Pastor Tom Johnson, May 18, 2014
At the
beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus, “You will be my witnesses beginning in
Jerusalem, expanding into the whole region of Judea, then into Samaria, and
finally to the end of the earth.” The two things I want to highlight is that Jesus calls his disciples witnesses
and then predicts that their movement will radiate outward from Jerusalem as a
starting point, into the rest of their homeland, then into foreign and very
remote areas of the world. The first seven chapters of Acts are centered around Jerusalem. The
stoning of Stephen is what suddenly causes Christians to move. They are trying
to get away from persecution. And as they move, they continue to witness the
power of the Gospel.
The word witness is an interesting one. It is where we get the word martyr. To be a witness means two things even in English; that we observe an event and that we speak about that event. Many of the early Christians witnessed the great events of the Gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. What they saw, heard, and experienced they spoke and wrote about. They are witnesses.
Stephen is a witness. Beginning with Abraham, the Patriarchs, Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, and Moses leading them out of bondage, Stephen testifies to the religious authority that Jesus was at the end of a long chain of prophets persecuted for doing the work of God. Stephen is basically saying that we have all participated in the terrible injustice and death of Jesus, the true Messiah. This enrages them. And just as they begin to boil over in a rage, Stephen witnesses another truth.
The sky
rolls back as a scroll and he sees Jesus standing in power and strength in
heaven. Just for a moment, he is a witness to what human eyes normally cannot
see but nevertheless is always true—that Jesus is King of Heaven and Earth—he
is ruler of all creation. After he sees, he speaks; giving us the two sides of the same coin of witness.
He experiences and then relates his experience to those around him. They are so
enraged and angry that they literally throw Stephen outside of the city of Jerusalem
in heart-breaking irony into the region of Judea, toward Samaria, and the end
of the earth. Stephen is
the first to be hurled into the direction Jesus predicted. And as Stephen has
stones thrown at him and quickly dies from his injuries, he prays two prayers:
“Lord, receive my spirit” and “Do not hold their sin against them.”
These prayers are wildly familiar. Those who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion would have remembered two almost identical prayers: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” and “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Stephen so identifies with Jesus that he dies a death like him. He is a witness to the power of the Gospel. Perhaps this is why the word martyr took on the idea of suffering and dying because of faith in Jesus. Stephen witnesses the horror of what Jesus does but also the power of the Gospel to assure us of eternal life and forgiveness for even those who perpetrate evil.
I cannot help but think of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim. She is a 27 year old wife of a Christian man. Both are Sudanese and expecting a child soon. Because Meriam’s father was Muslim she cannot consider herself Christian by Sharia law in Sudan. The whole family is suffering. The father is bound to a wheelchair and depends upon his wife. Their two year old son is in prison with her mother and needs constant medical care because of the conditions. And the court has now sentenced her to whipping and execution. But she will not recant her faith in Jesus. Though the sentence of death is not completely final, she is already a faithful martyr in the full meaning of the word. She has witnessed the love of Jesus in the Gospel and she will not stop confessing her faith in him. And because of people like Stephen and Meriam, we are now witnesses too.
I think that this story is ultimately about the power of prayer. Just think about who is there at the stoning: Saul of Tarsus. Stephen’s prayer is for him. “Lord, do not hold their sin against them.” Even though Saul continued to pursue Christians and arrest them afterward, God eventually answers Stephen’s prayer. On the road to Damascus, Saul the persecutor becomes Paul the Apostle. He is the one at the end of the book of Acts under arrest and at the end of the earth in Rome.
“Lord, do not hold their sin against them.” “Lord, receive my spirit.”
Overcome our ignorance with the knowledge of your love, O God. Forgive our sins as you forgave those who crucified your Son Jesus and stoned your witness Stephen. Fill our hearts with empathy and compassion even for those who are against us. Deliver them and us from the evil of violence. Help us all to see that we are all your creatures and that your Son gave his life and rose again from the dead for all. Give to us that same assurance you gave to Jesus who commended his spirit to you on the cross and received Stephen. Give us that same confidence that Scripture gives, that ‘if we are united in a death like his we will certainly be united in a resurrection like his’” (Rom 6:5). Help us to witness your presence in our suffering. Enable us to hold on to the forgiveness and promise of eternal life like Jesus and Stephen did. Make us encouraging witnesses of the power of the Gospel to those around us. Amen.
