Acts, Chapter 6

Please, in your Bible, read the verses 1 – 7.

Verse 8: “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”

In verse 6 we read about Stephen. A man ‘full of faith and of the Holy Spirit’.

Full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Full of God’s grace and (God’s) power.

No room whatsoever for Stephen’s ‘I, myself and me’. He could not have been more like Jesus. What does it mean? Something like an easy walk with God? Does it mean fewer or no temptations? Well, that is not my experience! The closer I walk with God, the more I see the power and blackness of my sinfulness. And the more that happens, the more I glory in Him, praising Him for cleansing and forgiveness (Speaking about Christian believers 1 John 1: 8 – 10). A person like Stephen, without a doubt, again and again, will meet the angry power of Satan and his warfare activities. Most Jews decidedly did not want Stephen’s message. To them great wonders and signs, the things only God could do, were not giving them the Messiah-King they wanted to see. Rather than receiving the message, they gladly would kill the messenger. That’s what happened to Stephen. Like it did happen to his Lord.

Verse 9: “Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called). JEWS of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as of the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen

Verse 10: but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by Whom he spoke.”

They could not stand up! So they went down! Down to dishonesty and deceit. Not only that, they miserably involved others as well.

Verse 11: “Then they secretly persuaded some men to say ‘We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.

Verse 12: So they stirred up the people and the elders and teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

Verse 13: They produced false witnesses who testified: ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.

Verse 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.’ “

This great assembly of elders, priests and teachers, heard the testimony of false witnesses. What they heard suited them well. Obviously the ‘great wonders and miraculous signs’ (v.8) the whole community could see, could not come into question.. This assembly of highly regarded and learned people knew better. They could not see any kingly Messiah stuff in Jesus of Nazareth or in wonders and miracles.

Verse 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.”

Would they now take notice? ‘ His face was like the face of an angel’. Would they now admit their sinful error? We’ll see. Surely Stephen looked intently back into all those angry eyes.