Acts: To The Ends Of The EarthSample

In Acts 2:37, we see deep conviction come upon those who have heard Peter’s sermon. Stephen’s speech also arouses a deep response (v. 54). Stephen pulls no punches (vv. 51–52). His manner and content is not that of a man looking for acquittal. Yet again we are told by Luke of his fullness in the Spirit in verse 55, as we were previously told in 6:5, 8.

Stephen inflames the situation further by claiming to see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (v. 56). To the Jew, that any figure should be on equal footing with God was clearly blasphemous, for God is one. So, out of control with rage, they rush to stone him (vv. 57–58). Jesus had ascended to stand at God’s right hand (Acts 2:34). Here He stands to welcome His first martyr into heaven.

Luke now introduces one of the main characters of his narrative, Saul. He will become better known by his Roman name, Paul (v. 58 and 8:1). Saul has clearly heard Stephen and, as the custodian of the cloaks of the witnesses against Stephen who will throw the first stones, he obviously approves of what is about to happen. Stephen is very much like the Lord Jesus in his death—"receive my spirit" (v. 59; cf. Luke 23:46), "do not hold this sin against them" (v. 60; cf. Luke 23:34). Was Stephen’s prayer effective? In the case of Saul, it was.

The focus in the narrative now begins to shift, for God’s gospel is on the move, from Jerusalem to Samaria, from Jew to semi-Jew and then to Gentile, from Jerusalem to Antioch, and from Peter to Paul. Change is a constant for the Christian. The gospel never changes, yet is always on the move, conquering lives wherever it goes. Even through the suffering and pain of its carriers, it continues on in triumph, as we shall see in chapter 8. God uses the death of Stephen to fling His messengers further out towards the ends of the earth. He is the sovereign God who will glorify Himself through our lives and even through our deaths.

Reflection

Why do you think the Jews of the Sanhedrin were so angry with Stephen? Why does the death of the apostle James, in Acts 12:2, get such a brief mention compared with the death of a deacon, Stephen, in Acts 7?