The community of the Spirit and Stephen
Text: Acts 6:8-15; 7:51-60
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)-- Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
51 "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." 54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
The way in…
Mary Bergman editor of the collection of essays entitled Martyrs writes that ‘to be a martyr you have to believe that something matters more than life.’ To be a martyr you have to believe that something matters more than life. Stephen believed. Polycarp believed. The seven Trappist monks believed. What about us?
The first martyr
One of the first problems in the early church, as it so often does, involved food. As the number of Jesus followers grew and as the people held everything in common, naturally some of the people began to complain that they weren’t getting their share of food. Some of the Greek Jews brought this complaint to the disciples who were caught up in study, teaching and arguing in the synagogues. They didn’t have time for these issues, so they decided to set aside a group of leaders as ‘servants’ for which the Greek word is ‘deacon,’ who would take care of the food distribution. And so they set out to select seven men who were full of the Holy Spirit who were willing to serve the people. And we learn in the 5th verse that Stephen was the first selected because as Luke writes, he was a man ‘full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…”
Holy Spirit at tables. I think it is important to note where Stephen starts, before he performed wonders and miraculous signs, before he delivered one of the longest recorded sermons in the Bible, before he became the first martyr of the church he was a waiter, a deacon, a servant. It seems that we are more likely to be faithful in the big things if we remain faithful in the small.
Holy Spirit in the synagogue. The next place we see the Spirit show up was in the synagogue. Apparently some of its members were having discussions with Stephen about Jesus. Apparently these members were losing these arguments badly for the Luke writes that, “…they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” Now at this point, the members of the synagogue had a choice. They could have concluded that Stephen was right and believed his words. Or they could have concluded, like I often do when in an argument with Erin, that he won the argument not because he was right, but because he just argued better. It’s interesting to see what people do when they don’t get their way. These folks seized Stephen and took him before the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin and made false claims against him saying that Stephen was speaking against Temple claiming that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy it. After which the high priest looked at Stephen and asked, “Are these charges true?” Does any of this sound familiar?
At this point Stephen replies with the longest recorded sermon in the New Testament which is not bad from a guy who was just chosen to wait tables. In this sermon Stephen does nothing more than recount the history of God’s work in the Old Testament. It’s funny because if you read it, there isn’t anything radical about it until... Until you come to the last section when Stephen turns to the Sanhedrin and all of those who’d accused him and says, “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!” Now forgive me if I’m wrong, but were I facing an angry mob, insulting them is generally not the best way to stay unharmed, yet Stephen continues by claiming that they resist the Holy Spirit and that instead of him, it was them who though they had received the law of Moses, they were not obeying it.
Holy Spirit exposing the weakness of the ‘strong.’ It is here that the conflict devolves one step further. Arguing did not work. Lying did not work and so they religious leaders resort to violence. Notice their reactions. First they gnash their teeth, then they cover their ears and yell at the top of their lungs until finally they take him out of the city to stone him. The first time I read this I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen this kind of behavior before (gnashing teeth and covering ears) and then it hit me that I certainly had seen it, in each of my kids when they were 2 or 3 years old. When my kids don’t get their way they first try to argue, when that doesn’t work, they will sometimes lie and if they still don’t get the answer they want, they will pitch a fit and if that still doesn’t work they’ll throw whatever is in their hands or perhaps even start swinging. Do you see what is happening in this story? Through Stephen, the Holy Spirit is exposing the immaturity of violence. By the time the religious leaders are throwing stones they seem more like 3 year olds than like the wise, faithful leaders they are supposed to be. But what about Stephen? Stephen seems wise, faithful and mature beyond his years.
“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.” To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life. What was it Stephen believed mattered more than life? Look again at the start of his prayer, “Lord Jesus…” Three words that have caused more trouble than one might ever think are the simple claim that “Jesus is Lord.” To the Jews this was a blasphemy, an unutterable claim as only YHWH could be Lord. And to the Romans, this was a political challenge as every Roman citizen was expected to proclaim that the Caesar was Lord. This is ultimately why the Romans crucified Jesus, because he claimed an authority that the Romans would not grant. Now, here it is at the root of the stoning of Stephen, he claims the Lordship of Jesus which the religious leaders would not accept. Jesus is Lord. Three simple, yet incendiary words. But not only does Stephen proclaim these words, but he imitates Jesus’ life. What are his last words? Instead of words of hate, they are words of forgiveness. The very Jesus who Stephen called Lord said to ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ And what does Stephen do? He prays, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life.
