Not only did Stephen look like Jesus in his life, but also in his death. All of us will die one day, unless the Lord returns. It is important not only that we live well, but that we die well. Stephen teaches us how to do that.
[powerpress]
Stephen: Dying Like Jesus
Acts 7:54-60
It is interesting to compare the dying words of saints and sinners. Let’s look at the dying words of three of God’s servants.
- L. Moody: “Is this dying? Why this is bliss. “There is no valley. “I have been within the gates. “Earth is receding; Heaven is opening; God is calling; I must go.”
- Matthew Henry: “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men — this is mine: That a life spent in the service of God, and communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that one can live in the present world.”
- David Brainerd: “I am almost in eternity. I long to be there. My work is done. I have done with my friends; all the world is nothing to me. Oh, to be in heaven to praise and glorify God with His holy angels.”
Now, let’s look at the dying words of three of God’s enemies.
- Sir Thomas Scott (chancellor of England 1535-1594): “Until this moment I thought there was neither God nor hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”
- Voltaire (French author and philosopher 1694-1778): “I am abandoned by God and man…I shall go to hell.”
- Thomas Carlyle (Scottish author and historian 1795-1881): “I am as good as without hope, a sad old man gazing into the final chasm.”
This morning we are going to be looking at Stephen in his final dying moments. Last week we looked at Stephen as one who looked a lot like Jesus in his life. Well today we are going to look at Stephen as one who looked a lot like Jesus in his death.
Let’s remember the context of our passage. In chapter six we learn that the Hellenistic Jewish widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. The apostles charged the church to select seven men who were of good reputation and full of the Spirit and wisdom whom they could put over this task. Well, Stephen was chosen as one of the seven. He began by serving tables, but we quickly find him performing signs and wonders and successfully debating non-believing Jews in their synagogues. In fact, these debates got so heated, that eventually Stephen was dragged before the Council, the Jewish Supreme Court. The charges against him were that he was speaking against the Temple and the Law, God and Moses.
When the high priest asked him if those things were so, Stephen launched into a lengthy message in which he detailed the history of the Jewish people. In this message, Stephen demonstrated that he had a high reverence for the Law of Moses, calling it “the living oracles of God”, and the Temple, calling it the house of God that Solomon built. Further, he shows them that the Jewish people have a history of rebelling against their Deliverers. They had done so in the case of Joseph and Moses. As Stephen could see them growing angrier and angrier, he sped up his message, making a last ditch effort to show them their sin and need to embrace Jesus as their Messiah.
In 7:51-53 he says, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, and you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
That’s where we left off last week, and where we will pick up today.
As we work our way through these final verses detailing the death of Stephen, I want you to see how much Stephen looks like his Lord.
1. He Was Filled With The Spirit Like Jesus
The Council. How did the men on the Council respond when Stephen turned the tables and put them on the witness stand? How did the feel when he was transformed from the accused into the accuser? Well, first they were “cut to the quick”. The phrase means to be “sawn in two.” They were literally shredded by the fearless rebuke that Stephen gave. This is the third time we find these religious leaders were “pierced to the heart” or “cut to the quick” (Acts 2:37; 5:33; 7:54). This is describing a deep and painful wound, made by Stephen’s piercing comments. God had sent them the Messiah, and they had murdered him. Like a wounded and cornered animal, the Council lashed out at Stephen savagely.
Further, they were filled with rage. Acts 7:54 says, “they began gnashing their teeth at him.” This is the very expression used to describe people in hell “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” People in hell are furious that they are there, that they made the decisions they made, and that God has consigned them there.
Stephen. How did Stephen respond to them? Acts 6:15 says that his face was like the face of angel, probably shining the glory of God. Instead of angrily lashing out at his persecutors, Stephen appears gracious, calm, at peace, and in full control of himself. How could he respond in love and grace toward his enemies?
Acts 7:55 tells us that he was full of the Holy Spirit. Now, in the New Testament there are two different Greek words used to describe being “full” of the Holy Spirit. One of those words is used in Acts 4:8; 4:31; and 13:9. This word describes a sovereign filling of the Spirit that God gives in unusual situations to accomplish a special work. We don’t do anything to cause this filling of the Spirit to happen. God just sends this filling in certain situations to bring to pass his will.
There is another Greek word used to describe being “full” of the Holy Spirit. It is the word used in Ephesians 5:18; Acts 6:5; and Acts 7:55. This word describes the continual character of the person who is habitually controlled by the Spirit. It is not the occasion and unusual sovereign filling of the Spirit to accomplish the special will of God. It is the constant character of the man who yields himself continually to the work of the Spirit of God. That is the word Luke uses to describe Stephen. Stephen was a man who had learned to continually subject himself to the will and power of the Spirit. That’s why when the Council lashed out at him violently, he responded with grace and love. The Holy Spirit enabled him to do so.
