1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,759 Luke/Acts for Beginners, lesson number 17, the persecution of the church, 2 00:00:04,759 --> 00:00:11,280 the first part. There's a whole section that we will do on this, Acts chapter six, 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:18,920 verse one to 7:60. So far in this book Luke has focused his attention on Peter and 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,680 Peter's ministry and the persecution at the hands of the Jewish leaders. 5 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,880 Beginning in this chapter Luke brings the church and its inner workings to the 6 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:37,110 foreground. So let's look at our outline, shall we. Look at our outline to see what 7 00:00:37,110 --> 00:00:41,190 point we have reached in our story. So we've had Peter's first sermon through all 8 00:00:41,190 --> 00:00:46,469 the great things that are taking place on Pentecost, post-Pentecost, the ministry. 9 00:00:46,469 --> 00:00:50,760 The persecution of Peter and the Apostles begins, today, persecution of the 10 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:56,699 church. And Luke is now going to describe events taking place and people 11 00:00:56,699 --> 00:01:02,340 who are part of that first congregation of the church in Jerusalem. So let's 12 00:01:02,340 --> 00:01:08,490 begin reading chapter six, verse one, it says, "Now at this time, while the disciples 13 00:01:08,490 --> 00:01:12,060 "were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic 14 00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:17,340 "Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in 15 00:01:17,340 --> 00:01:23,580 "the daily serving of food." So it seems that after they were set free, the 16 00:01:23,580 --> 00:01:27,299 Apostles continued their work in Jerusalem, where is it is estimated that 17 00:01:27,299 --> 00:01:35,340 the church is now 20,000 plus people, very large group of people. Now we 18 00:01:35,340 --> 00:01:40,229 read previously that members sold land and donated the proceeds to the church, 19 00:01:40,229 --> 00:01:45,420 and here we see one of the ways that the church used this money and that was to 20 00:01:45,420 --> 00:01:51,443 provide food for the widows that were part of that group. I've done a 21 00:01:51,443 --> 00:01:57,810 quick count of our congregation, about 400 people here, and we have about 25 22 00:01:57,810 --> 00:02:05,070 widows. Four hundred people, about 25 widows. Imagine a church 20,000 plus people, how 23 00:02:05,070 --> 00:02:12,319 many widows you would have? What a challenge that would be to service? And 24 00:02:12,319 --> 00:02:15,780 apparently the distribution and care was taking place 25 00:02:15,780 --> 00:02:21,630 on a daily basis. Once in a while somebody has 26 00:02:21,630 --> 00:02:26,430 some surgery and the ladies and well, various families will go to their 27 00:02:26,430 --> 00:02:30,240 house and bring some casseroles, get them by for a couple of 28 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:37,080 days. Here, every day they were ministering to these women. Now, 29 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:41,250 apparently this distribution in care was taking place, as I say, on a daily basis, 30 00:02:41,250 --> 00:02:47,760 expensive and time-consuming. Now the Hellenistic Jews were not Greek 31 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:53,850 converts to Judaism, they were Jews who were born outside of Israel. So note that 32 00:02:53,850 --> 00:03:00,120 Luke refers to the Jews born in Israel as native Hebrews, to make this 33 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,950 distinction. So these Hellenistic Jews were converted 34 00:03:04,950 --> 00:03:10,020 to Christianity. Now we don't know why the widows of the Hellenistic Jews were 35 00:03:10,020 --> 00:03:14,760 being neglected, doesn't give us a reason. Perhaps the rapid growth of the church 36 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,440 caused some to be neglected, perhaps the Hellenistic Jews were 37 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:24,240 sensitive to the fact that all the church leaders, meaning the Apostles, were 38 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,980 native Hebrews and any difference in the treatment of their people was 39 00:03:28,980 --> 00:03:35,450 easily seen. People are sensitive, aren't they? People are sensitive in any 40 00:03:35,450 --> 00:03:41,160 organization, but in the church as well. Sometimes we take offense. Sometimes for 41 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:46,410 no reason, but sometimes for good reason. So Luke does not comment on 42 00:03:46,410 --> 00:03:51,300 the legitimacy of their complaint, only that things came to a head with their 43 00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:57,480 complaint because it revealed, rather, it reached the ears of the Apostles. 