was about to come home. The dying Stephen was not alone; the gates of heaven stood open for him.
Stoned to Death, Yet Still Praying
The crowd cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and rushed upon him together, casting him out of the city and stoning him. As the stones rained down and his body grew weak, his soul only grew stronger. In the midst of agony, the first thing he did was still to commit himself to the Lord.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.Acts 7:59 (KJV)
「Lord, lay not this sin to their charge」
Even more moving was his dying prayer. He kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, interceding for the very ones who were killing him, asking God to forgive their sin. How closely this echoes the Lord Jesus on the cross saying, 「Father, forgive them」! Stephen not only lived like Christ; he died like Christ too, answering hatred with kindness and overcoming persecution with forgiveness.
And there beside the executioners stood a young man guarding their garments, named Saul, who consented to Stephen's death. Who could have imagined that this persecutor would one day be won by the Lord and become Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles? The blood of Stephen became the seed of the gospel.
The Message the Martyr Left Us
Stephen's story reminds us: those who live for the Lord need not fear even death, for the Lord they look to is standing in heaven, waiting for them. His faith, his forgiveness, and his gaze fixed on Christ to the very end all speak to us today: true strength lies not in escaping suffering, but in keeping our eyes fixed on heaven in the midst of it.
May you too open Acts chapters six and seven in the BiblePro App, reading the original text alongside the translation through 「chapter-by-chapter comparison」, and using 「AI Search」 to explore the historical background of Stephen's address, so that the Holy Spirit may move you through these words. And may you find a local church where you can worship together with brothers and sisters, supporting one another as you walk forward together on this path of faith and the Holy Spirit.
In this series
- 1In the Beginning, God Created — The Story of Creation in Genesis
- 2The Fall of Man: Temptation in Eden and the First Promise of Salvation
- 3Cain and Abel: The World's First Tragedy Born of Envy
- 4Noah's Ark and the Great Flood: Grace in Judgment and the Covenant of the Rainbow
- 5The Tower of Babel: Human Pride and the Will of God
- 6The Altar of Isaac: The LORD Will Provide a Lamb
- 7Jacob's Ladder: The Grace That Met a Fugitive (Genesis 28)
- 8Joseph in Egypt: You Meant Evil, but God Turned It to Great Good
- 9Flame in the Bush: Moses and the Call That Would Not Burn Out (Exodus 3)
- 10The Ten Plagues of Egypt: The LORD Reveals to Pharaoh That He Is the True God
- 11The Passover Lamb: When I See the Blood, I Will Pass Over You
- 12Crossing the Red Sea: Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord
- 13Thunder and Fire on Sinai: The Ten Commandments and God's Covenant of Love
- 14The Golden Calf: The Idol Below the Mountain and Moses' Plea
- 15The Twelve Spies' Choice: Faith or Fear (Numbers 13-14)
- 16The Bronze Serpent Lifted High: A Picture of Salvation, One Look and You Live
- 17Balaam's Donkey: When God Turned a Curse into a Blessing
- 18Rahab and the Two Spies: The Scarlet Cord in the Window
- 19The Walls of Jericho Fall: When Obedience Is Mightier Than the Sword
- 20Hannah's Prayer: Giving Back to God What We Treasure Most
- 21Samuel Anoints David: The Lord Looks at the Heart
- 22David and Goliath: The Battle Is the LORD's
- 23David and Jonathan: A Covenant Love That Laid Down Its Own Rights
- 24David Spares Saul Twice: Leaving Vengeance in God's Hands
- 25You Are the Man: Nathan Confronts David
- 26Glory Fills the Temple: The House Solomon Built for the LORD
- 27Fire on Mount Carmel: Elijah Confronts the Prophets of Baal
- 28Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath: Faith in the Last Handful of Meal
- 29Naaman's Leprosy: The Humility He Learned in the Jordan
- 30Jonah and the Great Fish: The Turnaround of a Runaway Prophet
- 31The Fourth Man in the Fiery Furnace: Three Young Men Who Would Not Bow
- 32Daniel in the Lions' Den: Praying Three Times a Day and God's Deliverance
- 33The Writing on the Wall: A Kingdom Weighed in a Single Night (Daniel 5)
- 34Esther: Who Knows Whether You Have Come to the Kingdom for Such a Time as This?
- 35The Wise Men Follow the Star: Worship with Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
- 36The Transfiguration: A Glimpse of Glory Before the Cross
- 37Living Water at the Well: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
- 38Zacchaeus Climbs the Sycamore: An Outcast Found by the Lord
- 39Pentecost: The Day the Church Was Born
- 40Stephen the First Martyr: The First to Die for the Lord
- 41Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch: A Gospel Appointment on a Desert Road
- 42The Light on the Damascus Road: How Saul Became the Apostle Paul
- 43Peter and Cornelius: The Door of the Gospel Opens to the Gentiles
- 44Songs at Midnight, an Earthquake at Dawn: Salvation in Paul and Silas's Prison Cell
- 45Paul's Storm at Sea: The Miracle on the Island of Malta
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