Acts chapter seven, we'll pick up the last section. I'll read beginning in verse 44 to chapter eight, verse one. And then our focus this evening is on the martyrdom of Stephen in verses 54 and following. So beginning though in verse 44, our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness as he appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen. which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon built him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says. Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

Has my hand not made all these things? You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

Stephen's Vision of the Glorified Christ

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Look, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord. And they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

The Witness of Saul Introduced

And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And

Stephen's Dying Words

they stoned Stephen as he was calling on and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Intercession for His Murderers

Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to his death. Amen.

Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for this, your written word. Thank you for the book of Acts and what it teaches us concerning disciple making and church planting and the extension of the kingdom of Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ here on earth, we thank you as well for your mercy afforded to your people in life and in death. And may these things encourage us, and may the gospel of our salvation refresh our minds and hearts tonight as well, Father, as we participate in the supper.

May this indeed be a means of grace, and may you strengthen our faith, and may you help us to glorify you in this present evil age. Again, Father, forgive us of all sin and unrighteousness and guide us now by your Holy Spirit. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Well,

Introduction

Acts chapter 7 and the culmination here in the martyrdom of Stephen actually begins prior to this. If you go back to chapter 6, you'll notice that Stephen is arrested. There is a sort of a debate or a discussion and they are bested by Stephen. So, of course, in terms of silencing their opponent, they arrest him and they put him up on trial.

And the particular charges that they level against him are found in chapter 6 at verse 11. Then they secretly induced men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. That would be the Jewish Sanhedrin.

And then it says, they also set up false witnesses who said, this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law, the holy place being the temple. It's gonna be the subject matter of his defense in the entirety of chapter seven. So they said, we have heard him say, verse 14, that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us. Interestingly, that's the same charge that they leveled against our Lord Jesus.

Remember, when he stands before the Sanhedrin, This was the issue. You said you were going to destroy the temple. He didn't actually say he was going to destroy the temple like with C4 or something. We know that he was talking about the temple of his body.

Intriguingly, going back in redemptive history, this was the same charge leveled at the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied concerning the fall of the southern kingdom. He prophesied concerning the Babylonian captivity of Judah, which would result in the decimation of their temple. For the Jews, the temple was everything.

And so if they perceived that you were speaking ill of the temple, that was indeed a blasphemous offense. And so Stephen then defends himself in chapter 7. And Stephen's basic point, we don't have time to rehearse the entirety of his sermon, but he develops a biblical theology of God's dwelling among people. And he essentially says that God doesn't need a temple, an earthly place, in order to manifest his glory or his presence among his people.

Abraham met with God prior to the tabernacle and temple. We see this in the patriarchs. We see this throughout redemptive history. And at this latter part of his sermon, he tells us that Solomon built a house for God.

And then in verse 48, he says, however, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says. Now, when he gets into the words that he speaks as they're about to converge upon him and destroy him, he essentially says that everything the temple stood for is realized in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. So they are incensed and outraged against him. And so he defends himself by highlighting that he is not attacking the temple.

He appreciates the theology of the temple. and how it inevitably led to the Lord Jesus Christ. The temple wasn't an end in and of itself, but rather it pointed forward to the blessed Christ. And so now that Christ has come, we have temple or dwelling in God through our Lord Jesus. So that's kind of the essence of his defense.

Now, as he concludes his defense, notice in verses 51 to 53, he's not just, you know, satisfied with giving them a Bible study. Here's your biblical theology of temple, and here's what it means. Now, I want everybody to go home and think about this. No, he rebukes them.

He applies his words, and he says, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. He upbraids these men because of their culpability or responsibility in the death of the Lord of Glory. So again, he presses this home on their consciences. And that brings us now to his martyrdom.

On the one hand, if you're thinking like a devil in man's clothes, you'll understand why they're so upset. They didn't like to be called stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart. They didn't want to be told that they always resist the Holy Spirit. This outraged them.

But the means that they employ to try to silence him was murder. It was wicked. It was vile.

The Blessedness of Stephen

So I want to look first at the blessedness of Stephen in verses 54 to 56. Secondly, the murderous rage of the council in verses 57 and 58. And then finally, the death of Stephen in verse 59 to chapter 8, verse 1. What follows in chapters 8 and 9 are closely connected to what Stephen prays in terms of Lord, do not charge them with this sin.

