The scene was violent. Stephen's sermon became his death warrent. On hearing what Stephen had said, the council was seized by an unrestrained fury. So they rushed toward him.
So enraged was the council that they didn't give Stephen a fair trial. Hence, what Stephen encountered was a lynching. Luke provides us with two contrasting responses between the council and Stephen.
While the council was fuming, verse 55 tells us that Stephen was calm and composed. Full of the Holy Spirit, he merely gazed intensely upward and saw God's glory, and the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
Wasn't Jesus seated instead of standing? The Lord stood up as a witness to the first faithful martyr of the church. Witnesses were expected to stand instead of sitting.
It could also well be that He stood up to welcome Stephen. Didn't Jesus Himself say in Luke 12:8-9 that He would acknowledge, before the Father, those who confess Him.
From Stephen's example take a lesson. The Lord will acknowledge us before His Father's glory, when we confess Him before man. If we deny Him, He will conversely also deny us.
What Stephen saw he described to the council in verses 57. At this point they went berserk. They were overtaken by such a fury that they covered their ears, and in a unison chorus they yelled at him. And at the same time they rushed at him.
Why were they so furious? It's because Stephen had just referred to Jesus as the Son of Man, a term that suggested that Jesus had authority as the heavenly judge. To them this was blasphemy.
So they drove Stephen out of the city and started pelting him with stones. This was what the Law had prescribed for the sin of basphemy. And here, Stephen was deemed to have committed the ultimate blasphemy. So they stoned him. And everyone present was expected to partake in this execution.
The stoning was vigorously carried out. It was no simple exercise. So in verse 58 we are told that they had to take out their robes. However, Luke was not emphasizing the de-robing of the mob. He was using this occasion to introduce Saul in a sublime way.
Unknown at this point, Saul, also as Paul, would play a major role in spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles. Saul was a young man and a budding leader. And he was consenting to this brutality.
Meanwhile, Stephen did not retaliate. He merely fell on his knees and called on the Lord to receive his spirit. And in his dying breath, he breathed a prayer for his executioners. He asked for grace on their behalf.
We will all agree that Stephen had lived out his life as a powerful witness. What a character this he was! His is a life worth emulating. Gracious and forgiving. In living he was fearlessly strong as a witness. He remained faithful in death.
Ultimately, death will demonstrate the kind of person we truly have been. Stephen stood stoutly in his final hour as his Lord did. He spoke as his Lord did. And he died a martyr's death as his Lord did.
Stephen demonstrated the matchless grace of God! If we were in Stephen's shoes how would we have responded? How would our story be written?
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