44 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:02,310 So we get to the solution. "The twelve summoned the congregation of the 45 00:04:02,310 --> 00:04:06,720 "disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the Word of God in 46 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:12,180 "order to serve tables." So it's interesting to note that it seems that 47 00:04:12,180 --> 00:04:18,900 the Apostles themselves were actively involved in caring for the widows at 48 00:04:18,900 --> 00:04:23,220 this point. And they conclude that this task was crowding out their more 49 00:04:23,220 --> 00:04:27,570 important work as leaders and teachers in the church. Remember, they're 50 00:04:27,570 --> 00:04:33,210 just kind of finding their way here. The church is established, but unlike us, they 51 00:04:33,210 --> 00:04:37,110 don't have the scriptures to go to and to read, to find out. They're 52 00:04:37,110 --> 00:04:41,850 kind of making their way here. Even today elders and 53 00:04:41,850 --> 00:04:44,790 preachers often find themselves overloaded with tasks and 54 00:04:44,790 --> 00:04:48,900 responsibilities not connected with their primary task of teaching and 55 00:04:48,900 --> 00:04:51,930 preaching and ministering to the flock. 56 00:04:51,930 --> 00:04:56,040 So this problem moved them to begin delegating some of the work they had 57 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:01,290 been doing and establish a structure for this young church. So let's continue 58 00:05:01,290 --> 00:05:06,000 reading, "Therefore brethren select from among you seven men of good reputation 59 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:11,520 "full of the Spirit and of wisdom whom we may put in charge of this task, but we 60 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,230 "will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. 61 00:05:15,230 --> 00:05:19,110 "The statement found approval with the whole congregation and they chose 62 00:05:19,110 --> 00:05:23,460 "Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, 63 00:05:23,460 --> 00:05:29,820 "Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. And these they 64 00:05:29,820 --> 00:05:35,280 "brought before the Apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them." So 65 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:41,250 the Apostles, first of all, established some qualifications for those who were 66 00:05:41,250 --> 00:05:52,020 to be chosen. Men, Luke uses the specific term referring to males. He doesn't, it's 67 00:05:52,020 --> 00:05:58,590 not mankind or just people in general, but he specifies males. And I make a 68 00:05:58,590 --> 00:06:05,970 quick aside here, they could have established a precedent here for sisters 69 00:06:05,970 --> 00:06:11,430 in Christ, for females to serve as deacons. I mean, if there was ever a 70 00:06:11,430 --> 00:06:18,060 moment for this to happen, this was it right here. And why not? I mean, serving 71 00:06:18,060 --> 00:06:24,360 food to other widows, it would seem to me that this is a task more easily 72 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:30,930 done by women. Women-to-women type thing. And yet, the Apostles 73 00:06:30,930 --> 00:06:37,180 chose to have only men do this. Not simply serving, but men to serve in 74 00:06:37,180 --> 00:06:43,360 this task, as the deacons. They were to choose seven men, not nine or 15, seven. 75 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,650 They said the Apostles determined that seven men would be required to do the 76 00:06:47,650 --> 00:06:54,520 job properly. Imagine, seven deacons for just one responsibility. They were to be 77 00:06:54,520 --> 00:07:00,820 spiritually mature men, full of the Spirit. And those who possessed wisdom. In 78 00:07:00,820 --> 00:07:05,800 other words, they knew how to apply or to use the knowledge that they possessed. 79 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:10,449 So knowledge is understanding, knowledge of God's Word, 80 00:07:10,449 --> 00:07:14,110 God's will. Wisdom is how do I apply that knowledge 81 00:07:14,110 --> 00:07:19,509 in a proper way. A lot of times we're going to choose a man to 82 00:07:19,509 --> 00:07:24,099 serve as deacon who's a good carpenter. Yeah, let's get Billy. 83 00:07:24,099 --> 00:07:27,190 Billy's a carpenter, come on. He's got his own, he's got his own business, he's got 84 00:07:27,190 --> 00:07:30,130 tools. What better guy to get as a deacon? He's 85 00:07:30,130 --> 00:07:37,449 got tools, he's got time, come on. Let's get that guy. Or Joe, who's a bookkeeper. 