But notice in the first place with reference to the council, verse 54, when they heard these things, they were caught to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. The things they heard, the entirety of his speech, especially the emphasis upon the temple pointing to our Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't dwell in a house made with hands. Rather, it was typifying the coming of the Messiah, the just and holy one that you men crucify.

Notice their fury. When it says they heard these things, they were cut to the heart. The word means to be cut to the quick or to be infuriated. You see an instance of this in chapter 5 at verse 33.

You can turn there. When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. In chapter 2, there's a positive effect of being cut to the heart that is absolutely contrary to what we find in our passage. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?

So there's a positive cutting to the heart, a conviction for sin and a desire for the Savior, but they have the negative cutting to the heart. They're outraged. They're furious. They want to rid the world of Stephen.

As far as they are concerned, he is a blasphemer and he does not deserve to live. Notice as well they gnash their teeth at him. This is an expression of rage in the Old Testament passages where it's used. Matthew Poole makes the observation, gnashing of teeth is the curse of the damned, which men by their sins do prepare for.

There's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth is what our blessed Savior says concerning hell and the outer darkness. So they are already preparing for that eventuality. Now note the blessedness of Stephen in the midst of this. They heard these things, they were cut to the heart, they gnashed at him with their teeth.

Stephen probably understands that this is not going well, humanly speaking. Stephen understands that they did not respond favorably to his message. They were not cut to the heart and said, men and brethren, what must we do to be saved? No, they're angry, they're infuriated, they're going to get rid of him.

And Stephen understands this. But notice how God affords comfort to his suffering saint in the time of crisis. Notice specifically what we find. There is a vision that he has and there is a declaration that he makes.

The vision is in verse 55. Notice, but he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Brethren, there is our triune God. As I've had cause to reflect upon in the Gospel of John, it's not just one place or two places where we see the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

It is everywhere through Scripture. The true and living God is but one only. But this true and living God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. the Father unbegotten, the Son begotten by the Father, the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. So Stephen now is full of the Holy Spirit, he gazes up into heaven and there he sees the glory of God, and significantly there Jesus is standing at the right hand of God.

Now again, brethren, I can't overestimate how this would outrage this particular audience. He has just reminded them that they killed him. They crucified him. And yet now Stephen has an eye full of Jesus standing at the right hand of the glory of God most high.

That is precisely what he says. Now it's a vision that's available to him. And it's a vision that is limited or accommodated to Stephen's capability, capacity. The creature never fully sees the glory of the creator.

John Calvin says, the glory of God appeared not unto Stephen holy as it was, but according to man's capacity. For that infiniteness cannot be comprehended with the measure of any creature. We cannot exhaust, we cannot contain, we cannot hold a view of the glory of God Most High as He is. That's why our confession of faith says that He's known only to Himself at the level of essence.

The creature cannot plumb the depths of the glory of God Most High. So he's filled with the Holy Spirit. He sees the glory of God. And again, interestingly, he sees Jesus, not sitting at the right hand of the Father, but standing at the right hand of the Father.

Turn back to chapter 2 in the book of Acts, and you'll see another reference where Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. Acts chapter 2, specifically at verse 32. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

And then over in chapter 5. Chapter 5, same sort of an emphasis in verse 31. Him God has exalted to his right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. So now as Stephen is being prevailed upon by this Sanhedrin, they're gnashing their teeth at him, they're infuriated, they're outraged with him.

God, the Spirit, fills him. The Lord God Most High manifests himself to him, and he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Now, other places in Scripture that speak of Jesus at the right hand of God, certainly Psalm 110.1, Yahweh said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The book of Hebrews, chapter 10, makes much of the fact that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, after accomplishing his priestly work.

That's a significant bit of theology, because the high priest on the Day of Atonement didn't sit down in the Holy of Holies. The high priest on the Day of Atonement went in, he made his sacrifice, and then he got out. And then he found the scapegoat, he put his hands upon that animal, he confessed the sins of Israel, and then they drove it out into the wilderness. He didn't sit in the Holy of Holies.

So, theologically, to show the superiority of the high priestly office of Christ, once he offers up himself, that one sacrifice for sin, he sits down at the right hand of the Father. What's the implication? Never to duplicate the sacrifice again. It's once for all.

What we do tonight in terms of the supper is different than Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism sees in their Lord's Supper an unbloody sacrifice, a sacrifice of atonement. That's not what we're about. There is a once-for-all sacrifice that Christ rendered, and now he sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father.

So significantly, here we see Jesus standing. Well, it never says that he can only sit or he can only stand.

