The First Martyr (Acts 6:8-7:1; 7:51-8:4)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC

[Slide] The First Martyr (Acts 6:8-7:1; 7:51-8:4)

[Slide] A line of souls await entry into heaven

The angel asks the first man: Have you been married?

Yes, I was.

Welcome to Heaven.

The next guy walks up. The angel asks, “Have you been married?”

Yes, twice.

You’re going to Hell.

What? But... why?

Listen, pal, Heaven is for martyrs, not for idiots.

 

What do you call people would just die to go shopping?

Walmartyrs

 

[Slide] Today we’re talking about the first martyr of the Church. Do you know where we get the word martyr? It comes from the Greek which is spelled martys. It means witness or spectator. We came, we saw, but we didn’t have to die for it! Nowadays the word means someone who dies for a cause or is persecuted for a belief system.

 

The Martyrdom of Stephen
Juan de Juanes

[Slide] Stephen was introduced in the Book of Acts as one of seven men who were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. The apostles laid their hands upon Stephen and prayed for him. They commissioned him as a servant of the church. In addition to feeding widows in Jerusalem, Stephan witnessed powerfully to faith in Jesus Christ. Our reading in Acts says the Stephan was “performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) Jesus was healing through Stephan.

[Slide] Some Jews from the North African coastal cities of Alexandria (Egypt) and Cyrene (Lybia), and from the north in Cilicia (southeast Turkey) opposed Stephan and what he was teaching.

 

We don’t know what they were arguing about, but we can guess that it had to do with the messiahship of Jesus and His resurrection. Many Jews saw Christians as a heretical sect that needed to be stopped. As they argued, they found that Stephan was better equipped in the scriptures and in debate than they were. Their arguments could not stand against his wisdom and charismatic power as a speaker. He was filled with the Spirit of Jesus. The Lord was speaking through Stephan.

 

Since these former slaves from the Synagogue of the Freedmen could not stand against Stephan’s command of scripture and His zeal for Christ, they plotted against him in secret. They recruited men to accuse Stephen before the religious leadership.

 

They said that Stephan blasphemed Moses, God, and the temple. Stephan was arrested and dragged before the Sanhedrin. [Slide] The Jewish rulers interrogated Stephan. “Are these accusations true?” “Do you preach that Jesus will destroy this temple and change our holy covenant law?”

 

Jesus predicted that the temple would be destroyed, not one stone would be left upon another. He did not say that he would destroy it. [Slide] The temple was destroyed 40 years later by the Romans. Jesus also used the destruction of the temple as a metaphor for his bodily crucifixion. [Slide] “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19)

 

Stephan’s name means crowned. The religious rulers saw the glory of God crowning his head. [Slide] Stephan shined with the face of an angel. And what are angels? They are divine messengers. Stephan did what angels do. He delivered a message from God. You can read the entire message in chapter 7.

 

He first established that he was no ill-informed Greek scoundrel. [Slide]  He summarized Israel’s sacred history, revealing his knowledge of the scriptures. Stephan recounts the call of Abraham, God’s promise of the land of Canaan, Jacob, and Joseph. They would’ve been shaking their heads in agreement with all Stephan was saying. Or they might’ve thought, “Who does this man think he is, giving us a history lesson? We are the experts here.”

 

Stephan told of how Moses grew up a prince of Egypt in Pharoah’s palace. Moses witnessed an Egyptian taskmaster brutally beating a Hebrew slave. [Slide] Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body, but his crime was known to the Jews. When two Jewish slaves were fighting one another, Moses tried to break it up. One of them said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill us like you did the Egyptian?” Moses fled Egypt in fear of his life and settled in the land of Midian (Arabia) where he lived the life of a shepherd. But God called Moses from the burning bush. God chose Moses to be leader and deliverer of all Israel.

 

Stephan proves his honor of Moses, not in contempt or blasphemy, but in esteem as God’s holy prophet. [Slide]

 

 “This is the same Moses who spoke to the Israelites. ‘God will send you a prophet,’ he said. ‘He will be like me. He will come from your own people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15) Moses was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He received living words to pass on to us. (Acts 7:37-38)

 

But the Hebrews resisted Moses and his leadership. [Slide] They argued with him in Egypt. They contended with Moses in the wilderness, complaining, accusing, and wishing to return to Egypt!

 

[Slide] Stephan continued telling them of Joshua and the conquest of the Promised Land, of King Saul, King David, and Solomon who built the temple.

