The Church s First Martyr Acts 6:8-8:1. June 5th 2009 HPC Evening

Transcription

1 The Church s First Martyr Acts 6:8-8:1 June 5th 2009 HPC Evening [Intro] Every major movement in church history is represented by some key figures. When we think about the evangelistic movement in the 20th century, we must study Billy Graham. When we talk about the 18th century revival, we must mention John Wesley, and George Whitfield. When we try to understand the origin of the protestant movement, we must consider Luther and Calvin. In the same way, if we want to understand how the Early Church expanded and took the gospel from Jerusalem into all the world, we must know some key figures. From Acts 6-9, Luke introduces to us three main characters of that movement - Stephen, Philip and Saul. Stephen (whom we will talk about tonight) is the one who was persecuted and following his death the church was scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Philip, who evangelized in Samaria and because of him the first Samaritans believe and are baptized. Saul, who persecuted the Early Church yet God converted him and assigned him specifically for gentile mission. Since we started our Acts series, we have had 8 sermons on the birth of the NT church and the events that took place in Jerusalem. Now the Church is ready to take the gospel out. Starting from tonight, we will spend three Sundays to cover these three characters with three different kinds of story: a trial scene with a sermon before an execution; a couple of snapshots of one man s ministry; and a conversion and commissioning. Hopefully, as we learn more about these three figures, we will get a vivid picture about how God uses His chosen servants to expand the Church. Here is stage two of the Early Church movement according to Acts 1:8 - The gospel is moving out of Jerusalem into the two halves of the old divided kingdom of Israel - Judea and Samaria. Before we get into the passage, let s pray. [Opening prayer] At the recent SMBC preaching conference, there was a church historian who talked about the revivals of the past 300 years. He mentioned that one of the reasons Billy Graham effectively brought thousands to the Lord Jesus was because he read George Whitfield s sermons and journals. George Whitfield had a great impact on Billy Graham. Not only his sermons but also his godly character. To know a person, we need to know both - actions and words as well as character. Tonight, as we look at the passage about Stephen, we re going to look at his speech before the trial, and at the same time, we will take special note of his character. So, here s my plan, we ll look at Stephen s speech first, and then, I ll make some observations about his character. [Stephen s Speech] Luke writes that as Stephen did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people, he also encountered opposition. His opponents were a group of Hellenistic Jews in the Jerusalem 1

2 synagogues. They were the Freedmen - those descended from former Roman slaves, and the citizens from North Africa and Asia Minor. The charges against Stephen can be found in v. 11, We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God. and in vv , This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us. These Greek-speaking Jews accuse Stephen of attacking the permanent places of the temple and the law. For these Hellenistic Jews, they normally gathered in Greek-speaking synagogues in Jerusalem to study scripture, pray and have fellowship. It was only in the Jerusalem temple that legitimate sacrifices could be offered. They took what Moses said in Deuteronomy 12 literally - Jerusalem is the only place where God put His name and so the Jerusalem temple is the only place for legitimate sacrifices. So Stephen was arrested and was brought before the Sanhedrin. The high priest asked him, Are these charges true? in 7:1. Stephen now starts his long speech - the longest sermon in Acts. You might wonder, why does Stephen gives such a long speech which is pretty much an extended summary of what happened from Genesis 12 to Exodus 18? Surely these theologically trained men in the Sanhedrin would know all this stuff very well!! But Stephen isn t just rambling. He isn t just repeating the history. He uses these stories to make his point in response to the charges against him. As we look into his speech, you ll find Stephen s argument is very clever. From vv. 2-36, Stephen repeatedly makes a point which is critical for the development of the story. He asks: - Where did God appear to Abraham? - Mesopotamia Where did Abraham settle? - Haran Where was God with Joseph? - Egypt Where did Jacob die? - Egypt Where did the rest of the family go to? Egypt Where did Moses grow up? Egypt Where did Moses flee to? Midian Where did God appear to Moses? Sinai, in the desert Where did God send Moses? Egypt Where did God call the people to go to? Sinai, in the desert All these major events where God dealt with His people happened outside the Promised Land. God is not tied to any geographical location. This may seem obvious, but Stephen needs to make this foundational point clear before he tackles the key issues of the law and the temple. In vv , he addresses the law and then in vv , the temple under the theme of its predecessor, the tabernacle. Again, Stephen points out: Where did Israel receive the law? - in the desert (v.38) Where did Israel have the tabernacle? - in the desert (v. 44) God didn t initiate His covenant with His people in the Promised Land. God didn t tie the law and the temple to the physical land of Israel. 2

