the deep earnestness and spirituality, by which he spake so convincingly (Acts 6:10;Matthew 10:19,Matthew 10:20). They were interred alongside the relics of Saint Lawrence, whose tomb is enshrined within the church. From that moment on, Saul's life was turned upside down. But it's not the same type of evangelistic sermon, which Peter gave a few chapters prior. Stephen [N] [H] [S] one of the seven deacons, who became a preacher of the gospel. This church was destroyed in the 12th century. They responded by conspiring to lie about him in an effort to stir up the people and members of the local synagogue. Thus also his conception of the transitory nature of the Mosaic Law may be traced to Christs teaching as to the Sabbath, the laws of purifying, the fulfillment of the Law and Jewish customs of the day (Matthew 5:20) and of a better righteousness than that of the Pharisees and scribes (Matthew 9:16). Devout men carried him to his grave ( 8:2 ). bible, Martyrdom of Stephen. The primary focus of this program is to cover historical and biblical content about the early church Fathers, the Apocryphal accounts, the canon, textual criticism, and the scripture itself. St. Stephen is often depicted with stones, a Gospel Book, a miniature church and a martyr's palm frond. Dr. Mike has worked in the information technology field for many years and he uses his talents and experience in the ministry for the glory of the Lord. 1. [19] A different tradition is documented from the end of the Crusader period, after the disappearance of the Byzantine church: as Christian pilgrims were prohibited from approaching the militarily exposed northern city wall, the name "Saint Stephen's Gate" was transferred to the still accessible eastern gate, which bears this name until this day. 1. But Stephen, ansported with enthusiasm and inspiration, was vouchsafed a vision of the glory of God, which he had mentioned in the beginning of his speech (Acts 7:2), and of Jesus, whose cause he had so gallantly defended (Acts 7:55). He performed miracles. Typically Jesus was described as sitting on his heavenly throne, indicating his work was finished. Due to his honesty and wisdom, he was chosen as one of the seven deacons by the young church members of early Christianity. He showed that time and time again when it looked like the promise of coming of the Messiah would be prevented, God intervened. The material world is nothing in comparison to the afterlife. [28] Stephen is remembered in the Church of England with a Festival on 26 December.[29]. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. Seeing themselves beaten, they took recourse to the ignoble method of declaring him a blasphemer and a heretic, by using the same foul means that the enemies of Jesus had resorted to, by suborning false witnesses to the plot, by stirring up the people against him, by appealing to their Jewish prejudices and to the scribes and elders, members of the Sanhedrin, and thus eventually brought about his arraignment. This helped him to preach to multiple audiences. They then drove all the other Greek-speaking Jewish Christians out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-3). All rights reserved. First, Stephen shows believers they can have a powerful impact for the kingdom, if even for a short period of time. Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr. It is generally believed that this. Even before his death, he asked for forgiveness of his murderers, just like Jesus. He deserves as well to be called the first great apologist for Christianity, since it was this that brought on his death as a martyr (circa 36 or 37 AD). With his profound teachings, Stephen successfully managed to convert many of them into followers of Christ by engaging them in religious discussions. 6. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to be responsible over the distribution of food to widows in the early church after a dispute arose and the apostles recognized they needed help. Known best as the proto-martyr of the Christian church, introducing the heroic period of persecutions. [Acts 7:5860] Saul "approved of their killing him. It is a public holiday in many nations that are of historic Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions, including Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Catalonia and the Balearic Isles. What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. Just like they had murdered several other prophets including Zechariah, the Jews rejected and murdered Christ as well and disregarded the holy beliefs of Christianity. If you liked reading this article, then don't forget to check out the facts about David in the Bible and facts about Esther from the Bible, here on Kidadl. The Jews of the Roman empire always questioned God's grace in terms of Christianity and whenever they failed to produce an argument, oppositions and false claims were put forth by them. