Good morning. Well, today, we are going to finish our CSI series by taking a look at one last crime. To refresh your memory, so fare we have seen Cain kill Abel, David kill Goliath, David have an affair with Bathsheba, and then kill her husband Uriah. Then we saw Ahab want what Naboth had, and so his wife Jezebel had Noboth killed. And then last week, we saw Ananias and Sapphira sell their land, and then lie to the apostles and to God. This week we are taking a look at a man who was stoned to death, he was killed for his faith. And when that happens, that person is referred to as a martyr.
But before we take a look at his story, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
It would appear that he had every thing going for him. He was one of the leaders of the early church. He was a person of influence and integrity, and he had the respect and honor of his colleagues and peers. Think about it, how would you like to be described as “…a person full of faith and the Holy Spirit…”? That’s how this man was described.
It would appear that he had everything going for him. There was just one small problem. He was dead. He had been murdered, cut down in his prime, killed by the very things that made him who he was, his integrity and his Godliness.
His name was Stephen and he was first introduced to us in the book of Acts as the early church faced one of its first challenges. The story begins in Acts chapter 6, with the church going through unprecedented growth.
Literally thousands of new believers were being added to the church and the apostles were struggling with how to handle the growth. Miracles are happening, people are getting saved, society is being influenced, and then we read in Acts 6:1 that, “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews…”
So what were this complaining all about. Obviously in such a spiritual group, who lived so close to the resurrection and the day of Pentecost it must have been something that involved spiritual issues, maybe arguments over doctrine or theology? But that was not the case. If we continue to read we discover that, “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.”
Remember, at this point Christians considered themselves Jews and they felt an obligation to take care of their own, especially the widows in the group. In a society that was as male oriented as Palestine and most of the world was 2000 years ago, a women’s existence really depended on her husband. He was the bread winner and the shelter provider, and in many cases his wife didn’t have the ability or the opportunity to provide for herself. So if she lost her husband her community had to step up to the plate to support her. And the neat thing is, the early church embraced that.
In James 1:27 it says that, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Now, because of some captivity issues that we will not go into this morning, there were 2 different kinds of Jews. Those that spoke Greek, and those that spoke Hebrew. The result was that the widows who spoke Greek complained that they weren’t receiving the same care as the widows who spoke Hebrew. Now we don’t know for sure that there was any actual discrimination but there was the accusation.
The Apostles realized that they were getting more and more things on their plate and were unable to do everything well so they appointed 7 men to help out. One of these men was Stephen. And this is what the scriptures say about him. Acts 6:5 says, “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…”
And then later in Acts 6:8 it says that, “Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”
And so at that point it would appear that he had everything going for him. He had a great character and a leadership position in a growing church. But then the wheels came off the wagon. Stephen had been telling people about Jesus and the change that had happened in his life and he was accused of blasphemy and dragged before the council of high priests where he was asked to defend himself, which he did.
He preached the longest sermon recorded in the book of Acts and took the high priests on a whirlwind tour of the Old Testament. He seemed to be on a roll and when you are learning to preach they always tell you to end strong and that may have been Stephen’s mistake. In Acts 7:51-53 Stephen says to the people there, “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, you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Ouch! Tough words when he was trying to free himself. William Barclay the Author of the Daily Study Bible stated, “A speech like that could only have one end; Stephen courted death and death came.” And the story continues Acts 7:57-58 says that, “At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
And at that moment, Stephen went from being one of the early church’s first leaders to becoming the first martyr. You understand that this was not a trial and execution. The high priest had no power to execute anyone. That is why they insisted that Pilate issue the order for the death of Jesus. This was just a group of people simply attacking and killing Stephen. They had no real power in what they did. It was a crime, and now we are looking at it to see what we can learn.
So, what do we learn from this crime scene?
1) Bad Stuff Can Happen to Good People:
This is the dark secret that some churches don’t want you to know. Let’s try that again in case you missed it the first time, bad stuff can happen to good people! According to the theology of some groups, Stephen should have had everything that he wanted. After all, he was a committed Christian, and a man of prayer who loved Jesus. So Stephen should have only experienced the very best that this life had to offer. He should have been healthy, wealthy, and wise, and he should have lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully in his sleep.
He should have claimed the victory and he would have had it. There’s only one problem with that theology though. It’s wrong! And it has caused feelings of guilt and discouragement in the lives of people that believe that as a Christian life is going to be great and bad stuff is not going to affect your life.
I truly believe that becoming a Christian, a serious Christian sold out to God and committed to serving Him will often cause a person’s life to improve. But that does not mean that their situations in life will improve, just their outlook and the fact that they don’t have to face the bad things alone because they have God in their lives to help them through them.
