WHEN THEY HEARD this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But 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.”
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged 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.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
8:1And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Original Meaning
THIS SECTION OF Luke’s account of the history of the early church gives the aftermath of Stephen’s speech, both for Stephen and for the church as a whole. Stephen was stoned to death as a result of his powerful witness to Jesus Christ, and the church as a whole began to feel the effects of Jewish opposition to the fledgling Christian movement.
Stephen’s Vision (7:54–56)
WITH HIS ACCUSATION against the Jewish people (7:51–53), Stephen brings his speech to an (abrupt?) end. Predictably, the reaction is bitter (7:54). Yet the next verse starts with one of the many glorious “buts” found in the Bible, signaling a change in the direction or tone of events. The Greek literally says of Stephen, “But being filled with the Holy Spirit. . . .” (7:55a). The word “being” (hyparchon, not translated in the NIV) means here “to be in a state, normally with the implication of a particular set of circumstances.”1 Stephen had been filled with the Holy Spirit throughout his Christian life, and this fullness did not leave him at his time of crisis. It intensified into a special anointing, opening the door to a vision of God’s glory and of Christ (vv. 55b–56). As F. F. Bruce points out, “It was the Spirit of prophecy that took possession of him now.”2 Here is another instance where God comes with a special revelation of himself to comfort the faithful in their time of deep crisis.3
Stephen’s vision is filled with deep significance.4 At his time of shame and apparent defeat he “saw the glory of God” (7:55b). He also saw Jesus and exclaimed, “Look . . . I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). This is the only New Testament occurrence of the title “the Son of Man” outside the Gospels.5 Stephen’s statement reminds us of a similar statement made by Jesus to the same court only a few months before. The high priest had asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” and Jesus had replied, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61–62). For that Jesus was adjudged guilty of blasphemy and worthy of death (14:63–64).
Now Stephen is, as it were, challenging that judgment by affirming that Jesus is indeed the glorious Christ and is now at the right hand of God. The Sanhedrin had no choice but to condemn Stephen too, unless they were willing to say they were wrong about their verdict on Jesus. This vision must have given Stephen courage. He is not wrong in the path he has taken. This cause will triumph, as proclaimed in the psalm that the early Christians valued so much: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies” (Ps. 110:1–2). Stephen’s vision confirms their interpretation of that psalm.
Why is Jesus standing and not seated, as the other Scriptures declare? Many explanations have been given for this shift. I agree with the many commentators today6 who argue that Luke intends Jesus’ standing “as a witness or advocate in Stephen’s defense.”7 Jesus had said, “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8). In keeping with that promise, as Stephen is rejected by earthly courts, he finds Jesus acting as his advocate and testifying on his behalf. But Jesus is also the Judge, whose judgment alone matters from the eternal perspective. Therefore, there is nothing to fear. Rejection by his own people, the Jews, would have been hard to bear, but acceptance by that greatest of Jews, great David’s greater Son,8 more than compensates for the pain.
Also confirmed in this vision is what Stephen had been arguing for in his speech. Bruce comments:
The presence of the Son of Man at God’s right hand meant that for his people a way of access to God had been opened up more immediate and heart-satisfying than the temple could provide. It meant that the hour of fulfillment had struck, and that the age of particularism had come to an end. The sovereignty of the Son of Man was to embrace all nations and races without distinction: under his sway there is no place for an institution which gives religious privileges to one group in preference to others.9
Stephen’s Death (7:57–60)
WITH DRAMATIC CRISPNESS Luke describes how the angry audience acts in haste to put Stephen to death. When they add these words about the vision of Jesus to his damaging statements about the temple, they have no choice but to kill him for blasphemy—just as they had killed Jesus. Their covering of their ears (7:57) must have been a characteristic response to blasphemy. They wish “to shut out his words lest God come and consume them for listening to such blasphemy.”10 Stephen is dragged out of the city for stoning (7:58a) in keeping with the command to “take the blasphemer outside the camp . . . and . . . stone him” (Lev. 24:14). Luke mentions Saul at this point (Acts 7:58b), in keeping with his habit of introducing major characters of his book in a narrative before they come into prominence (cf. 4:36–37; 6:5).
Stephen’s last words are surprisingly close to two of the last words of Jesus just before he died. He asks God to receive his spirit (7:59; cf. Luke 23:46) and not to “hold this sin against” his killers (Acts 7:60; cf. Luke 23:34). Only Luke mentions the two parallel statements of Christ. Presumably he wants his readers to note the similarity. As we will see below, he has entered into the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings.