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's blog, which receives 63,000+ monthly hits. As Stephen by his life and work marks a period of transition in the development of the early Christian church, so his name is connected with an important new departure within the organization of the church itself, namely, the institution of the office of the Seven (Acts 6:1ff), who were entrusted with the administration of the work of relief in the church at Jerusalem the foundation of the diaconate. He asked for forgiveness as he fell asleep in his death. The main arguments of the speech may be summed up as follows: (a) Gods self-manifestation to Israel in revealing His covenant and His will, so far from being bound to one sanctuary and conveyed to one single person (Moses), began long before Moses and long before there was a temple. In Western Christianity, 26 December is called "Saint Stephen's Day", the "Feast of Stephen" mentioned in the English Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas". Through this speech, he tried to enlighten the minds of everyone and reminded them of their continuous slavery in idolatry and their rebellion against God's will. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Jesus answered directly and clearly, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (verses 4-5). Zavada, Jack. Proud member No matter how many challenges come in the course of our life, we must not lose hope in fate. This recourse to lynch law may have been connived at by the Roman authorities, since the act was without political significance. Once the selection was completed, the newly chosen deacons were set before the apostles who laid their hands on them and prayed over them. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents. Stephen (Greek: Stphanos, meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Copyright 2010-2023 Telling Ministries LLC. Stephen became popular because of his powerful debate with the Jews of the council. [2] The reason for the appointment of the deacons is stated to have been dissatisfaction among Hellenistic (that is, Greek-influenced and Greek-speaking) Jews that their widows were being slighted in preference to Hebraic ones in the daily distribution of food. The tasking by the apostles pleased everyone and the brethren chose seven men who were full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. The Old Testament is the first section of the Bible, covering the creation of Earth through Noah and the flood, Moses and more, finishing with the Jews being expelled to Babylon. This resulted in the number of new disciples in Jerusalem increasing along with a large number of priests being saved. He shows how Israelites in the Old Testament failed to see past their stubbornness and turned away from God and persecuted and killed anyone who spoke Gods word (several of the prophets were martyred). Stephen had both a Hellenistic and Jewish background. Acts reveals the outpouring of the Holy Spirit The Gospel of John records a critical discussion between Jesus and His disciple: All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. [30] Bishop John II with bishops Eusthia (from Sebastia) and Eleutherius (from Jericho) came to the tomb in Beit Jimal and translated relics to Jerusalem, this event is commemorated on 15 September. Instead, under the power of the Holy Spirit, he looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at Gods right hand. 6. The climax of his speech is reached inActs 7:51-53, when Stephen, breaking off the line of argument, suddenly in direct address turns upon his hearers, and, the accused becoming the accuser, charges them openly with the sin of resisting the Holy Spirit, with the murder of the prophets and the Righteous One, and with continual disobedience to the Law. But Stephen was especially qualified for this high work, having been endued by the Holy Spirit with apostolical gifts, not only that of preaching, but also that of working miracles (Acts 6:8). Hope Bolingeris a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. Stephen reminded everyone of how Moses was directed by God to reach out to people and refrain them from worshipping idols and stopping their slavery. Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin is the longest speech in Acts. Thus, Stephen's execution sparked the spread of Christianity. He has a short introduction in Acts 6:5 and becomes the first martyr for the Christian faith just one chapter later. Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum have argued that the covenants advance the storyline of the Bible in their book Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants, and they are on target. (b) The Jews to whom these revelations were granted, so far from being thankful at all stages of their history, had been slow to believe and understand them because they would not be obedient (Acts 7:39,Acts 7:57). [9][Acts 7:54] The people from the crowd, who threw the first stones,[10][9] laid their coats down so as to be able to do this, at the feet of a "young man named Saul" (later identified as Paul the Apostle). Of the seven men, all Hellenists, elected to this office at the occasion of a grievance of the Hellenistic Christians in the Jerusalem church against the Hebrew Christians, to the effect that in the distribution of alms their widows were being discriminated against, Stephen, who heads the list, is by far the most distinguished. What it is Stephen himself shows unmistakenly in the second part of his defense. According to the New Testament, the apostles