86 00:07:37,449 --> 00:07:43,960 Thinking that how this man is able to serve the church is the primary quality 87 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:50,500 that this person should have. And yet, when I read here, I didn't see the 88 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:56,310 Apostles saying, are there any caterers in the congregation? Are there any cooks? 89 00:07:56,310 --> 00:08:03,010 Anybody runs an inn? How about farmers, who have access to food. Have we got some 90 00:08:03,010 --> 00:08:10,810 of those guys? They don't mention that at all as qualifications. Peter's criteria 91 00:08:10,810 --> 00:08:16,840 only names spirituality and wisdom as the things to look for in a potential 92 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:21,130 deacon. Of course, Paul elaborates on this later on in Timothy, 93 00:08:21,130 --> 00:08:30,789 but for now. Then Apostles instructed the church to select the candidates for 94 00:08:30,789 --> 00:08:35,890 deacon. The church had to choose men who were both spiritual and wise to be 95 00:08:35,890 --> 00:08:41,950 considered for the role of deacon. The term deacon, just a simple translation, 96 00:08:41,950 --> 00:08:46,870 actually originally meant a waiter. Somebody who waited on tables, a servant, 97 00:08:46,870 --> 00:08:50,680 a minister. All these words refer to the same thing. Now, I'm not saying 98 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:55,210 you can't choose a man who's a carpenter. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that 99 00:08:55,210 --> 00:09:00,790 the primary qualifications that they set forth was that he be a man full of the 100 00:09:00,790 --> 00:09:06,279 Spirit and wisdom. It's okay if he's a carpenter or a farmer. That's 101 00:09:06,279 --> 00:09:13,180 great that his skill perhaps matches the need at the moment, but that's not the 102 00:09:13,180 --> 00:09:18,610 primary qualification. That's the point I'm trying to make here. The Apostles 103 00:09:18,610 --> 00:09:24,190 would authorize the men selected and vetted by the congregation to serve as 104 00:09:24,190 --> 00:09:29,709 deacons. And this they did how? By prayer and the laying on of their hands, in 105 00:09:29,709 --> 00:09:37,270 order to commend them into service. That's the order that we see here, the 106 00:09:37,270 --> 00:09:41,020 pattern established in the book of Acts. And it's the order that we 107 00:09:41,020 --> 00:09:48,490 follow here to select and to commend deacons into service. 108 00:09:48,490 --> 00:09:53,470 So the results, it says, "The Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the 109 00:09:53,470 --> 00:09:57,910 "disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the 110 00:09:57,910 --> 00:10:04,480 "priests were becoming obedient to the faith." This is what Luke writes, but what 111 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:10,150 he doesn't write, is interesting. What he doesn't write is, and there was a 112 00:10:10,150 --> 00:10:14,950 division in the church, and there was infighting because of the trouble 113 00:10:14,950 --> 00:10:22,810 with the food distribution. Because if that problem got to the ears of the 114 00:10:22,810 --> 00:10:27,820 Apostles, it means there was a problem going on, there was murmuring, 115 00:10:27,820 --> 00:10:35,320 there was dissatisfaction, there was gossip, there was trouble. And yet, the 116 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,160 results that Luke writes is, Wow, the church just kept on growing. Well, the 117 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:44,860 church doesn't grow when there's division and trouble. So Luke says the 118 00:10:44,860 --> 00:10:50,829 Apostles returned to their essential work of prayer and teaching and we see 119 00:10:50,829 --> 00:10:54,700 the results of this renewed effort as Luke records the continued growth of the 120 00:10:54,700 --> 00:11:00,130 church. Luke also mentions that the gospel is impacting the higher levels of 121 00:11:00,130 --> 00:11:03,880 society by this time, society and religion, 122 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:11,470 as some priests now are beginning to come to the faith as well. So now the 123 00:11:11,470 --> 00:11:16,150 persecution begins, as always. When everything's going great, watch it, 124 00:11:16,150 --> 00:11:20,860 in the church. And that's not just in the first century church, that's in a 21st 125 00:11:20,860 --> 00:11:24,580 century church. If everything is going great, the pews are full, we're making 126 00:11:24,580 --> 00:11:28,500 budget, it's great, people are being baptized and we're doing good works, 127 00:11:28,500 --> 00:11:37,330 watch it, trouble ahead. Exactly what happens here. In Acts chapter six, verse eight and nine, 128 00:11:37,330 --> 