Godly men and women who have faithfully served God have suffered. Have suffered at the hands of others, have suffered at the hands of fate, have suffered at the hands of illness and financial issues, and the list goes on. And in many cases it’s not their fault, there is no hidden sin in their lives, there is no lack of faith. They still love God, they still go to church, read their Bibles and pray. But they still suffer because, you ready for this? They still suffer because stuff happens.
And that’s why God never promises that we won’t go through trouble but He does promise that we won’t go through it alone. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
And in the New Testament we read in Hebrews 13:5, “…God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.””
You know what? I wish I could stand up here and wave a magic wand and put some kind of protective dome over you that would keep you from all trouble and illness and heartache. But I can’t. And if I stood up here and promised that all you had to do was believe in God, go to church, read your Bible, pray, be faithful, and live a holy life and you’d never have any troubles, I would be lying to you. Jesus said in Matthew 5:11 that, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Notice that it did not say, “if you are insulted and persecuted,” but, “when you are insulted, persecuted, and falsely talked about.”
So understand that bad things can happen to good people.
2) Good Things Can Come of Bad Situations:
There are a couple of verses in the story of the stoning of Stephen that we would be missing out on if we didn’t look at. There is one of those bizarre little details recorded in Acts 7:58 when it says, “They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
Interesting, only 2 people are named in this account. We don’t know the names of the witness who lied about Stephen, the names of the high priests aren’t recorded either. We know Stephen’s name and we know the name of the young man who watched over the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen, a young man by the name of Saul. The last verse of chapter 7 records the death of Stephen. It says in Acts 7:60, “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
And if we skip down to the first line of chapter 8 we read Acts 8:1, “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.”
There’s that Saul guy again. Now you may or may not be aware that the young man who watched over the coats that day would later come face to face with Jesus and become a Christian himself. You might not know him as Saul but you would know him by the Greek version of his name which was Paul. He wrote the majority of the New Testament and spread the gospel across Asia and into Europe.
Augustine said, “The church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen.” This was the same Paul who wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Now I wonder if when Paul was writing those words if he was thinking back to the day that he witnessed what the grace of God could do in the life and death of a young believer named Stephen. It was John Wesley who said, “The world can say what it likes about us Methodist, but they have to admit, we die well.” I don’t believe for a minute that God set Stephen up to die so that Paul would become a Christian, but He used it. Perhaps He gave young Saul a nudge toward that particular event on that day and the Holy Spirit reminded him about what happened there from time to time.
In Sierra Leone they experienced a 10 year civil war. The churches there had their buildings burnt, they were terrorized and forced to live in the jungles surrounding their villages and towns. They would gather together wherever they could to worship during that time. And when the war was over and they returned to their villages and their churches they discovered that the church had grown and become stronger during the war. Something good had come out of something bad. Can’t always see it, and we can’t always explain it, but Paul tells us that, “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
So understand this, good things can come of bad situations.
3) That Doesn’t Always Make It Easy:
I’m not sure if Stephen was married, if he had kids, if his folks were still alive, but I’m pretty confident there were those he left behind who missed him.
I’m not sure that if they had of known the final outcome if they would have voted in favor of the stoning. Let’s see, we will lose our loved one and in exchange a man who didn’t have the guts to step in and help Stephen will get saved, hmmmm, doesn’t make any since does it?
Bad things can happen to good people, and good things can come of bad things, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Illness, tragedy, death, financial problems, they all still stink when we are going through them. But the promise of God is still there. Hebrews 13:5 says, “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
And finally this morning, 4) We Won’t Always Know The End Result:
Stephen died not knowing what would happen with the church he had embraced. He knew he had been faithful and he died with the peace of knowing he had done the right thing, even if it had cost him his life. He knew the church was spreading through Jerusalem and having an incredible impact in that area, but he probably never envisioned a movement that would affect more then just Israel. But let’s listen to how the next chapter opens.
Acts 8:1 says that, “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Up to that point the church was confined to Palestine. If the apostles had even given thought of the last words they heard Jesus speak they weren’t doing anything about it. Remember what Jesus had told them. Acts 1:8 it says, “But 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.”
Now let’s go back to the last part of Acts 8:1, “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”
It took Stephen’s death to move the church out of their comfort zone and to begin doing what they were supposed to do in the first place. In a very real sense we are here today because Stephen was stoned 2 thousand years ago. So when you get to Heaven be sure to thank him for that.
Now, I don’t know what you are going through in your life right now, maybe you’re on a mountain top or maybe you are in the valley or perhaps you are somewhere in between. But remember what we have looked at this morning:
1) Bad Stuff Can Happen to Good People.
2) Good Things Can Come of Bad Situations.
3) That Doesn’t Always Make It Easy.
4) We Won’t Always Know The End Result.
Also, keep in mind the promise that we have from God. Hebrews 13:5 tells us that, “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Let’s Pray!
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