Watch this lesson on YouTube, or listen to it here.
In this lesson, we will talk about Stephen in two main points. First, who was Stephen. Second, what was he like?
1) Who was Stephen?
A) He was chosen as one of the seven to serve tables (6:3, 5).
1) He was chosen by his peers.
2) He was chosen to be a servant.
B) 6:8 – He was out there getting busy.
1) We saw Joseph / Barnabas specifically mentioned for his work in 4:36-37.
2) Otherwise, Stephen is the first main character doing the work besides the apostles.
(a) 2:14 – Peter’s first sermon
(b) 2:43 – “many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.”
(c) 3:1 – Peter and John at the temple
(d) 5:12 – “Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles.”
(e) 5:17-18 – All the apostles were arrested.
(f) 6:8 – “And Stephen, fully of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.”
3) Main point: It’s easy to assume that someone else will take care of what needs to be done, but the Kingdom thrives because of people who step up and do the work.
C) In the bigger context of Acts, Stephen is a key part of the spreading Gospel outside of Jews in Jerusalem.
1) 1:8 is our general outline for the book: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth.
2) In 6:1, the Hellenists are mentioned, and then v. 5 mentioned the seven men with Greek names.
3) Notice those who are coming after Stephen:
(a) 6:9 – The synagogue of the Freedmen (which I assume is made up of the following…)
(b) The Cyrenians (North Africa)
(c) The Alexandrians (North Africa)
(d) Those from Cilicia (Southern Turkey)
(e) And Asia (Western Turkey)
(f) I assume these are the people who come to criticize Stephen because these are the people that he was associated with (i.e. Hellenists).
4) This fits into the main point.
(a) Just as Hellenistic men were chosen to support the Hellenistic widows because they were the best people for the job…
(b) So also, Stephen is uniquely qualified to teach the Gospel and interact with certain people that the apostles may not have been.
5) Main point: There are people in your circle that you, and only you, can have influence over.
(a) Nobody else in this room can teach the Gospel to some people in your family because we don’t know them, and they don’t have any reason to listen to us.
(b) That is true about people at your workplace and school.
D) Conclusion: One of the things that makes Stephen so impressive and so special in this text is that he is NOT an apostle, and yet, he’s out there doing all the same work as the apostles.
2) Stephen’s boldness
A) 6:10-7:1 – In the face of lies and accusations, he stood and preached.
B) “his face was like the face of an angel”
1) Ecc. 8:1 – “A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.”
2) When a person is wise and knows what they are talking about, you can see it on their face, and there is no need to be harsh and nasty about things.
3) Ecc. 10:2-3 – “he says to everyone that he is a fool.” His foolish life and the way he chooses to go speaks louder than words.
4) Remember the qualities that caused Stephen to be chosen as one of the seven (6:3).
5) He spoke wisely to his brothers (6:10).
6) How we speak and present ourselves is just as important as what we speak.
7) He still spoke boldly, but he did it with wisdom and tact.
C) 7:51-52 – He spoke the uncomfortable truth.
1) Convicting people of their personal sin and guilt is a part of teaching the Gospel.
(a) 2:23, 36
(b) 3:13-15
(c) 4:10
(d) 5:28-30, 33
2) Understand that speaking in a wise and tactful way does not mean smoothing out the truth of the Gospel and our personal sin and guilt. It needs to be said.
3) We will have more to say about this when we talk about Stephen’s actual sermon in the next lesson.
D) 7:54-59 – Keep your eyes on Jesus!
1) I don’t need to take negative responses to the Gospel negatively because they are ultimately not about me. The people I’m talking to are not rejecting me. They are rejecting Jesus.
2) And I don’t need to be concerned about their negative responses. In this case, they were picking up rocks to stone him to death. But his eyes were on Jesus because he is the only one who matters.
3) This does not mean that the words and especially the rocks did not hurt. They did. But this is a picture of someone remembering what they are doing and why they are doing it. He stayed focuses and clear-headed about what was what.
E) 7:60 – We can speak boldly, but we also need to speak with compassion and sympathy. Many people simply do not know what they are doing.
1) 3:13-15, now v. 17
2) Stephen looked at the men who were stoning him to death and felt pity for them. They just don’t know what they are doing.
3) Conclusion
A) We need to get busy working. Don’t assume that someone else is going to do it. There are people in my life and my circles who ONLY I am able to reach. It’s my responsibility to share the Gospel with them.
B) And I need to do it boldly…with wisdom, willing to say hard things, I need to stay focused on Jesus and the goal, and compassionately and sympathetically.