Stephen was able to heal others and therefore, many people regard him as a Saint. He showed that time and time again when it looked like the promise of coming of the Messiah would be prevented, God intervened. What it is Stephen himself shows unmistakenly in the second part of his defense. Here is something else you might like to read: 10 Famous Christian Martyrs, Resources Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version, Tagged as: 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). But instead, they turned against him (Acts 6:11). 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. Stephen was a Jew who had lived outside of Israel. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. [2] The full Bible has been translated into 532 languages. Answer. Stephen is known for being the first Christian martyr. 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). 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. Both, before dying, commended their souls to God: Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul! [17]. Stephen had both a Hellenistic and Jewish background. Father: Zebedee Mother: Salome Brother: John Hometown: He lived in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. R. J. Knowling, Acts in Expositors Greek Testament ., 2 (1900); Feine, PRE 3 , 19 (1907); Pahncke in Studien u. Krit . 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. [23][24][25][26][dubious discuss]. Furious at Stephens words, the Jews rushed upon him, dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death (Acts 7:54-60). They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. One, claimed by noted French archaeologists Louis-Hugues Vincent (18721960) and Flix-Marie Abel (18781953) to be ancient, places the event at Jerusalem's northern gate, while another one, dated by Vincent and Abel to the Middle Ages and no earlier than the 12th century, locates it at the eastern gate. One of the seven men chosen by the early Church, Stephen was responsible for distributing food to the Grecian widows, who had been overlooked by the church. Members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen argued with Stephen. The Glory of God. What seems like a tragedy can somehow be part of God's great plan. 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. He is the author "Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges.". 1. In the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches, Saint Stephen's Day falls on 25 December the day on which the feast of the Nativity of Jesus (Christmas) falls in all other churches. Focus of love and hatred. Of his conversion to Christianity we know nothing, though there is a tradition that he was among the Seventy. Throughout the history of the early church, various charismatic gifts such as healing, belonged to several followers of Christ. Stephen prayed to the Holy Spirit and right before his death, he saw Jesus standing by him. He accepted Christianity and became one of the seven deacons chosen by the disciples to take care of the widows and the needy people in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-5). Not to impiety or frivolity in Stephen, but to some other cause, must be due therefore the difference between him and his opponents. 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. All Rights Reserved. 8 Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 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 had a vision of Jesus and said he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. The Holy Spirit equips believers to do things they could not humanly do. Covenants are the backbone of the biblical story. 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. Uncovering of his relics (relics of the saints: Nicodemus, Gamaliel and Abibas son of Gamaliel were also found in Saint Stephen's tomb) took place in 415, Gamaliel appeared to presbyter Lucian[ru] and he told him to go to Jerusalem and inform Bishop John about relics of Saint Stephen. Stephen recounts the stories of the patriarchs in some depth, and goes into even more detail in the case of Moses. [20], The relics of the protomartyr were later translated to Rome by Pope Pelagius II during the construction of the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. [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. The account begins with the ascension of Christ (30-33 AD) and runs all the way through to 62-64 AD. God often uses the person's godly character under fire to convict those to whom he is bearing verbal witness. [Acts 7:3943] This establishes the second main theme of Stephen's speech, Israel's disobedience to God. Many early Christians were martyred in the time after Christ. Typically Jesus was described as sitting on his heavenly throne, indicating his work was finished. Stephen was a gifted preacher, but the text shows God gave him wisdom and courage. Stephen's martyrdom was a foretaste of what was to come. 