Slices
Prepare
Give thanks for Christian martyrs, remaining faithful even to the point of death. They triumph over Satan through ‘the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony’ (Revelation 12:11).
Bible passage
Stephen seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) – Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia – who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.’
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.’
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Explore
Some of our negative responses result from feeling threatened. We fear change that may rob us of control or force us to admit we are wrong. Is that what produced the Jewish reaction to Stephen? He is painted as multi-talented but gracious, yet he provokes hostility. His arguments can’t be refuted and that breeds false accusation and mob rule. It’s all part of the cycle of opposition that Luke highlights in Acts (see 4:2–7; 5:11,17), only this time it will be deadly, as it remains for some now.
The apostles had done nothing to undermine the Temple. In fact, it was their go-to place for preaching to the crowds (5:12–14,19,20). But it was only Jesus, without the Temple, who could save. The Temple and the teaching of Moses were pointers to a coming Saviour, not the end point. Now, having fulfilled their function, they no longer had the status they once held. When God’s Word comes to us, part of its job is to correct our wrong thinking (2 Timothy 3:16), especially when our views are somehow displacing Jesus. We don’t always see when that’s happening to us, and few enjoy having it pointed out.
Respond
Are there things in our church traditions or personal lives that we rely on more than Jesus? How can we be alert to this?
Deeper Bible study
Lord, keep us open to the Spirit, both as congregations and as individuals.
The account of the wise decision to restructure the leadership of the community, so that the apostles were freed to ‘give attention to prayer and the ministry of the word’ (v 4) while those chosen to ‘wait on tables’ (v 2) took responsibility for what we might call social ministries, is followed by the story of Stephen, whose remarkable gifts meant that his ministry transcended the new arrangements. A second member of the diaconal group, named Philip, also became an evangelist, preaching in Samaria and being instrumental in the crucial conversion of an African civil servant.1
This does not mean that the selection of ‘the seven’ was mistaken, but it suggests that church structures should never become so rigid as to prevent the recognition and use of previously unrecognised gifts. There must have been a lapse of time between the appointment of the seven and the new ministries of Stephen and Philip, because the fact that the gospel spread and the number of disciples increased rapidly (v 7) suggests this was related to the reorganisation. However, that very growth meant that the apostles alone were now unable to meet the demand for teaching and instruction. In this situation people with previously unrecognised and different types of gifting were needed. Enter Stephen!
This remarkable man is twice singled out as being full of the Holy Spirit (vs 5,8). He also appears to have possessed exceptional intellectual gifts which confounded the opposition in debate, leading them to resort to deceit and dishonesty in formulating charges against him. Even then, his very face convicted his accusers and he went on to preach the longest sermon in the entire book of Acts.
Might you have unrecognised gifts that will require openness to a new direction in life?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Chronicles 19–21; Psalm 69
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for our Faith Guide Learning Clusters, as Faith Guides continue to meet each month for masterclasses. Pray that they will be encouraged and equipped by the session topics and that we can facilitate a useful space for the Faith Guides to discuss and learn.
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