Polycarp
Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrnia in the 2nd Century when he was arrested because he refused to call Caesar God. His captors tied him to a stake and prepared to light him on fire. “Come now,’ the urged, ‘where is the harm in just saying Caesar is Lord, and offering the incense and so forth when it will save your life?” Polycarp replied, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior.” And with that Bishop Polycarp was killed. To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life.
Of Gods and Men
A couple of months ago I went with Carol and Dave to watch a movie called Of Gods and Men, which tells the story of 9 Trappist monks who live in a monastery near a little village in Algeria. There they live in harmony with the Muslim community caring for their sick, working side by side to raise food and offering spiritual counsel just as those before them had done for hundreds of years. Until in 1996 they were caught between a band of terrorist and the repressive military regime of the government. Neither of these groups knew what to do with the monks as repeated efforts failed to get them to ‘come over to their side.’ The movie shows the brothers’ deep struggle to decide whether to stay and continue their mission or depart to safety. Despite the dangers, they decide to stay which proved to be fatal. One evening a still unknown group arrived and kidnapped 7 of the 9 brothers and took them away. Months later they were found dead; some of the last martyrs of the 20th century. To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life.
Early Challenge
Few things caught my attention in the worship services of my youth. My friends and I spent most of our time playing tic tac toe or making fun of Felix Harrod for falling asleep in the choir loft. However, one Sunday morning we had a guest minister who told a story which to this day I’m not sure is true, but has value nonetheless. He told a tale of a church in a village in South America that sat in the middle of violent rebels. One evening as the people were gathered for worship the doors to the sanctuary burst open and in stormed a squad of armed men. They marched to the front of the sanctuary, pushed the pastor aside, took the microphone and said, “Anyone willing to deny that Jesus is Lord may leave right now, but all of those who remain will die.” There was a pause as the people looked at one another until finally an old man rose and departed, he was followed by a young family and several other people until finally the flow of people stopped leaving only 20 people or so. The rebel leader waved his gun at the remnant and issued a final chance to deny Jesus and live. The 20 held fast with heads bowed until finally the leader handed the microphone back to the pastor and said “Now, we may worship with the true believers.” And with that the rebels set down their guns and took their seats in the pews.
With all of our attention fixed on the minister telling this story he closed with this challenge, “What would you have done? Would you have remained or would you have gone?” Being the enthusiastic Christian that I affirmed in my heart that nothing could have forced me to leave that church. That no matter the cost I’d never deny Jesus as Lord. I went home that day assured that I’d be willing to die for my faith. And then after lunch my mom asked me to do the dishes. At which point I argued, I gnashed my teeth and stopped short of threatening violence. I didn’t want to wash the dishes, I wanted to go play with my friends. And there I stood a young believer who was supposedly willing to sacrifice his life for his Lord, yet unwilling to do the dishes for his mother. I can almost hear the echo of John who wrote, “Anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20). Which I might paraphrase, “Anyone who does not allow Jesus to be Lord of the dirty dishes, will fail to proclaim Jesus as Lord in the face of death.”
It’s interesting that in each of these stories of martyrs that none of them sought death. Martyrdom was a consequence of their faith, not a goal. The monks in Algeria sought only to serve God by loving the people of the community. Polycarp sought only to serve God by loving the people of Smyrna. And before Stephen was a martyr, remember that he was called to be a deacon, a servant, one who not only served the food, but likely washed the dishes as well. Each of these martyrs proclaim the truth that if Jesus is Lord, he is Lord not only in our death, but also in our life. To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life. Do we believe? Do we believe? Do we believe? May the same Spirit that gave Stephen the power to answer yes both in the face of stones as well as the face of dirty dishes empower us to say “Jesus is Lord” as well.
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