Acts 7
Have you ever been called to the
principal’s office? Or have you ever had
to stand before a judge and jury on trial?
If so, how did you feel? For my
part I think I’d feel very nervous … even being innocent.
Stephen’s confidence before the high
priest and the counsel was amazing. The
text shows us no sign of nerves. His
life was very much in danger in this group, as we see from the outcome of his
trial, yet his boldness and witness to this group of men is outstanding. God was with him, and that was all Stephen
needed. Perhaps it was God’s presence
that caused his face to be like that of angel.
(Acts
6:15)
It rarely seems like wisdom to attack
one’s accusers when they are in much larger numbers and are more powerful than
you, but that is essentially what Stephen did.
Taking them back to God’s Word he showed them in their own history how
they had rejected God and His servants over and over again – particularly Moses,
the one they claimed to follow so closely now.
For us modern Christians there is a
warning here to make sure that we do not reject God’s Word, and in so doing
reject Jesus. It is an interesting thing
that Jesus remains very popular in our culture, but a closer look shows us that
the “Jesus” who is so popular is strikingly different from the Jesus of the
Bible. We have no right to conform Jesus
to our notions.
We should also not be surprised when we
are met by resistance, ridicule or even wrath when we testify to God’s truth –
even (especially) the Gospel of Jesus crucified for our sins, and raised to
reign eternally. God’s people struggle
with God’s will and Word, and have often denied the Scriptures’ veracity in a
wide variety of areas from creation to human sexuality. If we have resistance within the Church, why
should the world respond better?
The good news in this is God’s
faithfulness. Stephen died horribly, but
he lives gloriously because of God’s grace.
While this is hard, the truth is God’s victory for you cannot be
violated by the world’s violence.
Heavenly Father, help me live by faith in
Jesus and let my faith show. Make me a
representative of you Kingdom of grace and mercy. Amen.
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