41 Acts 7:58-60 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN Introduction: Stephen was a deacon in the church at Jerusalem. He has been on trial before the Sanhedrin Council. They had not formally voted, but in effect they had reached a verdict. He was condemned to die. In this text Stephen is carried outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned to death. I. Stephen carried outside the city to be stoned V. 58, “And cast [him] out of the city, and stoned [him...” That is, he was roughly handled. They did not pick him up and carry him out bodily, but they roughly pushed and pulled him out of the city. It is important to note that neither Jewish law nor Roman law as followed. Jewish law required them to wait until the second day of the trial to take a vote to see if he would be condemned. This day did not do. Jewish law also required them to vote one person at a time. This, also, they did not do. Roman law forbid them to put a man to death without first getting the approval of the Roman government. Even this they did not do. Apparently their success in pressuring Pilate to order the crucifixion of Jesus led them to think that they could get away with by-passing Roman authority in the case of Stephen. They must have thought that they could either pressure him into ignoring the fact that they had by-passed Roman authority or else they could just buy him off. Either way, they decided to take a chance with Pilate. II. The young man who kept their robes (V. 58), “...and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.” The men of that day wore long loose fitting robes. Those robes would interfere with such action as throwing stones. They also wore long pants underneath. Therefore, they pulled off their robes and laid them down at the feet of a young man to keep for them while they threw stones. It is highly unlikely that they chose a young man from among the bystanders. They most likely chose one of the young men who was in training for the Council. The young man was Saul. We will learn in later verses that he was Saul of Tarsus, who would first persecute Christians, but would thereafter become a Christian and an apostle. We know him best as “the Apostle Paul.” It was his participation in the stoning of Stephen which the Lord would later use to prick his conscience and help bring him to his conversion. It is worthy of note that while one great witness for Christ was being stoned another man was being prepared to become a great witness for Christ. Men can kill Christians, but they cannot kill out Christianity. III. The actual stoning of Stephen The law of Moses required that the witnesses who testified against the condemned be the first to cast stones against him. Since the Sanhedrin had condemned Stephen without calling witnesses to testify against him, those who cast the first stones in Stephen’s case must have been the Jewish leaders who had brought the charges against him before the Sanhedrin Council. All of the members of the Council who were present would then join them in casting the stones which killed him. V. 59, “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [God], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” It was Stephen who was calling upon God. He called upon God to receive his spirit into heaven. It is worthy of note that Stephen did not ask the Lord to spare him from being stoned. Neither did he ask the Lord to take vengeance on those who falsely accused him or those who stoned him. What he asked the Lord to do was to receive his spirit up into heaven. Stephen must have been greatly comforted by the fact that within a matter of minutes he would be in heaven with Jesus. He was more than comforted. He was thrilled. Whatever fear he may have felt was overcome by the assurance that he would soon be with the Lord Jesus Christ. V. 60, “ And he kneeled down...” Note that Luke says that Stephen kneeled down. He was not knocked down. He kneeled down. He kneeled in worship to God the Father and to God the Son, whom he had seen in heaven. (V. 60), “...and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge...” Again Stephen cried out with a loud voice. He cried out asking God to forgive those people for unjustly stoning him. In this Stephen was following the teachings of Jesus who had taught him and the other disciples to forgive those who trespass against them. He was also following the example that Jesus had set before him. Jesus had likewise prayed for these same men asking God to forgive them saying, “...for they know not what they do.” (V. 60), “...And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” He fell into the sleep of death. IV. Some questions this should raise in our minds This should raise two questions in the minds of the saved. First, “Would I be willing to die for Jesus?” I hope so. I hope that I would show as much courage and faith as Stephen did. I hope I would be willing to die for Him who has first died for me. I also hope that you would be willing to die for him if the need should arise. The second question is this: “Am I willing to live for Jesus?” My answer is “Yes, yes --- a thousand times yes!” My greatest fear is that because of the weakness of my flesh nature I might not be as dedicated to Jesus as I should be. But I know that in my heart I want to serve Him faithfully. I hope that you feel the same way. This should also raise a question in the mid of the person who is uncertain of his salvation. “If you were to die right now, where would you go? Would you go to be with the Lord in heaven as Stephen did or would you go down below? Maybe these Scriptures can help you to answer that question: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,” John 3:18. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, Rom. 10:13. This should raise some questions in the mind of the person who knows that he is unsaved: (1) Why have I waited so long to get saved?; (2) What am I waiting for now?