Christ Standing: Two Reasons

Why is he standing? I think there's two particular reasons. So remember, he's full of the Holy Spirit, he looks up into heaven, he sees the glory of God, and there Jesus standing at the right hand of God. I think it suggests two things.

First, his willingness and his readiness to receive Stephen unto himself. his willingness and his readiness to receive Stephen unto himself. After Stephen has his body caved in by the stones of this murderous rage, he is going to depart and be present with the Lord. And so that standing there signifies the help of the Savior, the comfort of the Savior, the graciousness of the Savior to receive his servant unto himself. But I think secondly, I think that what is suggested here is that it's not Stephen ultimately that's on trial.

It's not Stephen that's ultimately under scrutiny. It's the Sanhedrin. Our blessed Christ at the right hand of the Father is watching over these lawless men, these godless men, these wretched men, and it's Him that is the judge that will in fact do right in terms of their ultimate destruction in A.D. 70. Poole and Gill say this, and standing ready to assist and comfort all that should suffer for his sake.

That's Matthew Poole. John Gill says, where he was seen by him standing to denote his readiness to assist him and his indignation at his enemies. And I think that's comforting. On the one hand, Comfort in the sense that Christ is going to receive us.

But on the other hand, vindication. Shall not God avenge his elect who cry to him day and night? Revelation chapter 6, those souls that are under the altar, those martyred souls, they say, how long, Lord, until you avenge our blood? The divine response isn't, oh, how dare you ask for vengeance?

How dare you ever suggest there should be any kind of retribution upon the enemies of God? No, that's not the answer. The answer is, is that it's going to come. 2 Thessalonians 1, the apostle says, it is righteous with God to pay with tribulation those who afflict you. Brethren, we image God, and God is love, but God is also justice.

God is righteousness. It is not wrong as the people of God to long for those things. So when Jesus is standing there ready to receive his servant, he's also standing there presiding as judge over this motley crew or over this kangaroo court, and he's going to bring judgment upon them. And incidentally, that's what Jesus prophesied in Matthew chapter 24.

That was the basis for which they called him to the Sanhedrin. You're talking about the destruction of the temple, just like Jeremiah before him. And when Jesus is standing before the high priest, he says something that Stephen will imitate. Notice what we find in the declaration that he makes, verse 56.

Stephen's Declaration to the Council

And he said, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. I'm not sure that anyone else in the New Testament refers to Jesus as the Son of Man. Jesus refers to Jesus as the Son of Man on numerous occasions. It's one of his favorite titles for himself.

It reflects Daniel 7, 13 and 14, which is an ascension text. It's when the Son of Man ascends to the ancient of days and then all power, all glory, all kingdom is given unto him so that he may rule and reign. And so when Jesus said that before the Sanhedrin, they understand precisely what he was talking about. That's why the high priest rent his garment and accused him of blasphemy, because he understood what Jesus was claiming.

Jesus was claiming to be Daniel's son of man that would ascend to the Ancient of Days, that would take his position at the right hand of the Father, and he would rule and reign over all things. And so Stephen says essentially the same thing, and it has the same effect upon his hearers. Notice that they're not softening. Notice that they're not saying, wow, he's making such good biblical sense.

He's quite the theologian. He's quite the man. No. Everything that he says, they resist, they reject, and they ultimately drive him out of the city to stone him.

So he says, look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Jesus, before the Sanhedrin says, when they asked him, are you the Son of God? He said, it is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Intriguingly, brethren, when Christ refers to himself as Son of Man, it's not necessarily that he's highlighting his true humanity. More often than not, when he speaks of being the son of man, it is underscoring his divinity. It is underscoring that Daniel passage in Daniel 7, 13 and 14. When he's referred to as the son of God, for instance, in Luke's gospel in the genealogy, it is his humanity that is being stressed.

Now we know the one person of Christ, two natures, divine and human. Here, specifically, he is predicating of the Son divinity. Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Why does he tell them what he sees?

Why does he do this? Is he trying to get stoned? Is he trying to get murdered? Is he trying to get executed?

No. He does it for two reasons. Calvin suggests it's to rebuke his hearers. He says God meant not only privately to provide for his servant, but also to wring and torment his enemies, which this most certainly would have done. but as well to corroborate his defense.

Look, I see the heavens open down the son of man, standing at the right hand of God. He is the true temple of God. He is the reason for which the temple existed. It pointed toward him.