Jesus Christ. Stephen looked a lot like his Lord here. Jesus was a man continually filled with the Spirit.
Jesus was conceived by the work of the Spirit (Mt. 1:20).
At His baptism, the Spirit came upon Jesus in the form of a dove (Mt. 3:16).
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mt. 4:1).
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Lk. 4:14).
When he arrived he would declare, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor (Lk. 4:18).
Later Jesus would say that he cast out demons by the Spirit of God (Mt. 12:28).
In John 3:34 we are told that God gave Jesus the Spirit without measure.
Jesus lived His entire life full of the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, yielded to the control of the Spirit.
In Jesus’ death, Jesus responded in the Spirit. Rather than lashing out violently or angrily at His accusers, He walked in the Spirit. He was perfectly self-controlled, which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. He only said and did those things the Father directed Him to do in the power of the Spirit.
Stephen resembled his Lord in his death, by being full of the Spirit.
Us. When we come to die, let us pray that we can die full of the Spirit! Rather than lashing out at others because of our pain or suffering, may the Holy Spirit so fill us that we respond according to His will.
2. He Was Blessed Like Jesus
Stephen. In Acts 7:55-56, we see that as Stephen’s death rapidly approaches, God blesses him with a vision of heaven. He saw the glory of God. He also Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
Now, it is interesting that Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is the only place in Scripture where we find Jesus standing at the right hand of God. In every other place, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. Why is He standing here? I believe it is because He is about to welcome Stephen into His heavenly kingdom. Jesus has stood up and is ready to receive Stephen into Paradise when he is martyred. Do you see the great blessing that God was pouring out on Stephen at the moment of his death?
Jesus. So too, Jesus was blessed by God at the time of His death. True, Jesus did go through a very dark time of suffering as He hung upon the cross. He would even say, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” During this time Jesus was bearing the wrath of God reserved for us. The iniquity of us all had fallen on Him. As a visual reflection of this, the sky turned dark and foreboding for three hours that day. Yet, at the end of His life, right before He died, Jesus could say, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Lk. 23:46). Note that Jesus was no longer referring to the Father as “My God” but as “Father.” Further, He had full assurance that His spirit was returning to the Father. To the thief on the cross, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43). Jesus had the assurance from His Father that He was going back to Paradise, that His spirit was returning to God. There was no doubt, no ambiguity, no waffling back and forth in His mind as to what was about to happen. Jesus had absolute assurance that He was going to the Father.
Us. Stephen looked a lot like Jesus in His death. He was favored and blessed by God, granting Him assurance that He was going to be with Him in everlasting glory. What about you and I? If we are full of the Spirit at the time of our death, I’m sure that we will also be blessed with a sense of the presence of God and an assurance that we are going to Him. I find it very sad that in some Christian traditions, like the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches of Christendom, they have no assurance of salvation. The best they can hope for is that God may be merciful in the end. Yet, when John wrote his first epistle, he said in 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” To know speaks of assurance and certainty. May the Lord grant you and I the blessing of assurance as we leave this life to enter the next!
3. He Cried Out Like Jesus
The Council. Acts 7:57-58 tells us how the Council reacted to Stephen’s declaration of his vision. They cried out with a loud voice. They covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. They drove him out of the city. Then they began stoning him. It is almost as if they went stark raving mad. Instead of being self-controlled and acting on principle, they were reacting madly to the situation.
Stephen. As the Council was stoning Stephen, he was calling on the Lord. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen knew he was going to die soon, and called on Jesus to receive his spirit into His eternal kingdom.
Jesus. Doesn’t this remind you of Jesus as He hung on the cross right before He died? He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this He breathed His last” (Lk. 23:46).
Again, we see a beautiful parallel between Stephen and Christ. Both of them committed their spirit to their God in the moment of death.
May that be our experience as well. As we come to die, may we commit our spirit into the hands of our loving heavenly Father!
4. He Forgave Like Jesus
The Council. Acts 7:58 “they began stoning him.” Acts 7:59 “they went on stoning Stephen.” Death by stoning could take a long time (20 minutes to 2 hours), because each blow from a stone might merely injure a man. It would take a very powerful blow to kill a man.