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. But rather than be silenced, Stephen spoke with even more boldness. He concluded by charging them with the murder and betrayal of the Just One, or Messiah. Stephen in the Bible is known as the first Christian martyr. Psalm 82:3 New Living Translation (NLT) 3 "Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. The emotional appeal lies in the reverential and feeling manner in which he handles the history sacred to them all. The Bible's. Known best as the proto-martyr of the Christian church, introducing the heroic period of persecutions. Acts 6:1-7:As the Apostles numbers grew, because of the size, certain people became overlooked, such as the Gentile widows (opposed to the Hebraic widows). The impression made by Stephens death was even greater than that made by his life. "Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? He was condemned for committing blasphemy against the . Stephen is first mentioned in Acts 6:5 as part of a group of men that were chosen to be deacons. This day is also called the "Third Day of the Nativity" because it is the third day of the Christmas season. Eventually, Stephen told how Jesus was the one who came as the fulfillment of God's promises. In those churches, then, the date the feast is observed is generally known as 27 December. A young man watching the murder was Saul of Tarsus. Bible scholars are divided on Stephen's vision of Jesus standing by his throne. Stephen's sermon is a different kind of prophetic speech. The contents of his speech are a recital of the most marked phases of Jewish history in the past, but as read from the point of view of its out-workings in the present old facts interpreted by a spirit-filled disciple of Christ. Even Philo characterizes the Law of Moses in distinction from the laws of other nations, as stedfast, immovable and unchangeable, placing it on a level with the laws of Nature. The material world is nothing in comparison to the afterlife. ( Mark 16:19) The men shouted out and plugged their ears! 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen's preachings were of utmost importance to society, which led to a revolutionary consequence for the early Christians. 3:12 ). [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. 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. "Stephen in the Bible Was the First Christian Martyr." In the way he lived and died, Stephen catapulted the early Christian church from its local Jerusalem roots to a cause that spread across the entire world. All rights reserved. The Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran churches and the Church of the East view Stephen as a saint. Thanks for stopping by! The gospel spread far and wide as a result. Rajnandini is an art lover and enthusiastically likes to spread her knowledge. In a similar fashion to Socrates on trial, Stephen gives a point-by-point rendering of the Old Testament and how it related to Jesus work through his death and resurrection. The charge against his teaching was both false and true. Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith. His defense of his faith before the rabbinic court enraged his Jewish audience, and he was taken out of the city and stoned to death. Dr Michael L has written 155 articles on What Christians Want To Know! It is in reality a philosophy of Israels history and religion, and in so far it was a novum. Since the name "Stephanos" is Greek, it has been assumed that he was one of these Hellenistic Jews. He used his role to minister both personally in ways that not only help the apostles, but was directly responsible for the growth in the church. 3. Take the encounter Israel . [7] Check your inbox for your latest news from us. This is because the Armenian churches maintain the decree of Constantine, which stipulated that the Nativity and Theophany of Jesus were to be celebrated on 6 January. Jesus answered directly and clearly, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (verses 4-5). The apostles addressed this need by tasking the local church members to choose seven men that could be appointed over the business of caring for the widows. His sacrifice and sufferings taught us a very important lesson about the cost of faith. [14] That Jacob's body was carried to a final resting place in Shechem is not recorded in Genesis, though it does not exclude the possibility that his bones were transferred to Shechem for a final burial place, as was done with the bones of Jacob's son Joseph, as described in Joshua 24:32 Other scholars consider them as errors. They dragged him to appear before the Sanhedrin, the supreme legal court of Jewish elders, accusing him of preaching against the Temple and the Mosaic Law. At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. This resulted in the number of new disciples in Jerusalem increasing along with a large number of priests being saved. Ironically, Paul's fire for Christ would mirror Stephen's. [Acts 7:5860] Saul "approved of their killing him. The charge against Stephens person was a baseless accusation. Stephen explained how God fulfilled the promises He had made to Abraham through the events in history. He was a deacon and is introduced in the Bible as a faithful man of God. Stephen is often shown as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments. He also was one of the first deacons of the church. Stephen prayed that the Lord would receive his spirit and his killers be forgiven, sank to his knees, and "fell asleep". Martyrdom of Stephen. It is said that Stephen's life and death served as a catalyst in the spread of Christianity both directly and indirectly. The Argument from Contingency: A Proof for God, 6 Verses to Cling to When You Are Overwhelmed. 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