 

Then Stephan lowers the boom. I googled the phrase “lowers the boom.” [Slide] It comes from sailing. The boom is the large heavy beam at the bottom of the mainsail. When the wind catches the sail, the boom can suddenly shift position. A sailor can be knocked out or sent flying overboard. Joshua really hits them hard. In the tradition of the prophets, he confronts them.

 

[Slide] You stiff-necked people! You won’t obey! You won’t listen! You are just like your people of long ago! You always oppose the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your people didn’t try to hurt? [Slide] They even killed those who told about the coming of the Blameless One. And now you have handed him over to his enemies. You have murdered him. ⁵³ The law you received was given by angels. But you haven’t obeyed it.” (Acts 7:51-53)

 

[Slide] The Sanhedrin was furious! They gnashed their teeth at Stephan. Have you ever been so angry that you grind your teeth in fury? Stephan sees Jesus in a heavenly vision seated at the right hand of God. Gobsmacked, Stephan shares what he sees. This gets him killed. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death.

 

[Slide] As Stephan is dying, he asked the Lord to forgive them and then surrendered his spirit. His final words should remind us of the death of Jesus. Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” And Jesus prayed, “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”

 

These parallels are intentional. Luke wants us to see that the ministry of the Church is the ministry of Jesus, alive and working through the Church, which is His body.

 

[Slide] Most of us will never experience martyrdom. We will not likely be killed for faith in Christ, here in America. But times change. Extreme militant factions are fueled by hate. The young men who planned the drone attack on the White House wrestling exhibition meant to send a message: We are at war. The young man who assassinated Charlie Kirk was filled with hate for the conservative. There are some in the US who applaud these acts of violence. I do not share the extreme ideas of some Christians, whether conservative or liberal. But you and I are lumped in with them because we carry the name of Christ.

 

What does it mean to be a martyr these days? If we take the word in its original meaning, [Slide] we are His witnesses. We have personally experienced Jesus. We know the presence of Christ in our lives. As His witnesses, we each have a story to tell, how Jesus has saved you, how He has blessed you. We are His witnesses because we have seen, heard, and know the truth of the gospel.

 

[Slide] John Newton wrote in Amazing Grace, “I once was lost, but now am found; ‘Twas blind but now I see.” You can hear his story of transformation. In what ways were you lost and Jesus brought you home to God? Share it. [Slide] Pray for your Friends, Relatives, Associates and Neighbors. Work your FRAN Plan. Ask God to give you opportunities to share your hope in Christ. For you are His witnesses.

 

Being a witness for Jesus may mean that you will be judged as a religious kook or a hypocrite. Atheists say we are deluded, believing in fairy tales. Christianity in America has been under attack for many decades. We all see the results in our nation. America needs revival. Our country needs Jesus Christ. America needs you, the faithful followers of Jesus to give hope and help.

 

When Stephen was killed, a great persecution began. [Slide] Saul of Tarsus, a zealous Pharisee went from house to house hunting down followers of Jesus and throwing them in prison. In Acts 26, Paul said,

 

I put many of the Lord’s people in prison. I agreed that they should die. I often went from one synagogue to another to have them punished. I tried to force them to speak evil things against Jesus. All I wanted to do was hurt them. (Acts 26:10-11)

 

Many suffered for their faith in Christ after Stephan. The disciples fled Jerusalem. As a result of this great persecution, the gospel began to spread beyond Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria.

 

Remember the key verse to understanding the book of Acts. The risen Lord Jesus told his disciples, [Slide]

 

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

 

The Church we know in America is declining, but the Church is growing underground in places where Christianity is persecuted. In Iran, the number of believers has grown from 3000 in 1979 to near one million today, under the oppression of their government.

 

[Slide] A North Korean girl was sold to a Chinaman to be his wife. The Chinaman was cruel to her. Sung-mi felt alone. North Koreans are not welcomed in China. One day another North Korean woman shared Jesus with her. She was curious and joined her house church, but felt afraid of being arrested by the police. She stopped going. A missionary gave her a Bible and helped her grow in faith. He took her on missionary trips to bring much needed items to forsaken women in China. The work was hard; many long hours driving to remote locations. The missionary told her the work brought him great joy. It’s an honor to serve the Lord in this way. Eventually, Sung-mi found joy serving as well. [Slide] Now she serves women caught in human trafficking. She delivers food and supplies. She shares Jesus with them. She helps them find joy in Christ. She is a witness, a martyr for the good news. Let’s end on the simple question [Slide] Will you be My witness?