There were a couple of legal conditions that had to be met when stoning an individual. First, there had to be a minimum of two witnesses, and they had to throw the first stones (Dt. 17:6-7). Second, they had to be stoned outside the camp (Lev. 24:14). That is probably why they drove Stephen outside of the city. However, it does not appear to me that there were two witnesses that could prove that Stephen had blasphemed against Moses and God. Rather, their insane rage drove them to stone him even though there was no real proof that he had blasphemed. Rather than coming to a calm and collected judicial decision based on proof and witnesses, the Council was overcome by rage and acted impulsively.
Why did Stephen’s words so enrage them? Was it merely because Stephen accused them of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears and always resisting the Holy Spirit? Was it because Stephen accused them of killing their Messiah? Well, yes, but that was not the entire reason. Notice that they do not react so violently until right after Stephen tells them that He is seeing Jesus standing at the right hand of God. They had heard another prisoner utter the same thing. The same group of men were the judges at his trial, and it most likely happened in the same place, and this other prisoner was also accused of blasphemy. The high priest asked Him point blank, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus responded, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mk.14:62). Now, Stephen is saying that what Jesus said was true. He IS at the right hand of God. At this point, they either had to kill Stephen or admit that they were wrong for killing Jesus.
What was it like to die from stoning? Well, the Mishna, the Jewish codification of law, tells us. “The stoning-place was two heights of a man. One of the witnesses pushed him on his thighs (that he should fall with the back to the surface), but if he fell face down, he had to be turned over. If he died from the effects of the first fall, nothing more was to be done. If not, the second witness took a stone and thrust it against his heart. If he died, nothing more was to be done; but if not, all who were standing by had to throw stones on him. ”
Stoning still takes place in various Islamic countries. The convicted criminal is wrapped from head to foot in a white sheet, buried up to his waist so he cannot escape, and then the entire community throws rocks at him until he dies. The process usually takes 10 to 20 minutes before the person dies. It is actually stipulated that they are not to throw pebbles, or rocks that are so big that the person will die in 1 or 2 blows, but medium size rocks to prolong the torture.
Stephen. Evidently, the blows from the stones eventually knocked him off his feet so that he fell to his knees. From that position he cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” It appears that God answered that prayer, at least in the case of one young man who was a witness to this event, Saul of Tarsus.
Jesus. Stephen was taking his cues from Jesus, wasn’t he. Of course, when Jesus was dying on the cross, he cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
In all of this, Stephen is imitating his Lord. Stephen was quick to forgive, because he was following in the footsteps of His Lord, who was also quick to forgive.
May we be able to die in the same way. May we not hold onto any unforgiveness while we live, but especially when we are ready to leave this life.
5. He fell asleep like Jesus
Stephen. Acts 7:60 says, “Having said this, he fell asleep.” Now, of course, this is not meant to be taken literally. He didn’t literally fall asleep. He literally died. But the Bible consistently refers to the death of a believer as falling asleep. Why? Well, it is because when a person falls asleep, they know that in a period of time they will wake up again. The sleep is temporary. That’s what happens with a believer’s body. At the time of death, the believer’s soul goes to be with Christ, but the body “sleeps” until it is awakened at the resurrection.
Folks, the doctrine of “Soul-sleep” is not found in Scripture. I know the Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses teach this doctrine, but it is not Biblical.
Phil. 1:23, “having the desire to depart and be with Christ”
2 Cor. 5:8, “to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord”
The souls of Moses and Elijah were certainly not asleep when they appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. The souls of the martyrs in Revelation 6 are certainly not asleep, as we find them in heaven crying out, “How long, O Lord, will you refrain from avenging our blood?”
So too, when Stephen died, his soul went immediately in to the presence of Christ, who had stood up to receive him.
Jesus. In this, Stephen again resembles Jesus Christ. When Christ died, his body ceased to function temporarily. But in three days, Jesus’ soul entered back into His resurrected body, and thus He shall always live forever!
Conclusion
My friends, will you resemble Christ in your death?
- Will you die filled with the Spirit? There is something we can do to make this take place. We must simply yield our lives to the control of the Holy Spirit.
- Will you die with God’s blessing on your life? I’m convinced that if you are full of the Spirit, and trusting in Him, you will see God’s blessing on your life in some way. He will draw near to support you, and show Himself to you.
- Will you die committing your soul to Him? I pray you will!
- Will you die forgiving all your enemies? We must! I’m convinced that if you are one of His, you will.
- When you die, your body will “sleep” until the resurrection morn! But on that day, your soul will be reunited to your resurrected glorified body, so that you in all your totality can worship and serve your King and Creator forever. Lord, may it be so!
______________________________
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Follow Us!