In this study of the life of Stephen we see a disciple who truly resembled Jesus Christ. Let us learn from him to go and do the same!
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Stephen: Living Like Jesus
Acts 6:8–7:53
Last week we saw how the apostles decided that it would be a mistake for them to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. So they called the church to select seven men whom they would appoint and put in charge of that task. Of the seven men that the church put forward, there are only two that we really know anything about – Stephen and Philip. Luke, having mentioned that they were of the seven men chosen to make sure the Hellenistic widows received their daily serving of food, now goes on to give us a much fuller description of their lives and ministries. Luke takes the rest of chapter 6 and all of chapter 7 to fill us in on Stephen’s ministry, and then does the same with Philip in chapter 8.
The one thing the Holy Spirit emphasizes more than anything else about Stephen was that he was filled with the Holy Spirit.
6:3 – the apostles required that these men be “full of the Spirit and wisdom”
6:5 – “they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”. Note that this is our introduction to Stephen. None of the others are given a description.
6:8 – “Stephen, full of grace and power…” Where did this power come from? Acts 1:8, “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses…”
6:10 – “But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”
7:55 – “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God”
Whenever Stephen is described, the word “full” comes up. He was full of the Spirit, and so also full of wisdom, faith, grace and power.
What we are going to study in the next few weeks is a description of the life and death of a Spirit-filled man. Evidently the Holy Spirit believed Stephen’s life and death were important to emphasize because he gives great space to these details. In fact, Stephen’s message is the longest recorded message in the book of Acts, even longer than those of Peter and Paul!
Additionally, Stephen actually mirrors the Lord Jesus, in his life and death. We will see that almost every point, Stephen imitates His Lord. May God give us the grace to learn what He desires that we learn from this account!
Stephen’s Progression
He started out by serving tables to certain widows. Doesn’t sound very glamorous does it? I am certain that Stephen took his ministry to those widows very seriously, and was very diligent and faithful in it. Why do I think that? Because it is not long before we read of the Lord promoting him to a more spiritual and prominent ministry. Soon we read of him performing great wonders and signs among the people, debating Hellenistic Jews in their synagogues, and even preaching before the Sanhedrin. One of the principles of the kingdom is that if a man is faithful in a little thing, God will entrust greater things to him. In the parable of the talents, the slave who received five talents made five more talents. In Matthew 5:21, the master responds, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
Often people feel certain tasks are too menial, and they are beneath them. However, if you want a greater sphere of service, you must be faithful in the one you have been entrusted with now. Maybe that means giving rides to folks who have no cars, taking homeless people a warm meal, or faithfully meeting with that person who has no family or friends in their life. Maybe it means that you will be diligent and faithful in discipling your children. Friends, if you can’t be faithful in the small things, the Lord will never entrust greater things to you. These ministries may seem small and insignificant, but they are your training ground for greater service.
Stephen’s Power
Acts 6:8, “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.” How was this grace and power manifest in Stephen’s life? The great wonders and signs he performed among the people. Wonders and signs are linked with miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit in Heb.2:4. Acts 5:12 refers to signs and wonders that Peter did. Acts 14:3 mentions signs and wonders Paul did. The very same expression is used of Stephen. Evidently Stephen was doing the same kinds of signs and wonders that the apostles performed. These would include miraculous healings, casting out of demons, and receiving supernatural revelations. This verse disproves once and for all the position of the cessationists that since the apostles were the ones doing signs and wonders, that signs and wonders ceased when the apostles died. This is not the only passage which teaches that non-apostles performed signs and wonders:
Philip performed miracles in Acts 8:4-8
Ordinary believers performed miracles in Corinth – 1Cor.12:8-10
Ordinary believers in Galatia experienced miracles – Gal.3:5, “does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you do It by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
Thus, the Scripture would actually encourage not discourage ordinary believers to believe that God could use them in doing the miraculous. Do you believe this?
Stephen’s Persecution
6:11-14. Men from the synagogue secretly induced others to claim Stephen was blaspheming against God and Moses. Stirred up the people to drag him before the Council. Put forward false witnesses who said he spoke against the temple and the Law.
