Sermon
Acts 7:55-60
The Promise and the Price
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Acts 7:55-60
The Promise and the Price
Our focus this morning is on the first Christian martyr, Stephen. What I hope you’ll get out of the sermon is a simple message: God promises life in all its abundance through faith in Jesus Christ; but with the promise comes a price. We see this illustrated in several ways in the story of Stephen.
The story begins with a squabble. In the early days of the church, the Christians pooled their resources and shared a common wealth. A high priority was to provide for widows and orphans. To this end, they distributed food on a daily basis. This soon led to a problem: Some were getting more than others.
To relieve them of the burden, the apostles called for seven men of good repute to be elected as deacons to take over the food distribution. Stephen was one of them. Luke describes him as, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 6:5) By comparison, he only names the others without further comment.
Let’s take that to mean Stephen was especially gifted. He stood out above the others. He was exemplary. He was one of those people who seem to have it all together, whose mind and heart are at ease in every situation, who flow through life with grace and dignity, with little effort.
You’ve known people like that – their shoes shine, while yours are scuffed; their hair miraculously falls into place while yours looks like Phyllis Diller out looking for Fang on a windy day. Whether they were blessed with better genes or more attentive parents, they came out a cut above.
Stephen was one of them. By the grace of God, he showed superior promise. But remember: With promise comes a price. His gifts were not for privilege, but service. He was elected to help distribute food, to care for widows and orphans. That also included the poor and needy, the lame, the home bound, the infirmed, the dying.
In his First Letter to the Corinthians Paul lists a variety of spiritual gifts. He says some are given the gift of wisdom; others, the gift of knowledge; some, faith; others, gifts of healing; some are able to perform miracles; others, to prophesy. You get the picture.
The point is whatever your gifts, they come from God, and they’re to be used for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:5-10) Underlying is a simple equation: The greater the gift, the greater the responsibility to use it faithfully. As Jesus said, “To whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.”(Luke 12:48 WEB)
Sadly, we live in a world that’s lost sight of the correlation. Now we’re taught just the opposite: To whom much is given, much is to be enjoyed. The one with the most toys wins. It’s all about me.
That may be how the world sees it, but it’s not the way God sees it. God gives us the promise of life in all its abundance through faith in Jesus Christ. With the promise comes the price of service and self-denial. No one knew this better than John Wesley, who said,
I am no longer my own but Thine.
Put me to what you wilt, rank me with whom you wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for Thee or laid aside for Thee,
exalted for Thee or brought low for Thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Thy pleasure and disposal.
The other Christians recognized Stephen as a man of extraordinary gifts and abilities, and so they elected him as a deacon. In return, Stephen rose to the occasion and became a leader by losing himself in service to others. The lesson for us today is clear: Go and do likewise.
Stephen not only helped distribute the food to the widows and orphans, Luke goes on to say that, “Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8 WEB)
What were some of the great wonders and signs Stephen performed? Did he heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons? Scripture is silent. We’ll never know. Safe to say it was enough catch the attention of others – and not only fellow Christians, but Jews from all around the Mediterranean – “Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia.” (Acts 6:9 WEB)
In particular, there was a hotbed of radical extremists known as the Synagogue of the Libertines, or Freedmen. Luke says they disputed with Stephen, but “weren’t able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.” (Acts 6:9-10 WEB)
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Stephen was a skilled orator who spoke with eloquence and precision. He was well versed in the Torah and Jewish history. He could hold his own with any rabbi or scribe. When it came to Jesus, he was uncompromising: Jesus was the Promised Messiah, no two ways about it. The Freedmen were no match for Stephen.
That led to a problem: With the promise of superior intellect and the gift of articulation came the price of confrontation. Luke says,
“Then they secretly induced men to say,
‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
and came against him and seized him,
and brought him in to the council …”
(Acts 6:11-12 WEB)
Had Stephen been less gifted, he would have never been noticed; had he been less outspoken, he would have never posed a threat to anyone. He could have stayed under the radar and lived a long and peaceful life. But he would have never made a difference, and he would have never fulfilled God’s will for his life.
I once heard a preacher say, “The quickest way to meet the Devil is to take a stand for God.” It’s true: As long as you’re willing to go along with the status quo and blend in with the majority, the Devil will leave you alone. You’re no threat to him.