3 Having established the basis of his argument, Stephen now responds to the charges against him - our fathers refused to obey him. (v.39) and you who have received the law... have not obeyed it. (v. 53). God has made it clear - He doesn t dwell in houses or temples. It is YOU who idolize the temple!! It s not me, but YOU who don t keep the law. It s not me speaking against the temple, but YOU who idolize it. And now here comes the critical turning point - in vv. 51-2, You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him - Stephen is saying the prophets who pointed out the sins of the people ended up persecuted and those who prophesied the Messiah were killed. And now, you, stiff-necked people, you ve done the same, - you just killed the Messiah!!!!! The purpose of the law was to point out our human sins. The purpose of the temple was to provide a solution to our rebellion. But their reaction to these purposes was sinful and rebellious. Stephen has turned the tables: rather than prove himself innocent, he has proved his accusers guilty. When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. (v.54) It s not surprising that their response in v.54 is fury. At their anger, Stephen looks up to heaven and sees God s glory and Jesus on His throne. Jesus justifies Stephen. Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. (v.56) - Stephen is saying, You killed Him, but God raised Him, and I saw Him. Stephen was then stoned to death. He is the first martyr of the New Testament Church. What a magnificent and profound speech! It occurs at just the right moment for the unfolding narrative. The Gospel is about to move outside the physical city of Jerusalem and into the world of the Gentiles. Stephen s sermon provides the biblical justification for this movement. The stories of the temple and the law have always taught that God s plan is global, not limited to one land. The gospel is always intended to reach all nations, not one. Now the gospel is once again about to reach outside the land. At the beginning of ch. 8, on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered through out Judea and Samaria. [Stephen s character] Reading through the speech, what did you notice about Stephen s character? (pause) What he said was significant, but HOW did he say it? Luke describes Stephen as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (6:5) and a man full of Godʼs grace and power (6:8). God has given Stephen the ability to perform wonders and signs and to speak with great insight. When the Hellenistic Jews first encountered him, they couldn t stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke (6:10). To certain groups of Greek-speaking Jews, wisdom was regarded not just as an intellectual attribute but as a personal, spiritual force. Wisdom manifested the very presence of God communicating supernatural understanding, power and glory. 3

