“Then the high priest asked Stephen, ‘Are these charges true?’

To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’

 So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living….

… When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 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. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’”

Acts 7:1-4; 54-56

–

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Stephen’s sermon! If we could spend a whole month of devotions unpacking his words, I’m not sure it would be enough.

Remember the context: there’s been opposition to the work and teaching of this growing band of Jesus followers, and for good reason. In fact, they are essentially the same reasons why Jesus was dangerous and needed to be silenced. Stephen’s work and words put him in the center of a conflict with another Jewish community; the best way to silence him was to falsely accuse him. Stephen was arrested on the grounds of changing customs and blaspheming Moses.

In his defense, Stephen launches into the story of Israel—beginning all the way back when Abraham lived in Mesopotamia. Now, those are the deep tracks of Israel’s history. Stephen intends to be thorough in his defense.

But Stephen winds up doing (as Jesus himself did, and as Paul will later do) exactly what he is being accused of: telling their shared story of God in such a way that the hearer realizes Jesus (and Jesus’ followers) do not side with the status quo and authority structures that represent God. Rather, in Jesus’ name they are confronting the status quo and authority structures. And he ends with a devastating claim: At God’s right hand I see Jesus.

Talk about throwing down the gauntlet.

These leaders believed they represented God, and their temple represented heaven. In fact, God’s scriptures say so! But Stephen, like Jesus before him, confronts this with the most powerful words available. They have missed God’s true intent, and the court that matters is not the one about to condemn and kill him, but the one in which God has fully and entirely sided with Jesus, exalting Jesus’ compassionate humility to the highest place.

Friends, we have heard the teachings of Jesus. We have heard the call to lay down our lives, to become service and compassion. What kingdom will we join? Whose understanding of God will we follow? What court will we answer to? What power will we serve?

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Take the time to read Stephen’s sermon. What do you hear?
  • What would his accusers hear?
  • Why is this a dangerous message?
  • How can we represent Jesus in our own deeply conflicted culture?

 

Church Reading Plan: Hosea 13; Psalm 137-138