It spoke of him, it foreshadowed him. His argument all along has been the presence of God is not confined to the temple or to Jerusalem. His glory appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia and his glory was now in heaven associated with Jesus and seen by Stephen. So this would outrage his hearers.

Now, again, I doubt Stephen said, hey, how can I get maximum effect and really irritate these guys? I don't think that's what's in his head. I think Calvin is saying this is one of the reasons or one of the effects that it has, but he's looking up into heaven. He sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand.

Who wouldn't report that? Who wouldn't exclaim that? Who wouldn't tell somebody or tell everybody, look, this is what I'm witnessing, your outrage, You're infuriated, you're gnashing your teeth at me, you want to destroy me, but God Most High is my ever-present aid and help. God Most High stabilizes His saints.

In the moment of excruciating difficulty, in the moment of excruciating hardship, it is not the case that God abandons His people. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because thou art with me as I move through the valley of the shadow of death.

The Apostle Paul at the end of Romans chapter 8, I am persuaded there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And he describes some things there that are pretty horrific. He describes some things there that are pretty challenging. And yet it is never the case that Christ will leave or abandon those for whom he died.

From heaven he came and sought her. He came to die and bleed for her. He will never, ever forsake us and will never, ever let us go.

The Murderous Rage of the Council

Now notice the murderous rage of the council in verses 57 and 58. First of all, they seize Stephen. So they don't say, wow, great observation. This guy's a good theologian.

We should listen to him. Nope. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord. Now remember, these are grown men.

These are the same men that slapped our blessed Savior as he stood before the Sanhedrin. These men act like children. And that's not a diss on children. Children are supposed to act like children.

Adults are not supposed to act like children. They're acting like petulant little babies that don't get their way, and instead of just trying to best him with argumentation, refute him with their own scriptures, no. They just get more outraged, and now they're going to stop their ears, and they're going to rush upon him. the significance of the stopping of the ears. Oh, he is blaspheming.

The things that he is saying are just too wretched for our especially holy and pure ears. These are self-righteous, godless men who parade themselves as the leaders in Israel, And yet they have descended into the mob mentality of just trying to murder somebody. One man says, the remarks send the crowd into a frenzy. When Stephen declares that he sees the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, he is stoned for blasphemy.

Because in the view of these Jews, no one has the right to be at the side of God's heavenly presence. Do you understand that? The one that you crucified, the one that you put to death, the one that you put into the ground, that one now is standing at the right hand of God Most High, and that one is the means by which sinners and God dwell together. In other words, He's the temple, He's the dwelling place, He's that which tabernacle and temple pointed unto.

Now notice, they run at him. This shows their unity. It shows their solidarity. When they heard these things, or rather what then they cried out, verse 57, with a loud voice, stopped their ears and ran at him with one accord.

The wicked are at times far more unified in their machinations than the righteous are. Shared with you before, we've gone through it before in Acts chapter 23. There is this conspiracy to murder Paul. There is this conspiracy to rid the earth of Paul.

These people engage in this. They say, we won't eat again until Paul is dead. I don't know that I see that kind of Christianity, that kind of commitment. I'm not going to eat again until such and such a thing takes place.

There is resolve on the part of the wicked to try and rid the world of the righteous. I've said that this morning. This is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. That's kind of the connecting theme between the morning and the evening sermon.

Cast Out and Stoned

Now notice, they cast him out of the city. Verse 58 tells us, they cast him out of the city and stoned him. Why did they cast him out of the city? Well, the Old Testament law demanded such.

And I think the idea is simply this, his blasphemy is too wretched to penetrate our perfect ears. But his blood is too putrid to litter our perfect city. We've got to get him out of the city, and we've got to deal with him there. And again, that's the stipulation in Leviticus chapter 24.

Leviticus 24.14, in terms of Old Testament penalty for blasphemy. Take outside the camp him who has cursed. Then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. You have an incident or an illustration of this in the execution of Naboth in 1 Kings chapter 21.

Remember Naboth had his own piece of property and Ahab wanted it so he could have a vegetable garden or a vineyard. And of course Ahab said, you know, it's his, I can't really do anything with it. And Jezebel says, go over there and take that land. She concocts a story, she accuses him of blasphemy, and they take Naboth outside the city, and there they stone him to death.