But speak up, take a stand, bare witness to the truth of God’s Word, and you’ll catch flack from every direction. Not only will your opponents try to put you down, you’ll be excluded from the inner circle of family and friends. They’ll politely dismiss you as being overly conservative and regressive. You’ll be like a minister friend of mine who spoke out against gay marriage. He said one of his elders told him in a patronizing tone of voice, “It’s O.K. You just haven’t gotten there yet.”
Stephen stood head and shoulders above the rest; as such, he made for an easy target. When the Freedmen couldn’t shoot him down in a fair and honest debate, they got down and dirty. They trumped up charges against him and brought him before the Sanhedrin, the highest court of the Jewish faith: The greater the promise, the higher the price.
Stephen was now on trial for his life. It didn’t faze him in the least. As one false witness after another testified against him, Stephen sat perfectly calm, as if this was the very moment he’d been waiting for. Luke says,
“All who sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him,
saw his face like it was the face of an angel.”
(Acts 6:15 WEB)
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus promised blessings on the poor in spirit, on those who mourn, on the peacemakers and those who are meek and merciful. But he reserved the greatest blessing of all for those who would be persecuted on account of their faith in him. He said,
“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
(Matthew 5:11-12 WEB)
This little kernel of truth cuts like a two-edge sword: There’s a blessing in store for you if you’re willing to speak the truth of God’s Word in love; not so if you simply parrot conventional wisdom and go along with the crowd.
It’s a haunting question: If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? How does what you think, say and do differ from the happy pagans around you? How does the way you live contrast with those who take their cues from Modern Family and The Goldbergs?
Stephen was a paragon of virtue. He talked the talk and walked the walk. As a result, he found himself dead center in the crosshairs of the Jewish leaders.
When it was his turn to answer the charges levied against him, he wouldn’t say a word in his own defense. Instead, he recounted the mighty acts of God – how God had made covenant with Abraham and promised to make of him a great nation … how God had used Joseph to save the people from starvation and how, when the people of Israel became slaves in Egypt, God sent Moses to deliver them and lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. He went on to recall the glory days of David and how Solomon, fulfilled his dream of building a house for the Lord – a glorious temple more magnificent than anyone could have ever imagined.
Then Stephen went from preaching to meddling. He pointed a finger at the Jewish leaders and said,
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always resist the Holy Spirit!
As your fathers did, so you do.
Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute?
They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One,
of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and didn’t keep it!”
(Acts 7:51-53 WEB)
Luke says when he said this, the Jewish leaders were cut to the heart and they gnashed their teeth at him. Stephen was hardly surprised. What else could he expect, accusing them of betraying and murdering Jesus?
Nor was he put off. Luke says that being filled with the Spirit, he gazed up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus – not sitting, but standing – at the right hand of God … as if Jesus himself were testifying on his behalf.
It was the final straw. Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:56 WEB)
It pushed them over the edge. They cried out at the top of their lungs and plugged their ears. Then they dragged Stephen out of the temple and took him beyond the city wall, where they stoned him to death.
Ironically, Stephen got the last word. Even as the stones were being hurled, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” (Acts 7:59 WEB) And in his final breath, he uttered, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60 WEB) With that, he died.
When a soldier or police officer is killed in the line of duty, we respectfully say, “He paid the ultimate price.” This could certainly be said of Stephen: He paid the ultimate price for his faith and devotion to Jesus Christ. He’s the first in a long line of Christian martyrs. Because of his courage and his positive influence on others, he’s properly recognized as a saint.
The story of Stephen contains an important footnote. According to Luke, those who cast the stones …
“… placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul …
(thus) Saul was consenting to his death.”
(Acts 7:58, 8:1 WEB)
The Apostle Paul was one of the zealots who played a part in Stephen’s death. While he may not have cast a stone himself, he was one of the group.
Little did he know what the Lord had in store for him. For he still had the blood of Stephen on his hands when the Lord struck him down on the road to Damascus and called his name and transformed him into the greatest evangelist the church has ever known.
Yet, with promise comes a price. Like Stephen, Paul died a martyr’s death rather than forsake the faith. He had no regrets. In his Second Letter to Timothy, he writes,
“… the time of my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course.
I have kept the faith.
From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day;
and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.”
(2 Timothy 4:6-8 WEB)
I’d like to end with three questions: What particular gifts, talents and abilities has the Lord given you? What promise does your life hold for the sake of Christ and his kingdom? Are you willing to pay the price, for his sake?
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible.
Copyright 2014, Philip McLarty. Used by permission.