00:11:41,590 Stephen is arrested. Remember the same Stephen who was appointed as a 129 00:11:41,590 --> 00:11:48,460 deacon. It says, "And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders 130 00:11:48,460 --> 00:11:54,010 "and signs among the people, but some men from what was called the Synagogue of 131 00:11:54,010 --> 00:12:00,490 "the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians and some from Cilicia 132 00:12:00,490 --> 00:12:06,460 "and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen, but they were unable to cope with the 133 00:12:06,460 --> 00:12:10,690 "wisdom in the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly induced men 134 00:12:10,690 --> 00:12:14,560 "to say, 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and 135 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:18,940 "against God.' And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and 136 00:12:18,940 --> 00:12:24,400 "they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the council." 137 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:29,050 So Luke notes that beyond his work as a deacon, Stephen also performed miracles 138 00:12:29,050 --> 00:12:34,450 and thus the first member of the church, aside from the Apostles, to do so that is 139 00:12:34,450 --> 00:12:39,760 recorded. So we learned later on that the ability to speak in tongues and heal 140 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,590 others and work miracles was transferred to believers by the laying on of the 141 00:12:44,590 --> 00:12:50,380 Apostles hands in Acts chapter eight, verses 14 to 18. We will read that when we get 142 00:12:50,380 --> 00:12:56,530 to that part. This is most likely how Stephen received his ability to do these 143 00:12:56,530 --> 00:13:02,140 things. He already was mature spiritually and wise, which explains his ability to 144 00:13:02,140 --> 00:13:05,470 preach and teach and debate with the Hellenists. 145 00:13:05,470 --> 00:13:12,760 Now Stephen himself was a Hellenistic Jew converted to Christianity. And he was 146 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,510 now attacked by other Hebrew Hellenists , who considered him a traitor for his 147 00:13:17,510 --> 00:13:23,540 conversion. They tried debating him unsuccessfully and so they resorted to 148 00:13:23,540 --> 00:13:29,630 the same tactics used to have Jesus arrested, same playbook, same 149 00:13:29,630 --> 00:13:35,870 playbook. Oh, he's talking against Moses, he's defiling the law, he's trying to 150 00:13:35,870 --> 00:13:42,550 destroy our religion, he's guilty of blasphemy. 151 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,960 So they stir up the people with lies and this provides the Jewish leaders an 152 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:52,100 opportunity to arrest him. And of course, if he's doing miracles and he's strong 153 00:13:52,100 --> 00:13:57,980 in the Word, he's got a higher profile, doesn't he? Now the way that Satan works 154 00:13:57,980 --> 00:14:01,880 is attack the leaders, attack the leaders, attack the elders, attack the 155 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,840 deacons, attack the ministers, get those guys first. If you can break those guys 156 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,530 down - have you ever been to a church where the preacher runs off 157 00:14:09,530 --> 00:14:13,040 with one of the members' wives? Have you been to a church like that? I hope not. 158 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:18,620 But if you've ever been to a church or heard of a church, what a blow that is to 159 00:14:18,620 --> 00:14:24,920 that church. The evil one didn't have to hurt any of the 1000 160 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:28,250 members, he just has to get the guy up in the pulpit, or he just has to get one of 161 00:14:28,250 --> 00:14:34,130 the elders to fail, to fall. What a blow that is to the church. What a 162 00:14:34,130 --> 00:14:38,540 discouragement that is. So same thing, get Stephen, he's rising up, he's powerful in 163 00:14:38,540 --> 00:14:44,600 the Word, let's get that guy. So in Acts chapter six we read, the trial begins, 164 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:49,250 it says, "They put forward false witnesses who said, 'This man incessantly speaks 165 00:14:49,250 --> 00:14:54,350 "against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, 166 00:14:54,350 --> 00:14:59,390 "Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to 167 00:14:59,390 --> 00:15:03,530 "us." And fixing their gaze upon him all who were sitting in the council saw his 168 00:15:03,530 --> 00:15:09,950 "face like the face of an angel." So once before the Jewish leaders 169 00:15:09,950 --> 00:15:14,600 several charges are brought against him which are nearly the same as the ones 170 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:20,230 brought against Jesus. It worked then, let's try it again. 