So the Jews are operating in a unique situation. They are actually breaking the law horribly, But at the same time, in their fastidious self-righteousness, they're trying to keep the law. Oh, Leviticus 24, 14, we got to drive this man out of the city and we have to execute him. So they cast him out and then they stone him.

And again, this is the Old Testament penalty for blasphemy. So Leviticus 24, 16. And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, a stranger as well as him who was born in the land.

When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death. Now the question arises in this particular situation, was this the end of judicial process? Was this the end of due process? After all, the Sanhedrin is the highest political and religious court in Israel.

But in John 18, they didn't have the authority to execute the Savior. In John 18, they admit as much. They didn't have the prerogatives to execute criminal offenders. That's why they had to go to Pilate.

That's why they had to concoct the story about Jesus. That's why they had to get him on tax evasion. Because, of course, that would challenge the prevailing authority in Rome. Anybody that doesn't want to pay their taxes, never forget this, brethren.

You are an enemy of your government if you don't pay their taxes. You don't pay your taxes, that's the crime that will get you undone. That's what brought down Al Capone, the man who had bodies everywhere, the man who engaged in criminal enterprise. It was tax evasion that ultimately brought him down.

So they charge him with blasphemy, but Pilate's not going to execute Jesus based on blasphemy. So they concoct this story that he forbids paying taxes to Caesar. So it's a kangaroo court, but they acknowledge that they don't have the authority to engage in capital punishment relative to the Savior. What changed?

Why do they now have it in the case of Stephen? They don't have it in the case of Stephen. They're getting more emboldened against the way. They're getting more emboldened against the Christian church.

They are getting more outraged, and they are taking the law into their own hands. So their fastidiousness, well, we've got to take him out of the city. We've got to execute him with stones as commanded by Moses in the book of Leviticus. But you don't have the authority or the right to do this.

Let every soul be subject to the governing authority. There is no authority except from God. You're under the Roman Empire. They didn't give you the ability to engage in capital punishment.

And so they have taken the law into their own hands. They drive Stephen outside of the city and then they throw stones at him. Now kids, they're not throwing little rocks to irritate him. They're picking up big stones and they're throwing them at Stephen in order to kill him, in order to murder him.

And this is murder. This isn't justice, this isn't righteousness, this isn't due process, this is an outrage in terms of jurisprudence. They don't have the authority, they don't get any witnesses, they have no cross-examination, there's no defense that is appropriate at this point. They just go to summary execution to shut him up.

Brethren, as I mentioned this morning, the antithesis is real. The God-haters hate the people of Christ, and they will do them disservice and injustice any chance that they get. Notice what they do, according to verse 58. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Why would they lay down their clothes? Well, probably because their clothes got in the way of being able to throw the stones. If you're going to be inhibited from carrying out execution, you've got to get rid of any inhibition. Take off the outer garment.

And what happens as well when you're picking up stones and throwing them at people to kill them? You probably start to get a little warm, you probably start to sweat a little bit. So Luke is very detailed, he's very graphic in terms of description, because he wants us to understand, oh yeah, a biblical theology of temple, oh yeah, these murderous, wretched Jews, but he also wants us to understand the warfare that is leveled against the people of God. Stephen is a good man.

Stephen is filled with the Holy Spirit. Stephen is a wise man. Stephen is a man that knows his Bible. And Stephen is a man that can speak the truth.

And yet that will not hold in this context. And so they have to rid the earth of this particular man. So the witnesses are those stoning Stephen. Deuteronomy 17, seven.

The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death. And afterward, the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil among you. Now notice, and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Now Saul is going to feature large in the rest of the book of Acts. In fact, the spotlight is going to be upon him in the rest of the book of Acts. He's introduced here as a young man, probably around the age of 30. In Philemon verse nine, he refers to himself as Paul the aged.

He's probably around 60 at that particular time. And so Saul is introduced to us. And I think Saul is introduced to us so that when we read Paul's epistles, we understand that he's not treating this in an abstract way. He's not saying, oh, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, is a wonderful thing.

And he talks about the riches of his grace, Ephesians 1, 7. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. He knew that theologically. He knew that biblically.

But he knew that experientially. Here was a man that was tasked with guarding the outer garments of those engaged in an act of murder against Christ's martyr. This is grace, brethren, the fact that God answers this prayer in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the prayer we'll see in just a moment, and in the use of Saul of Tarsus as the great apostle Paul to the Gentiles. Paul knew the grace of which he wrote.