There was a grain of truth to these allegations. Jesus had said that He would destroy the temple made with hands and build another made without hands (Mk. 14:58). The Jews regarded their Temple as holy. That was the place where God met with them. For Jesus to say that He would destroy the temple would surely have stirred up their wrath and indignation. Actually, Stephen probably taught that Jesus was going to fulfill both the Temple and the Law. I can destroy my shadow, by lying down on it. The rising of the sun destroys the need for streetlights. When Jesus came, He was the reality behind the Temple. He is the true High Priest, the Perfect Sacrifice, the altar, the mercy seat, the place where God and man meet. So, when the Reality came, the shadow disappeared, and was destroyed.
Jesus also fulfilled the Law, by keeping the Law perfectly. The Jews regarded the Law as holy, as they should have. The charge against Stephen was that he was teaching that Jesus would alter the Law of Moses, which they regarded as binding and unchanging. Stephen understood that Jesus had introduced a radical break with OT Judaism. Not only did Jesus replace the Temple, Priesthood, and Sacrifices. Jesus fulfilled the Law – Mt.5:18. Heb.7:12 says that when there is a change in the priesthood, there is also a change in the law. How did the law change? Sabbath and tithing are not taught in the NT. Circumcision is gone. Animal sacrifices are abolished. There are no more holy places or holy times. The religious festivals do not need to be observed any longer. The Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant. Why? Because Jesus has fulfilled all of the Old Covenant laws and brought in the Law of Christ to take its place.
But, does that mean Stephen was blaspheming? Was he speaking against the Temple and the Law? No. He was not denigrating anything. He was simply teaching that Jesus had fulfilled both, and thus certain changes had come about because of that.
Stephen’s Preaching
In 6:15 we are told that his face was like the face of an angel. In other words, his face shone; it glowed. Is there anyone else in the Bible that you can recall who had a shining face? Moses, of course! It seems to be God’s purpose to give to Stephen the same glowing face when he was accused of opposing the Law, as He gave to Moses when he received the Law. God is revealing that both Moses’ reception of the Law, and Stephen’s interpretation of the Law had His divine approval.
In 7:1, the high priest asked Stephen if these things were so. What follows from 7:2-53, was Stephen’s response to their question. Was it true that Stephen blasphemed and spoke against the Temple and the Law? Well, Stephen’s answer was to retell the history of the Jewish people. He starts with Abraham, then Joseph, then Moses, and then mentions Joshua, David and Solomon in rapid fire. During his long retelling of the history of Israel, Stephen shows a deep respect and reverence for the Law, calling it “living oracles” (7:38). He shows respect for the Temple, calling it the house that Solomon built for God (7:47).
But I don’t think that was Stephen’s primary purpose in his sermon. I think he knew that the Council had already made up their minds as to his guilt. Perhaps he suspected he might be executed, because that was the penalty for blasphemy. So, instead of trying to justify himself, he tried to bring about their conviction that would lead to faith in Christ. In other words, instead of thinking about his own safety and protection, he was thinking about their eternity and their souls. In his message, Stephen knows he only has one chance to bring these mighty Jewish rulers to see that they had rejected their Messiah, the True Reality behind all of their rituals and shadows. So, rather than seek to justify himself, he seeks to bring them to repentance. The religious leaders had become overly confident of their spiritual position because they possessed the temple where God dwelt and the Law that He wrote. And they had missed the true intent of the Law. Instead of recognizing Jesus as their Messiah, and fulfillment of all that the Law spoke of, they saw the Law as a list of do’s and don’ts that made them righteous before God.
Remember that Stephen is a Spirit-filled man. Thus, I can’t help but think that the message he brought before the Sanhedrin was the very message God wanted delivered. Stephen was a very courageous man. Rather than try to come up with some answer that would get him out of hot water and save his skin, he chose to boldly declare these rulers’ sin of rejecting Jesus, their Messiah, and seek their repentance. The way Stephen does this is by showing them how the Jewish people had a history of rejecting God’s deliverers, Joseph and Moses, and how they are just following in their fathers’ footsteps by rejecting Jesus, God’s final and ultimate deliverer.