171 00:15:20,230 --> 00:15:24,770 Luke only records the various accusations, but no evidence, notice 172 00:15:24,770 --> 00:15:29,630 there was no evidence for Jesus, and here no evidence. Since there was no evidence 173 00:15:29,630 --> 00:15:33,500 to support the accusation, only false witnesses who lied 174 00:15:33,500 --> 00:15:40,940 in order to condemn him. Very much like Jesus, Stephen did not debate or defend 175 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:47,510 himself against his accusers. Perhaps included in His promise to provide His 176 00:15:47,510 --> 00:15:52,570 disciples with the wisdom to answer those accusing them when the time came 177 00:15:52,570 --> 00:15:58,280 along with this came the ability to know when to say nothing as well. 178 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,420 Jesus promised His Apostles, they'll take you in front of judges and 179 00:16:02,420 --> 00:16:06,620 they'll scourge you. And He said, don't worry, I'll let you know what you 180 00:16:06,620 --> 00:16:10,790 have to say at the right time. And I think along with that promise was also 181 00:16:10,790 --> 00:16:18,380 and I'll let you know when to say nothing. So we get Stephens' response, Acts 182 00:16:18,380 --> 00:16:25,220 chapter seven, verses one to 53. I just want to read a couple of verses of that, "The high 183 00:16:25,220 --> 00:16:30,800 priest said to him, 'Are these things so?' Stephen said, 'Hear me brethren and 184 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:35,060 "fathers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in 185 00:16:35,060 --> 00:16:40,070 "Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran and said to him, 'Leave your country and your 186 00:16:40,070 --> 00:16:43,600 "relatives and come into the land that I will show you." 187 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:48,620 So prodded by the high priest to speak and answer the charges, guilty 188 00:16:48,620 --> 00:16:53,540 or not guilty, which they would have dismissed to find him guilty and punish 189 00:16:53,540 --> 00:17:00,080 him anyways, Stephen instead begins a long monologue that proceeds to tell the 190 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:05,570 story of the Jewish people beginning with Abraham and his initial call by God 191 00:17:05,570 --> 00:17:11,300 to leave his home and to come to the land of canaan. He summarizes their 192 00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:16,720 history and heroes as well as God's dealing with them as His chosen people. 193 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:21,530 He brings the story to the present day and he concludes with the same 194 00:17:21,530 --> 00:17:25,970 accusation that Peter made when he and the other Apostles were dragged before 195 00:17:25,970 --> 00:17:31,280 these very same people. So we skip forward to Acts seven, verse 51, he says, "You 196 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:36,170 "men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are 197 00:17:36,170 --> 00:17:41,690 "always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did, which one 198 00:17:41,690 --> 00:17:44,780 "of the prophets did your father's not persecute? 199 00:17:44,780 --> 00:17:48,140 "They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous 200 00:17:48,140 --> 00:17:53,870 "One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You, who received the 201 00:17:53,870 --> 00:17:58,070 "laws ordained by angels and yet did not keep it." 202 00:17:58,070 --> 00:18:06,500 So his accusations are harsh, but true. First they were stubborn, hard-hearted, 203 00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:10,550 and completely unspiritual. Uncircumcised of heart, meaning you 204 00:18:10,550 --> 00:18:16,480 don't have the spirit. They were disobedient, resisting God's Spirit. 205 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:21,200 They were as evil and disobedience as their forefathers. He's saying to them, 206 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,630 the prophets that God sent to announce the coming of the Messiah, you 207 00:18:26,630 --> 00:18:31,040 killed those guys. You not only killed those guys, 208 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:36,650 you killed the Messiah when He finally came too. So they not only killed the 209 00:18:36,650 --> 00:18:39,140 prophets sent to announce the coming of the Messiah, 210 00:18:39,140 --> 00:18:45,650 they also killed the Messiah Himself. And they received the divinely appointed law, 211 00:18:45,650 --> 00:18:53,140 but they did not honor it or