Paul knew the grace of which he preached. Paul knew that grace because it was grace that taught his heart to fear. He was a murderous wretch just like the rest of them. He was a murderous and complicit individual in the stoning death of this wonderful man called Stephen.

The Death of Stephen

Now notice finally the death of Stephen in verses 59 and following. We see his death and then as well we see the consent of Saul. Notice in the first place his dying words. His dying words.

You can tell a lot about a man by what he says in the 11th hour. And Stephen is no exception to that. Notice in verse 59, they stoned Stephen as he was calling on. God there is supplied.

I think it's better left out. They stoned Stephen as he was calling on and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Notice the similarity with his master. It's precisely one of the sayings of the Savior on the cross. He says to the Father, receive my spirit.

This is from Psalm 31, and we see it specifically on the cross in Luke chapter 23. So he says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. That's a comforting proposition. Notice what he's saying there.

Notice what he's doing. Jesus is standing there, poised to receive him. And so Stephen affirms that, yes, receive my spirit. That's the end for all of us as God's people.

If we're not God's people, we don't get that blessing. If we're not God's people, we don't get that comfort. If we're not God's people, the end is terrifying. But in this instance, even though he's being stoned to death, he's being pelted, he is being brought within inches of his life, he's able to say to his blessed master, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

The comfort afforded by our blessed God is obvious. Calvin says this is an inestimable comfort, in that we know our souls do not wander up and down when they flit out of our bodies, but that Christ receiveth them, that he may keep them faithfully if we commend them into his hands. This hope ought to encourage us to suffer death patiently. Now, none of us plan for our death that way.

Well, you know, when the end comes, I hope I suffer it patiently. But perhaps we should. Perhaps we should pray to God for the grace necessary to exit this world in such a fashion. and to realize that this is the means by which we gain. Remember Paul in Philippians 1.21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is what?

To gain. What do you do with Paul? Do you kill him? He gets more Christ.

Do you let him live? He gets more Christ. Whatever you do with Paul, it's about more Christ. See, that's an attitude or a disposition that the people of God need to imbibe.

That's the kind of thing that we need to be about. We need to have that confident expectation that when we breathe our last, the Lord Jesus is going to receive our spirit. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, it's better to depart and be present with the Lord, or to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Philippians 1.23, he's conflicted.

If I stay on, there'll be fruit from my ministry. But if I leave, it is far more excellently better, is what he says. The reality that an ascent into heaven to be with the Savior is something that is most glorious. And the reality that Jesus hears prayer and receives the spirits of just men made perfect.

Again, that he calls upon Jesus to receive his spirit. We miss things like that all the time in our Bible reading, but they wouldn't have. They would understand Psalm 31. Into your hand, I commit my spirit.

Who is the receiver of spirit? It's God most high. What is Stephen predicating of Jesus? That he's God most high.

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Notice as well, he then calls upon Jesus to forgive them. just like Jesus on the cross. He calls out to the father to receive his spirit. And he says, father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

So he calls on Jesus to forgive these murderers. Notice in verse 60, then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice. That's similar to Jesus as well. When Jesus cried out, it was with a loud voice.

When Stephen cries out, it's with a loud voice. How does he have the energy? He's being stoned to death. Right?

Well, if God calls upon you to suffer in a similar manner, then God affords the resources necessary so that you'll be stable, so that you'll be secure, so that you'll be equipped and able. Sometimes we read Fox's Book of Martyrs, or we read incidents like these, and we say, man, I wonder if I could handle that. Somebody put a gun to my head and said, recant or I pull the trigger. What would we do?

Well, I'd like to say I'm not going to recant and they can go ahead and pull the trigger, but I know I'm a chicken. I know I'm a coward. If God puts us in that kind of a situation, we trust God to provide the Spirit to aid us in that situation. When Thomas Hawks is burning and melting in the fire and his last dying words is, Christ is Lord of the fire, we say, man, what a great guy Thomas Hawks was.

He was, but what a great God we serve that gives his people the energy and the strength in dire straits to cry out with a loud voice when they're within inches of their death and say this Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. Do not charge them with this sin. Again, you gotta see where the narrative is going. Saul of Tarsus is going to not be charged with this sin.

Saul of Tarsus is gonna be forgiven on the road to Damascus. Saul of Tarsus is the fruit of an 11th hour prayer offered up by Stephen in a time of great calamity and in a time of great trial. He says, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And God most high receives that petition.