4 When the Sanhedrin examined Stephen s case, all saw that his face was like the face of an angel (6:15). The council members didn t see a sweet innocent angel like the angels portrayed today. The face of an angel probably reminded the Sanhedrin that when Moses came down from Mt Sinai with the tablets in his hands, Moses face was radiant. Whatever the false witnesses said about Stephen, no one, including the council, would dare to look closely at him as he was a man just like the prophet Moses. [Applications] Having looked at his sermon and observed his character, what is the Holy Spirit going to teach us tonight through Stephen? Here are two things I can think of: Firstly, the character of being gracious as well as radical God used Stephen to lead the church along a radically new path. His life and words help us see the qualities required of the new generation of trail-brazers in God s work. Stephen was radical. He fearlessly proclaimed the truth. He forcefully convicted his accusers. And this ultimately led to his death. But in the midst of it all, Stephen expressed the graciousness of God. When false accusations were made against him, his face was like the face of an angel. When the people were gnashing their teeth at him in fury, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a clear vision of Christ. When they stoned him fiercely, he prayed to God asking that their sin be forgiven. This is a real challenge to us today. The gospel is radical by nature. If we are serious Christians, we will sooner or later find ourselves challenging people in the way they think and act. We will soon find ourselves facing anger and opposition from within and outside the church. We will soon find ourselves being treated unjustly. The question is, how can we proclaim the truth in a radical way yet being gracious? You may know of some cynical and angry Christians. They re uptight religious people who are unpleasant and embarrassing to be around. They re the ones who are always ranting and raving against evil. Nothing pleasant comes from their lips. But what about the opposite. Do you know of those very polite people, who never get angry? The world teaches us to be tolerant, and these people are domesticated to please this world. They would never say no to the unrighteous. We must avoid these two extremes. Stephen s character shows us how to be gracious in a hostile world. He was a man full of God s grace. Whatever people may do to us, however severe their sins against us may be, we must be gracious. God s grace overcomes all who are against Him. God will work good through what we have experienced because we re called to serve His purpose. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Gen. 50:20) When the grace of God has comforted us, the vision of being with Jesus will overcome our bitterness, then we will be able to minister this grace to others. Stephen was very close to God. When he was brought to trial, his tie with God was so close that his face looked like that of an angel. He is described as being filled with the Spirit. He had a vision of Christ and began to say something similar to what Jesus said at His death. What about you? When confronted or challenged, do you pray and ask God to draw you close to Him? When we do, He will make us radical and gracious. Whenever you re attacked, seek God and fix your eyes on Jesus and ask Him to respond with grace. 4

5 This is a good lesson for me. Often I get angry when things go wrong and I realize that this is a reflection of my fallenness rather than being godly. When things don t go my way, I can easily become anxious and upset and frustrated. One of my good friends once shared with me. She said every time her kids did something wrong and made her angry, the first thing she did was to go inside her room and pray, and then discipline them. This is a great idea, isn t it? I think this principle can be applied to many things. When we are challenged, when we are accused unfairly, firstly approach God. By His grace we can then deal with the wrongdoings by His truth and with His character. Secondly, be radical with Scripture as our source and authority. As we read through Stephen s speech, we see that he uses the Scripture as his source and authority. What he says springs from the OT and Jesus teaching. Nothing he s said is new. He only points out what s already been taught in the Scriptures. But it is radical, it is against political correctness, it is against all religious tradition. It costs him a lot, even his life. If we approach the Bible and totally obey Jesus teaching and if we are willing to apply it to our everyday living, it will make us also into radicals. God s truth always has something radical to say to this fallen world. As he applied the truths in the Bible, Stephen had the audacity and courage to point the finger and speak openly against his opponents. When we take the Scriptures seriously today, we will discover truths that have been hidden from us due to the blind spots in our theology, culture, or our past experiences. Stephen had to remind his audience of what the Bible said about the temple. These were truths that had been obscured through years of tradition. What kind of blind spots do you have because of your culture, theology or past experience? Ask God to reveal them to you as you read His word. When we are radical, we express what we believe in a different way. True Christian love drives us to do things with which we re uncomfortable. Others might consider these new ways of living upsetting, or politically incorrect. One big enemy within the church today is that we desire to be comfortable, so we resist change. However, Christianity can never coexist with comfort. Human thoughts are too far from God s, the world is in so much trouble that the nearer we get to God s way of thinking, the more uncomfortable we will become. I guess everyone has battled with your own unwillingness to change and accept the mistakes you have made. Being a Christian who obeys God s word, we must be open to change because we know now how far we are from the ideals of God. We must always use the Biblical truth to examine ourselves. When we are humbled by the saving grace, when we are rebuked by the gospel truth, we should realize that we need to humbly open ourselves to correction. One of the lessons from Stephen s death is that Stephen uses the Scriptures to examine the false religious traditions. With his radical understanding of God and His ways, Stephen provides us with a model for engaging the hostile world around us, boldly and filled with the Spirit. So, let s encourage each other, even if this means we will face suffering and persecution, let s remind each other that God s purposes will ultimately triumph. He is the sovereign God who will sustain us as we persevere in serving Jesus. 5