The word witness is an interesting one. It is where we get the word martyr. To be a witness means two things even in English; that we observe an event and that we speak about that event. Many of the early Christians witnessed the great events of the Gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. What they saw, heard, and experienced they spoke and wrote about. They are witnesses.
Stephen is a witness. Beginning with Abraham, the Patriarchs, Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, and Moses leading them out of bondage, Stephen testifies to the religious authority that Jesus was at the end of a long chain of prophets persecuted for doing the work of God. Stephen is basically saying that we have all participated in the terrible injustice and death of Jesus, the true Messiah. This enrages them. And just as they begin to boil over in a rage, Stephen witnesses another truth.
The sky
rolls back as a scroll and he sees Jesus standing in power and strength in
heaven. Just for a moment, he is a witness to what human eyes normally cannot
see but nevertheless is always true—that Jesus is King of Heaven and Earth—he
is ruler of all creation. After he sees, he speaks; giving us the two sides of the same coin of witness.
He experiences and then relates his experience to those around him. They are so
enraged and angry that they literally throw Stephen outside of the city of Jerusalem
in heart-breaking irony into the region of Judea, toward Samaria, and the end
of the earth. Stephen is
the first to be hurled into the direction Jesus predicted. And as Stephen has
stones thrown at him and quickly dies from his injuries, he prays two prayers:
“Lord, receive my spirit” and “Do not hold their sin against them.”These prayers are wildly familiar. Those who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion would have remembered two almost identical prayers: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” and “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Stephen so identifies with Jesus that he dies a death like him. He is a witness to the power of the Gospel. Perhaps this is why the word martyr took on the idea of suffering and dying because of faith in Jesus. Stephen witnesses the horror of what Jesus does but also the power of the Gospel to assure us of eternal life and forgiveness for even those who perpetrate evil.
I cannot help but think of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim. She is a 27 year old wife of a Christian man. Both are Sudanese and expecting a child soon. Because Meriam’s father was Muslim she cannot consider herself Christian by Sharia law in Sudan. The whole family is suffering. The father is bound to a wheelchair and depends upon his wife. Their two year old son is in prison with her mother and needs constant medical care because of the conditions. And the court has now sentenced her to whipping and execution. But she will not recant her faith in Jesus. Though the sentence of death is not completely final, she is already a faithful martyr in the full meaning of the word. She has witnessed the love of Jesus in the Gospel and she will not stop confessing her faith in him. And because of people like Stephen and Meriam, we are now witnesses too.
I think that this story is ultimately about the power of prayer. Just think about who is there at the stoning: Saul of Tarsus. Stephen’s prayer is for him. “Lord, do not hold their sin against them.” Even though Saul continued to pursue Christians and arrest them afterward, God eventually answers Stephen’s prayer. On the road to Damascus, Saul the persecutor becomes Paul the Apostle. He is the one at the end of the book of Acts under arrest and at the end of the earth in Rome.
“Lord, do not hold their sin against them.” “Lord, receive my spirit.”
Overcome our ignorance with the knowledge of your love, O God. Forgive our sins as you forgave those who crucified your Son Jesus and stoned your witness Stephen. Fill our hearts with empathy and compassion even for those who are against us. Deliver them and us from the evil of violence. Help us all to see that we are all your creatures and that your Son gave his life and rose again from the dead for all. Give to us that same assurance you gave to Jesus who commended his spirit to you on the cross and received Stephen. Give us that same confidence that Scripture gives, that ‘if we are united in a death like his we will certainly be united in a resurrection like his’” (Rom 6:5). Help us to witness your presence in our suffering. Enable us to hold on to the forgiveness and promise of eternal life like Jesus and Stephen did. Make us encouraging witnesses of the power of the Gospel to those around us. Amen.
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