Now, in terms of his corroborating evidence to his sermon beforehand, you say, well, Butler, it doesn't say, he says that, you know, Jesus is why the temple stood. Jesus is the anti-type for that typical temple. Oh, yes, he does. Notice he connects Jesus with the forgiveness of sins.

That's temple stuff. Notice that he connects Jesus with access to God. That's temple stuff. And he connects Jesus to this house of prayer, which is the temple.

So everything the temple stood for, everything that it typified, finds its realization and fulfillment in our Lord Jesus. So in these dying words, he is corroborating the biblical theology of temple that he presented beginning in chapter seven at verse one. He is not shrinking back. He is not saying, oh no, I capitulate.

I'm gonna see it the way you guys tell me. No, he contends for the truth even to the bitter end.

He Fell Asleep

And then notice how verse 60 describes his death. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Probably not the word choice I would have picked if I was Luke. He was brutalized, he was bleeding, he was battered, he was broken.

What a horrific and wretched death that he died. I think anybody would be satisfied with that response. But for Luke, when he had said this, he fell asleep. F.F.

Bruce says, Stephen fell asleep, an unexpectedly peaceful description for so brutal a death, but one which fits the spirit in which Stephen accepted his martyrdom. Amen. The people of God die well. The people of God exit this world in a manner that is consistent with their calling, their high calling, in Christ Jesus the Lord.

The Consent of Saul

And then finally notice the consent of Saul of Tarsus in verse 1. Now Saul was consenting to his death. This means to join in approval, to agree with, to approve of, to consent to, to be sympathetic with, to the murder. He was consenting to an act of murder.

So when he says, this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world sinners to save of whom I am chief. He's not kidding brethren. It was grace that taught my heart to fear. Paul could sing that with John Newton.

Paul could sing that with any of us. He wasn't some theological machine that just wrote abstract theology and dispensed it to the masses. His whole theology was essentially an explication of what had happened to him on the road to Damascus. He wasn't seeking Christ.

He was opposing Christ. He wasn't seeking to be in the church. He was trying to destroy the church. It was grace that taught his heart to fear.

And interestingly, he repeats this in two places that I think are significant. Turn to Acts chapter 22. Acts chapter 22. specifically at verse 20. Well, verse 17, now it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple that I was in a trance and saw him saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning me.

So I said, Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. He never forgot that, brethren. You just don't forget something like that.

And then turn to Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, where the apostle is upbraiding the Gentiles, for what can be known of God is manifest to them through the created order. The creature leads us to the Creator. We look at the effects and we go to the cause.

And Paul tells us that in general revelation, God manifests Himself. But one of the things that he says, the end of the chapter, notice in verse 32, who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. Calvin says in his commentary, this is the summit of evil. It's not only that you're content to damn yourself, but you want to sit around and watch everybody else and consent while they damn themselves.

And so the apostle probably, maybe, potentially has in his own mind here, in the utilization of this particular statement, this Stephen incident. He may not have picked up a stone. He may not have thrown one at Stephen's head. He may not have delivered the death blow, but he was involved.

He was consenting. He was approving. There was everything about that particular event that satisfied this man. He was a wretch saved by grace.

He was a sinner that needed the cleansing blood. of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Back to Acts chapter 7, I love what Matthew Henry says concerning this incident. He says that Paul fed his eyes with this bloody spectacle in hopes it would put a stop to the growth of Christianity. He says, we have reason to think that Paul ordered Luke to insert this for shame to himself and glory to free grace.

So that when we come to 1 Timothy 1.15, we can't scratch our heads and say, what kind of a sinner was Paul? Oh, this is the kind of sinner Paul was. So that when Paul preaches the gospel to sinners like you and me, when Paul celebrates the grace of God Most High, When he says in Ephesians 1, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, we can affirm that Paul's not lying, Paul's not faking, Paul's not engaged in hyperbole. He's not just trying to win arguments, but rather he is telling you of the availability of a fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness.

Do not continue in rebellion against God. Do not continue to resist. Do not continue to reject. Do not be one that would be upbraided by Stephen.

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit. Don't do that. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Confess Him as Lord and Savior. Turn from your sins and know the joy of being found in Him. Not having your own righteousness which is from the law, but that righteousness which is from God received by faith.

Application

In conclusion, the murderers are wretched. Their vile response to his message is to be cut to the heart and infuriated and gnash at him with their teeth. And their murderous response to his vision is in verses 57 and 58. They prevail upon him with one accord, they drive him out of the city, and they commence to stone him to death.