were the primary disciples of Jesus. It is said that Stephen's life and death served as a catalyst in the spread of Christianity both directly and indirectly. . Stephen's death taught us to speak boldly for our religion and not fear death, for it is the ultimate destination for all living souls. Before he died, Stephen said two things very similar to Jesus' last words from the cross: But Stephen's influence was even stronger after his death. The article above also shows how his Hellenistic and Hebrew upbringing influenced the Apology-like speech he gives to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council. However, before he died, he called out to God, Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit. Immediately after this, he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge and then he died. 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Your privacy is important to us. In the eucharistic celebration on this feast day, it is traditional for all deacons serving at the altar to wear a liturgical crown (Armenian: khooyr), which is one of the vestments worn only by priests on all other days of the year, the crown being in this instance a symbol of martyrdom. His personal character and history are recorded in Acts 6 . Psalm 82:3 King James Version (KJV 1900) 3 Defend the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and needy. [2] The full Bible has been translated into 532 languages. Following Stephen's death, the early Church mourned with great sadness its very first martyr. Though the name of Jesus was not uttered by Stephen in his speech and does not occur until in his dying prayer, his hearers could not fail to notice the hidden reference to Him throughout the entire speech and to draw parallels intended by Stephen: As Joseph and Moses, types of the Messiah, had been rejected, scorned and illtreated (Acts 7:9,Acts 7:27,Acts 7:39), before being raised to be ruler and deliverer, so Jesus had also been repulsed by them. The world-renowned Amazing Facts Bible school will help you know God's Word better than ever. Thus also his defense before the Sanhedrin, though the name of Jesus was not mentioned until the very last, was in reality a grand apology for Christ. This disposition of disobedience so characteristic of the race in its whole history, because, in spite of the divine revelation received, they remained unregenerate (Acts 7:51), reached its culmination in that awful crime of betrayal and murder committed by the present generation upon the Righteous One whose coming the prophets had predicted the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth, by which the Jews doomed not only their national existence, but also their temple-worship and the reign of the Law to destruction (Acts 6:14). The Bible says that Stephen spoke with such spiritual wisdom that his Jewish opponents were unable to refute him (Acts 6:10). The Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran churches and the Church of the East view Stephen as a saint. Stephen stood by the words of Jesus Christ, and so he was opposed by the Synagogue of the Freedmen, which involved the Alexandrians and the Cyrenians. Stephen was an evangelist. These wise words of Stephen angered the Jews even more who condemned him shortly after his speech. Being a Greek-speaking Jew himself, Stephen went to the synagogue for Greek-speaking Jews in Jerusalem to try to turn his fellow Jews to Christ. In Acts, after the early church begins to convert thousands of people to the Christian faith in a matter of days, we meet for a brief time a man by the name of Stephen. He was likely Jewish: Jews, from an early age, memorized portions of the Old Testament. For the first king of Hungary, see, Marian Wolniewicz as the translator of the Book of Acts from: The Millennium Holy Bible; Warsaw, 1980, numerous other places named Saint tienne, St. Stephen's School (ICSE/ISC), Sonarpur, Kolkata, St. Stephen's Orthodox Cathedral, Kudassanad, Pandalam, Kerala, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura, "Article XXI (IX) Of the Invocation of the Saints", "St. Stephen's death shows importance of Scripture, Pope says", "Stephen's Speech: A Theology of Errors? In those churches, then, the date the feast is observed is generally known as 27 December. They resisted the purpose of God by obstinately and stiff-neckedly opposing those through whom God worked. Though it marks the beginning of the first great persecution of Christians, the death of the first Christian martyr resulted in the greatest acquisition Christianity has probably ever made, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Stephens story shows us that no matter how insignificant we may think our role is, we can use it to reach others for Christ and endure the persecution that is sure to follow. [9], The criticism of traditional Jewish belief and practice in Stephen's speech is very strong when he says God does not live in a dwelling "made by human hands", referring to the Temple, he is using an expression often employed by Biblical texts to describe idols. Man can only kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. And now you have betrayed and murdered him. 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