The Church Scattered (8:1–4)
THE DEATH OF Stephen gives a new impetus to the anti-Christian forces with which Saul is now prominently associated (8:1a). A great persecution arose that day, “and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (8:1b). The fact that the apostles “could stay on in Jerusalem (no doubt along with other Christians) confirms the suspicion that it was mainly Stephen’s group which was being attacked.”11 The apostles may also have stayed on in Jerusalem because they felt it was “their duty to stay at their post.”12
Stephen was buried and mourned over by “godly men” (8:2). The adjective “godly” (eulabes) is usually used of Jews. We cannot be sure whether Luke means Jewish Christians13 or pious Jews other than believers, who deplored the injustice committed.14 The language used for mourning suggests loud and deep mourning, which later rabbinic literature (the Mishnah) considered inappropriate for the burial of people condemned to death by the Sanhedrin.15 If Christians are meant here, Stephen was certainly a deeply loved person (understandable, considering his unique character). If non-Christian Jews are meant, this mourning indicates how much some Jews regretted what had happened. Whatever the reason, it is comforting to find that in a culture where an honorable burial was a much valued feature, the first Christian martyr received such a burial.
Luke is not reluctant to describe the pre-Christian vehemence of his later friend Saul/Paul (8:3). I live in a land of turmoil and am often concerned for what our children might think about our decision to stay and serve an evangelistic organization here. Thus, I have naturally wondered what those Christian children would have felt like as they fled their homes in fear or saw their parents dragged off to prison. What has happened to the victorious Christ and the power of his resurrection? Why does God remain inactive, even dormant, while they suffer?
Acts keeps unfolding its deep theology on the subtheme of suffering as the book proceeds. God is not dormant; he actually feels the pain that Saul inflicts (see 9:4). For the moment, Luke gives us a glimpse of the victory God is going to win out of this seeming tragedy: “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (8:4). As Everett Harrison writes, “The people went as missionaries more than as refugees.” He points out that “Luke could have used the general term for scattering but chose instead to use a word [diaspeiro] that means to scatter as seed is scattered on the ground.”16 This word is connected with the Jewish dispersion. Perhaps Luke is conscious of a new dispersion coming into being.
With the benefit of hindsight, Luke sees great significance in these events. In fact, when he describes the preaching of the gospel to Gentiles for the first time outside Palestine, he says that the ones who did this were “those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen” (11:19). Luke deliberately associates Stephen and the persecution with this important development in the church, which Barclay calls “one of the greatest events in history.”17
Bridging Contexts
LUKE UNDOUBTEDLY HAD several reasons for giving Stephen so much prominence in Acts. In the previous study we discussed three of them: the example of balanced Christianity that one sees in his life, the model of godly radicalism and contextualization in his ministry, and the important place his message had in the development of Christian doctrine. The present passage shows the way Stephen and the early churches faced persecution. Suffering is one of the major subthemes of this book.18 It is reasonable, therefore, to conclude that Luke is describing the suffering of Stephen and the church and their response to it in order that his readers might glean lessons on how Christians should face suffering.
Suffering and fullness. Stephen’s experience of the Spirit’s fullness in preparation for death (7:55) gives us a fresh insight into the nature of that fullness. It is given here to help a faithful Christian face suffering. This theme receives extended treatment in Romans 8, the great chapter of Paul that describes the Spirit-filled life. The second half of that chapter is devoted to the experience of the Spirit amidst suffering (Rom. 8:17–39).19
Stephen’s anointing with the Spirit’s fullness took the form of a vision of God’s glory and of the exalted Christ in his role as advocate in heaven. Through it Stephen received strength to face his painful ordeal triumphantly. On many other occasions in Acts when God’s servants suffered for the gospel, God revealed himself in some recognizable way that gave them the courage to go on (4:31; 18:9; 23:11; 27:23–24). We can conclude that God, knowing how much we can endure, gives us his strength in our times of need, which boosts our spirits and spurs us on to obedience, even to obedience leading to death. In a similar way God fulfilled this promise in the life of Paul when no relief from suffering came to him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Sharing in Christ’s sufferings. We noted in the “Original Meaning” section Stephen’s two statements that are similar to what Luke records Jesus as saying at his death (7:59–60). When we compare Luke’s records of the deaths of Jesus and Stephen, the tie between them is too close to be coincidental. Stephen is accused of a similar charge made against Christ: offense against the temple (Matt. 26:61; Mark 14:58).20 In a remarkable fulfillment of a prophecy made by Christ at his trial (Luke 22:69), Stephen receives a vision of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God. Both Jesus and Stephen are taken out of the city to be killed. As they die, they say similar things. Not only has Jesus come close to Stephen, Stephen has, in the process, become like Jesus. Paul speaks of desiring these same two things: “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings [and] becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10). Stephen has, in effect, entered into the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings.