Now, in terms of the goodness of God, we ought to appreciate that He is with His people in their time of trial. I referred to that girl Leah this morning. How did she do it? Honestly, brethren, that would be a tough one.

By the age of 18 to have two children from somebody that did not marry you and love you and care for you and do those things that are good in a marriage situation. How does she do it? Is she just a bulwark of stability and a strong individual? Well, no doubt she's got some natural resources.

No doubt she's a sturdy gal, but it's the grace of God. How does Thomas Hawks in the fire say, Christ is Lord of the fire. It is because the sovereign God, the triune God, affords help to his people in time of need. Notice as well that he gives strength to his people in their time of need.

He's not just with them. Stephen's full of the Holy Spirit. He gazes up and he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. But he's also given the strength to be able to stand up in the midst of this.

He's able to cry out with a loud voice his petitions to our blessed God. As well, he gives peace to his people at their time of death. We see it in the use of the verb. He fell asleep.

He was brutalized. He was stoned to death, and yet the choice by Luke is, he fell asleep. As well, he receives his people when the Spirit departs from the body. No matter how broken, bruised, and battered their bodies are, the Spirit departs and is present with the Lord.

See, there's not soul sleep. There's not this period of an unconsciousness on the part of Stephen. Stephen ended that day the way the thief on the cross ended that day, being received in that glorious kingdom by the blessed Savior himself. And then we see, in terms of the goodness of God, that he answers prayer.

This dying prayer of a martyr who says, do not charge them with this sin. Brethren, the significance of that prayer and its answer has impacted Western civilization, the entirety of the world. The Apostle Paul was not just an exceptional religious figure. But that man did great things for a lot of different things all throughout the world.

And we have much indebtedness to his ministry, both in terms of preaching and missionary endeavor, and the epistles that he wrote. But I want to end on the final note with reference to Stephen. He ultimately demonstrated dependence on the triune God. Brethren, that ought to be our prayer.

We ought to want to just finish well. I don't want to abandon the Lord. I don't want to recant. I want to be able to deal with and bear up, I'm speaking for all of us, with whatever it is they throw at me, with whatever it is they hurl at us.

That ought to be our prayer, that in death we don't dishonor our blessed Master. He expressed courage in the face of martyrdom. He doesn't shrink back. He doesn't cry out.

He doesn't run from there. He doesn't say, well, what about my rights? I'm not getting the case or the jurisprudence that I stand in need of. No, he bears up under this with great courage.

As well, he evidences Christ likeness in his trial and affliction. He imitates the Savior. Lord, do not charge them with this sin. Lord, receive my spirit.

These were what Christ did on the cross, and Stephen imitates that. But I want to underscore finally with something that's very familiar to at least half or three quarters of you, Heidelberg Catechism number one. What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood. He has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation because I belong to him.

Christ, by his Holy Spirit, also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. Christ is our only comfort in life. And in death, it has been well said of the people of God that they die well because of the God of the people that is poised to receive the spirit when we separate from the body. Stephen teaches us glorious truths.

God demonstrates glorious things in this passage. And while it is bloody, while it is brutal, while it is wretched, and while it is definitely Contrary in terms of any approach to law abidingness on the part of people, it does evidence the grace and the mercy and the goodness of our God, and that Christ is our only hope, our only comfort in life and in death. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this passage, we thank you for this example of Stephen and his death in this time of great affliction and hardship, he nevertheless has communion with the triune God. Give us that confident expectation that if called upon to suffer in like manner, our blessed Savior will be there to receive us. We thank you that you are our only hope, our only comfort in life and in death, and may these things encourage our hearts. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Scripture References

• Leviticus 24:14; 24:16
• Deuteronomy 17:7
• 1 Kings 21
• Psalm 31:5; 110:1
• Daniel 7:13-14
• Matthew 24
• Luke 23:46
• John 18
• Acts 2:32; 2:37; 5:31; 5:33; 6:11; 6:14; 7:44-8:1; 7:48; 7:51-53; 7:54; 7:55; 7:56; 7:57; 7:58; 7:59; 7:60; 8:1; 22:17-20; 23
• Romans 1:32; 8:38-39
• Ephesians 1:7
• Philippians 1:21; 1:23
• 1 Thessalonians 1:6
• 2 Thessalonians 1:6
• 1 Timothy 1:15
• Philemon 9
• Hebrews 10
• Revelation 6:9-10