keep it. So Stephen's indictment of them is complete: 212 00:18:53,140 --> 00:18:58,730 guilty in the past; their ancestors in the past acted as they did in the 213 00:18:58,730 --> 00:19:04,940 present. Guilty in the present of killing their own Messiah. And he leaves out the 214 00:19:04,940 --> 00:19:11,960 future because the judgment to come for their sins is evident, but not spoken. So 215 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:17,720 we read and we go forward to seven, verse 54, it says, 'Now when they heard this they 216 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:24,050 "were cut to the quick and they began gnashing their teeth at him." So his 217 00:19:24,050 --> 00:19:28,520 accusations, they hit home and they experienced extreme emotion - cut 218 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,950 to the quick, sawn in two; another way of saying that they were sawn in two, they 219 00:19:33,950 --> 00:19:38,050 were cut in half. Gnashing of teeth, they were grinding their teeth, 220 00:19:38,050 --> 00:19:45,830 suppressed rage. Despite this, however, they don't make a move against him as he 221 00:19:45,830 --> 00:19:51,590 is still able to speak. its own verse 55 he says, "But being full," or rather, Luke 222 00:19:51,590 --> 00:19:56,030 says, "but being full of the Holy Spirit he gazed intently into heaven and saw 223 00:19:56,030 --> 00:20:00,420 "the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and he 224 00:20:00,420 --> 00:20:05,130 "said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at the right 225 00:20:05,130 --> 00:20:10,650 "hand of God." Now, in His mercy and knowing what is to come, 226 00:20:10,650 --> 00:20:15,780 God gives Stephen a vision of the heaven that he's about to enter as his reward 227 00:20:15,780 --> 00:20:22,860 for being faithful unto death. Note that Luke mentions twice that Jesus is 228 00:20:22,860 --> 00:20:27,600 standing at the right hand of God, thus signifying His authority. Every time 229 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,809 any writer in the Bible talks about the right hand of God, he's talking about 230 00:20:30,809 --> 00:20:37,770 authority and power. Some commentators and commenters suggest 231 00:20:37,770 --> 00:20:42,750 that Jesus is standing to welcome the first saint and martyr to reach heaven. 232 00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:47,429 Since the church was established on Pentecost Sunday, and remember, this is a 233 00:20:47,429 --> 00:20:54,360 deacon. I'm not disparaging deacons here, I'm just saying, the first 234 00:20:54,360 --> 00:21:00,750 martyr was a deacon. Any man selected to serve as a deacon has been selected to 235 00:21:00,750 --> 00:21:08,790 serve in an honorable ministry. Verse 57, "But they cried out with a loud voice 236 00:21:08,790 --> 00:21:13,890 "and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse." It's one thing 237 00:21:13,890 --> 00:21:18,300 to accuse them to their faces of rejecting the Messiah, after all, Peter 238 00:21:18,300 --> 00:21:23,010 had done the very same thing and every one of the 25,000 disciples in Jerusalem 239 00:21:23,010 --> 00:21:27,170 had basically done the same thing by accepting Christ. 240 00:21:27,170 --> 00:21:33,690 Now, however, this man was claiming to actually see both God and Jesus in 241 00:21:33,690 --> 00:21:42,240 heaven. This was now blasphemy in their eyes. And it was to raise 242 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:47,910 himself up, as one who could see God in the heavens. So they would hear no more. 243 00:21:47,910 --> 00:21:54,360 And in a rage they moved to silence him. "When they had driven him out of the city, 244 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:58,050 "they began stoning him. And the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a 245 00:21:58,050 --> 00:22:02,460 "young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord 246 00:22:02,460 --> 00:22:08,400 "and said, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then falling on his knees he cried out 247 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:13,600 "with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' 248 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:15,540 Having said this, he fell asleep." 