Stephen's Death and its Aftermath

Stephen was a Hellenist, i.e. a Greek-speaking Jew. Thus he belonged to that class of Jews usually residing outside of Palestine who, though distinguished from the orthodox Palestinian Jew by a broader outlook on life due to a more liberal education, were Jews none the less, the original Jewish element predominating in their character, as Stephen was. Of his conversion to Christianity, nothing is known, but there is no doubt he was active in the early church, respected for his Spirit and wisdom. The record makes it very clear that the importance of Stephen lay in his activity as a preacher and a powerful witness for Christ; it is this activity which has given him the place he holds in history (Acts 22:20). In itself that is not surprising, for in the early Christian church, every Christian was at once a witness for Christ, and lay-preaching was common.

Stephen was especially qualified for this high work, having been gifted by the Holy Spirit of apostolical gifts, not only that of preaching but also that of working miracles (Acts 6:8). In his freer views of Jewish law and customs, due to his deeper conception and a better understanding of the essence of Christianity, he even excelled the apostles. As Christ had been drawn into a controversy with Pharisees and scribes on account of similar views, and as His word about the temple was used to frame the accusation against Him in His trial, it was in the case of Stephen also. He did not hesitate to preach his views, and soon became engaged in controversies. But, as the record says, his opponents “were not able to withstand the wisdom”.

Besides, the Pharisees and religious leaders were alarmed at the rate the church was growing. They took recourse to the ignoble method of declaring Stephen a blasphemer and a heretic, by using the same foul means that the enemies of Jesus had resorted to, by inducing unscrupulous men to give false witnesses to the plot, by stirring up the people against him, by appealing to their Jewish prejudices and to the scribes and elders, members of the Sanhedrin, and thus eventually brought about his death by stoning.

  

    The Bible says God’s ways are mysterious. His thoughts are not our thoughts; His ways are not our ways. We will never know why Stephen, a very powerful witness and a fearless spokesman for the church had to die a terrible death at the height of his ministry. But we can try to understand what some of the immediate consequences of Stephen’s death were.

1.    St Paul’s conversion – Acts 9:1-30

Saul was a young Pharisee who was a witness to Stephen’s murder and agreed completely with the killing. There was a great wave of persecution following Stephen’s death and Saul played an active roll in identifying the disciples and throwing them into prison, even killing them. Expanding his anti-Christian activities he went with an official sanction as far as Damascus to find and capture those who believed in Jesus and bring them to Jerusalem for trial. It was during his journey to Damascus that he had a personal encounter with the Lord who told him he was chosen as an apostle to carry His message to Jews, Gentiles, and kings. No person, apart from Jesus Christ Himself, shaped the history of Christianity like St Paul had done. He undertook three missionary journeys across the Roman Empire preaching the word of God and witnessing, planting churches, encouraging believers; he worked hard to convince Jews that Gentiles were acceptable to God; he spent even more time convincing the Gentiles that they were acceptable to God. The many letters he wrote to churches and individuals – on theology, Christian lifestyle, fellowship, worship, encouragement etc - became a major part of the Bible.  He suffered great persecution for the truth and eventually died a martyr.

2.    Philip’s evangelistic tour – Acts 8:4-40

Philip was one of the seven Greek-speaking disciples chosen for their spirit and wisdom and the respect they commanded among the believers, to supervise the food distribution in the early church. He had worked in close association with Stephen. Following the intense persecution of the church that erupted after Stephen’s death, most believers fled Jerusalem escaping to different parts of the empire where they preached to the local Jews and gentiles and established churches. Philip went directly to Samaria and started preaching to the people there, a people whom Jews never liked. This was in obedience to the Lord’s commandment “You shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”.  The Holy Spirit spoke to Philip at a time when he was having a successful ministry preaching to great crowds in Samaria. (See Acts 8:5-8)  But again he obediently left that ministry to travel on a lonely desert road where he met a high-ranking Ethiopian official. His effectiveness in sharing the gospel with this man placed a Christian in a significant position in a distant country. Because Philip went where God sent him Africa was opened up to the Good News.

                                                                                                  

3.    St. Peter’s missionary tour Acts 9:32 – 11:18

Stephen’s death helped Peter overcome ancient Jewish prejudices against the gentiles. He had travelled to the crossroads town of Lydda where he healed a cripple called Aeneas. The believers in the old port city of Joppa sent for him after a wonderful woman died. Peter went and brought her back to life. When he was in Joppa Peter had a strange vision that led him to take the gospel to Cornelius, a gentile in Caesarea.

Peter had already broken an age-old Jewish taboo when he decided to go and stay with Simon, a tanner of hides, and through this vision, he realized that he must overcome the prejudice he had held against mixing with non-Jews. Before the vision he wouldn’t have believed it was possible for a Roman army officer to be accepted by God.  “I see very clearly that God shows no favouritism….Jesus is the Lord of all” he declared, confessing “everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will have their sins forgiven through His name”. He and the other Jews watched in amazement the miracle of the Holy Spirit falling upon Gentiles who heard him preach and proceeded to baptize them. Acting upon his newfound belief, he agreed to stay with them for several days. Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that Gentiles had received the word of God. The foundation was laid for world-wide evangelism.

4. The Founding of   the church in Antioch (Syria) – Acts 11:19ff

The believers were scattered by the persecution that started following Stephen’s cold-blooded murder. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch in Syria. They told the Good News in these places, but only to Jews. Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When these men came to Antioch, they began speaking to the gentiles. They told them the Good News about the Lord Jesus.  The Lord was helping these men, and a large number of people believed and decided to follow the Lord. When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. He went and saw how God had blessed the believers there and how the Holy Spirit was working among the Gentiles too. He encouraged them. Many more people became followers of the Lord. Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Paul, found him and brought him to Antioch. They stayed there for a whole year. Every time the church came together, Barnabas and Paul met with them and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the followers of the Lord Jesus were called "Christians" for the first time.

CONCLUSION: Christ had warned His followers that living for Him would lead to trouble.  See Luke 21:12-19. This is still true. About 120,000 Christians are killed every year, even today. When we boldly live out our faith, the light of our lives will expose the sinfulness of others. Our words of truth will pierce their souls. Some will be convicted and yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but others will become angry and hardened. Jesus said, “They will do all these because of me for they have rejected the One who sent me” (John 15:21). We shouldn’t be surprised or abandon our faith when we are persecuted. We don’t know why God allowed Apostle James to be killed, but at the same time rescued Peter from the grasp of Herod in a miraculous way. Like the four stories above prove, it is God’s will that will eventually triumph. We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him, who are chosen according to His plan. See Romans 8.28

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