The Bible’s teaching on this doctrine is a natural extension of the doctrine of our union with Christ. Christ is a suffering Savior, and if we are to be truly one with him, we too must suffer. There is a depth of union with Christ that comes to us only through suffering. But not only do we share in his sufferings, he shares in our sufferings. The exalted Christ, sharing in the glory of God, is not deaf to our cries of pain as we suffer; he himself suffers with us when we suffer. Paul came to understand this on the road to Damascus when he heard Jesus say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). Saul had been hitting the church, but Christ had been feeling the pain!
Thus, in our times of suffering we can affirm by faith, “This is going to bring me closer to Jesus. Therefore it is a blessing.”
Suffering and evangelism. As noted above, Luke implies that Stephen’s death and the persecution that followed served the cause of the gospel in being a catalyst in getting the message out (8:4; 11:19). In the previous study, we saw that Stephen’s ministry opened the door theologically for the world mission of the church (by showing that the temple was not necessary). Now it opens the door circumstantially for world missions, for it catapults missionaries out of Jerusalem into other geographical areas mentioned in the Great Commission. We can glean here a principle that is always true, insofar as other passages also suggest it: God uses persecution and suffering to advance the gospel. Writing to the Philippians about his imprisonment, Paul said, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Phil. 1:12).
Perhaps the strongest affirmation of this belief is Colossians 1:24–25: “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.” This curious statement seems to imply that Christ’s sufferings are incomplete, an idea Paul would vehemently oppose. But while Christ’s sufferings are complete in winning our salvation, the reception of this salvation is incomplete. Before Jesus comes again, there must be the “birthpangs of the Messiah,” which is an Old Testament and Christian idea.21
The church (which is one with Christ) must encounter some of these birthpangs. We know that the coming of Christ is intimately linked with the preaching of the gospel to all nations; only after this has been completed will the end come (Matt. 24:14). While the suffering of Christ is complete, the reception of its blessings is not complete. To put it another way propitiation is complete but propagation is incomplete. For this to happen there is a “quota of suffering”22 that must be borne. Paul says in Colossians 1:24 that he rejoices in taking on that quota. The point, then, is that suffering is an essential ingredient of effective evangelism and ministry.
Contemporary Significance
SPIRIT-FILLED SUFFERING. STEPHEN’S experience of a special anointing with the Spirit’s fullness in the midst of suffering challenges many prevalent notions of that fullness. We usually relate that fullness to some ministry activity, such as preaching, healing, or prophesying, or to an ecstatic personal spiritual experience, such as speaking in tongues. While that is certainly valid, we must not forget that the Spirit’s fullness is also given to prepare us for suffering, which is such an important part of the life of obedience. God is powerfully at work both when the sun shines brightly and when the dark clouds loom over us.
We must, therefore, develop a theology of the fullness of the Spirit in the darkness. Such a teaching is not easy to grasp in this sensual, hedonistic world, which is afraid of suffering and does so much to avoid it. Yet the Bible tells us to anticipate suffering rather than avoid it. If we have a theology of the fullness of the Spirit in the darkness, we will eagerly seek the blessings we know God will give us through the darkness.
I believe the Spirit’s fullness in the darkness is so important for our spiritual health that God permits us to go through dark times in order that he can fill us afresh. Many preachers will testify that some of their best experiences of the freedom of the Spirit in preaching came during times of deep pain in their lives. I have found personally that before a major assignment that I know will be a drain on me spiritually (such as speaking at a large conference), I often encounter some major crises. I have now come to recognize these as God’s gifts to draw me nearer to him. Struggling with such crisis increases my dependence on him, which is a key to opening us to an experience of God’s fullness. The Japanese evangelist and social reformer Toyohiko Kagawa (1888–1960) once thought that he was going blind. He described what he felt like in this way: “The darkness, the darkness is a holy of holies of which no one can rob me. In the darkness I meet God face to face.”23
The vision of God’s glory and Christ’s exaltation must have done much to encourage Stephen. Rejection by one’s own people is always hard to face. But when we realize that God is on the throne and that he is for us, we can find courage and even joy amidst our pain. The story is told of a Christian martyr smiling as he was being burned at the stake. His persecutor was annoyed by that smile and asked him what there was to be smiling about. He replied, “I saw the glory of God and was glad.”
Amidst our pain we will wonder whether it is worth suffering for the gospel. At such times we ought to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). With such a vision we can run with perseverance the race that is set before us, refusing to give up when the going gets tough and divesting ourselves of unnecessary earthly weights that so easily entangle us (12:1).