Joseph was Israel’s divinely appointed Deliverer. But what did Joseph’s brothers do with him? 7:9 says they became jealous of him and sold him into Egypt.
Moses was Israel’s divinely appointed Deliver. But the Jews cried out “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” (7:27). 7:39 says, “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.”
Notice how Stephen starts out by really taking his time and going into great detail. But when Stephen gets to Joshua in verse 45, he really speeds up the history and compresses it into a short space. Why? I believe it was because Stephen could see by the looks on the faces of the men in the Council, that they were becoming more and more agitated and were going to interrupt him and bring his speech to an end. However, Stephen had not got to the most important point in his message.
So, in 7:51-53, he climaxes his message with what he really wanted to get at – their rejection of the Ultimate Deliverer, God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ. Stephen knows that if they will come to their senses, and repent, and embrace Jesus Christ as Messiah, Savior, and Lord, they will be saved. So, he makes a last ditch effort to bring them to Christ. The solemn truth is that he gave his life in the attempt. It seems that it was all in vain… except for the little detail about the executioners laying their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Saul witnessed this entire thing, and I believe that God brought back the memory of this event over and over, until Saul was converted. So, Stephen’s death was not for nothing. God used it in bringing one of the most influential leaders to Christ!
Conclusion
What I would really like for you to see this morning is how much Stephen resembled our Lord in his life.
Stephen started our waiting on tables, and after proving himself faithful, the Lord raised him up for more impactful ministry. In a very real sense, so did Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus as a child kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. In Luke 2:51 we are told that Jesus continued in subjection to his parents. Jesus was obedient, faithful, and diligent as a child. His early life was not high profile or glamorous. Jesus simply lived in obedience to his parents, faithfully serving them, and increasing in favor with God and men. Then, at the right time, the Father raised Him up, sent the Holy Spirit upon Him, and gave Him a ministry that rocked the world!
Stephen ministered with power, the power of the Holy Spirit. He performed great wonders and signs among the people. So too, after Jesus was empowered with the Holy Spirit at His baptism, He began to perform great signs and wonders, like turning water to wine, healing the sick, casting out demons, and even raising the dead.
Stephen experienced great persecution as a result of his faithful ministry. So too, Jesus Christ experienced great persecution at the hands of the religious leaders of his day. There were many threats on his life. He was reproached and reviled. The religious leaders said that he was able to cast out demons because he was the ruler of the demons, Satan himself! In the end, he was condemned, beaten, spat upon, scourged, and nailed to a cross. Why? Was He a vile, wicked man? Was he a liar and a scoundrel? Was he a blasphemer and an adulterer? No, he was holy and blameless in all of his ways. Then, why would he be hated and persecuted? Because of His faithful ministry. Jesus did the things He saw the Father doing. And that just didn’t fit with their views of religion. Jesus performed healings on the Sabbath. He didn’t follow all of their rules. He became extremely popular with the common person, and the religious leaders were losing their power and hold over the people. And so they persecuted and killed Him.
Stephen was a powerful preacher. He was fearless in reproving of sin. In that, he was like His Lord. The Lord Jesus was also fearless in reproving evil. Just read Matthew 23. When Jesus faced down the religious leaders, He called them a brood of vipers, hypocrites, blind guides, and fools. Neither Stephen or Jesus tickled the ears of their hearers. Rather, they told them what they needed to hear in order to be saved.
Stephen looked a lot like his Lord in his life. We are going to find out next Sunday that he looked a lot like Jesus in his death as well. This is what I would like you to do this morning. Look at your life and look at Jesus’ life.
- Do you see strong similarities?
- Does your life look like His?
- In what ways does your life not look like His?
- The word “Christian” means “one who follows Christ.”
How closely are you following Christ in your life?
- When someone looks at your life, will they think of Jesus?
- What changes do you need to make today in order to bring your life into alignment with His?
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