Suffering and the pursuit of pleasure. Can we sustain the biblical idea that suffering is a blessing in a hedonistic society, which is bent on a relentless pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of suffering? Not unless we rediscover true Christian hedonism.24 Because God is the Creator of all things, we also know that he is the source of purest and fullest pleasure (for he created pleasure). The greatest pleasure is to know God intimately. As David said, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Ps. 16:11). Our pursuit of the highest pleasure, therefore, is a pursuit of union with God in Christ. And one of the deepest aspects of that union is sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Paul said, “I want to know Christ . . . and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10). As Peter O’Brien has pointed out, the Greek here implies that sharing in Christ’s sufferings is an aspect of knowing Christ.25
The question, then, is how important knowing Christ is to us. If it is our consuming passion, we will not resent suffering because amidst the pain we have the underlying assurance that it is leading us to achieve our deepest ambition in life. John and Betty Stam were missionaries in China who were martyred by the communists in the 1930s while they were still in their late twenties. John Stam once said, “Take away everything I have, but do not take away the sweetness of walking and talking with the King of glory!” Those who find such joy in their union with Christ will find that suffering is indeed a blessing, for it leads them to greater depths of the greatest pleasure one can know. We need to redeem pleasure from the stranglehold of emptiness to which the world has condemned it.
Suffering and ministry today. Not only does suffering deepen our tie with Christ, it also enhances the effectiveness of our ministry, especially the ministry of evangelism. This again is a message that ought to be emphasized in a world that seeks to avoid pain. For example, much is being written today about the dangers of stress.26 But we must never forget that a certain type of stress is necessary and helpful for effective ministry—the stress of taking on the pain of our people. Did not Paul say, “I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28)? Note too his stress over the wayward Galatians: “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!”(Gal. 4:19–20).
The truth is that what we suffer increases our credibility in ministry. Paul can tell the Galatians, “Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). Such credibility opens the door for us to exhort people with some authority. Paul told the Ephesians, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph. 4:1). Exhortation has gone out of fashion today, and one wonders whether that situation would change if Christian ministers were willing to suffer more.
It is, however, in evangelism that the power of suffering is best illustrated. The North African Christian writer and apologist Tertullian (c. 160–225), addressing the rulers of the Roman empire, said, “Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to the dust. . . . The more you mow us down the more we grow, the seed is the blood of Christians.”27 A similar statement comes from an Anglican bishop from Uganda, Festo Kivengere. Speaking in February 1979, on the second anniversary of the death of his archbishop, Janani Luwum, he said, “Without bleeding the church fails to bless.”28
This century has seen a lot of persecution and martyrdom of Christians. Dr. Paul Carlson may have been correct when he told the Congolese believers before his martyrdom that more believers have died for Christ in this century than in all the previous centuries combined.29 But associated with the persecution is great effectiveness in evangelism, as the amazing growth of the church in China in the past half-century proves. The rapid growth of the church in Sri Lanka in the past fifteen years and the rise of persecution have gone hand in hand. Speaking on persecution in Sri Lanka at the World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin in 1966, my father said that the question to ask is not, “Why are we being persecuted?” but, “Why are we not being persecuted?” That situation changed after the church started taking obedience to the Great Commission more seriously. Evangelism provokes persecution while persecution energizes evangelism.
If we are obedient to Christ, even if we live in countries where there is relative freedom for Christians, we will face suffering of some sort—even if it is the suffering of tiredness or of pressure out of a concern for people. It may be the hurt that comes from people who disappoint us even though we refuse to give up on them. It may mean being betrayed by people we trusted. It can take the form of persecution for sharing Christ with non-Christians who do not want to hear the gospel, or for telling Christians things that they do not like to hear.
Obviously, all the above things can be easily avoided. We can avoid tiredness by not responding in love to a need of someone else. We can avoid the pressure of concern for people by not taking things pertaining to their lives as a personal responsibility. We can avoid the hurt of disappointment by not having such high hopes for people. We can avoid betrayal by not trusting people and investing in them. I fear that much thinking on Christian ministry tends in the direction of helping us avoid such pain. Such patterns indicate that the church has lost the biblical understanding of suffering and pain as something glorious.
Today we have a lot of therapy for sufferers. While this may be helpful, more helpful is a theology of suffering. Even with all the therapy we cannot avoid or escape suffering. In fact, by trying to avoid or escape suffering we may become disobedient to God’s will. A theology of suffering will take the bitter sting out of it. It will help us to maintain joy in the midst of it and turn the suffering into something constructive for the kingdom.