249 00:22:15,540 --> 00:22:22,610 Note that the, quote, trial did not follow the normal procedure of a vote or a 250 00:22:22,610 --> 00:22:27,870 24-hour cooling-off period before pronouncing sentence, especially one that 251 00:22:27,870 --> 00:22:32,400 required execution. That was according to their own law. If you pronounced 252 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:37,380 a person guilty and worthy of death, you couldn't sentence him on the same 253 00:22:37,380 --> 00:22:42,570 day. You had to take a 24-hour period and then come back, a time to sober 254 00:22:42,570 --> 00:22:45,420 thinking. Think things over, 255 00:22:45,420 --> 00:22:50,040 and then you pronounce the sentence. Not to mention the fact that the Jews 256 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,820 were not permitted to execute criminals. They had to go through the 257 00:22:53,820 --> 00:22:59,130 Roman officials, as they had done with Jesus. This was not a trial, this was an 258 00:22:59,130 --> 00:23:04,920 angry mob taking the law into their own hands and murdering someone in an act of 259 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:11,100 rage. Now, I believe that there were no repercussions. What they did was not only 260 00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:16,110 against Jewish law, it was against Roman law. But I think the reason there were no 261 00:23:16,110 --> 00:23:21,360 repercussions: one, Stephen was not a high-profile person like Jesus. Let's put 262 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:24,900 it that way, or even the Apostles. And he had not come 263 00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:30,690 to the attention of Herod or Pilate. And even if Christians complained and 264 00:23:30,690 --> 00:23:34,650 brought charges, they couldn't do so to the Jewish leaders for obvious reasons. 265 00:23:34,650 --> 00:23:40,830 And they dared not approach Pilate after what happened to Jesus. So Luke chooses 266 00:23:40,830 --> 00:23:46,560 to introduce Saul, whom we know becomes Paul the Apostle, at this point of his 267 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:52,770 book, as one who minded the cloaks of those stoning Stephen. Now, the 268 00:23:52,770 --> 00:23:57,300 witnesses were those who testified against Stephen, and according to Jewish 269 00:23:57,300 --> 00:24:01,890 law, these men were required to cast the first stones as the ones who had 270 00:24:01,890 --> 00:24:05,490 witnessed the crime for which the person was being stoned. So if you were a 271 00:24:05,490 --> 00:24:10,500 witness to this person - yeah, he did it, he's guilty, I saw him do it. Then 272 00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:15,480 that person is convicted of death by stoning, then you, the witness, have to be 273 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:21,330 the first one to throw a stone. That was a serious business if you were a witness 274 00:24:21,330 --> 00:24:25,500 against someone, then you had to participate in that person's 275 00:24:25,500 --> 00:24:31,110 execution, Deuteronomy, by the way, 17 verse six. So in this case these people 276 00:24:31,110 --> 00:24:37,169 were adding murder to the sin of perjury that they had already committed. Now 277 00:24:37,169 --> 00:24:41,490 Stephen is not afraid of dying because he is absolutely sure where he's going, 278 00:24:41,490 --> 00:24:46,110 to the point where he calls on the Lord to receive his spirit. It says, he fell 279 00:24:46,110 --> 00:24:52,470 asleep, signifying that he entered the period of waiting until Jesus returns. 280 00:24:52,470 --> 00:24:58,440 And what must have been hard for the Jews to bear, Stephens final words are 281 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:04,380 not a cry for help, they're not a curse on his attackers, but like Jesus, a plea 282 00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:10,620 to God to forgive those who are in the process of killing him. Can you imagine 283 00:25:10,620 --> 00:25:17,370 that? I just read a short article about an individual who was executed, 284 00:25:17,370 --> 00:25:23,250 I don't know where, in some state, but anyways, he was executed and they 285 00:25:23,250 --> 00:25:26,580 asked him, they always ask the person, do you have any final words? He 286 00:25:26,580 --> 00:25:30,030 was being executed by lethal injection and they asked him, do you have any 287 00:25:30,030 --> 00:25:34,169 final words? And a lot of times at that moment they either say no or they say 288 00:25:34,169 --> 00:25:38,490 well, I want to ask forgiveness from those who I've harmed, and I 289 00:25:38,490 --> 00:25:44,820 apologize. God please. Last words. Well, this person, they asked 290 00:25:44,820 --> 00:25:49,230 him if he had any last words and he started to curse. And he cursed the ones 291 00:25:49,230 --> 00:25:52,770 who were killing him, he cursed the ones that were putting him to death, he cursed 292 00:25:52,770 --> 00:25:58,620 the state. And the article said he kept going 293 00:25:58,620 --> 00:26:06,630 until he finally passed out and then he died, an angry, evil man. I mean, 294 00:26:06,630 --> 00:26:10,919 Stephen, he says, Lord please forgive the ones who are throwing the 295 00:26:10,919 --> 00:26:17,040 rocks at me trying to kill me. In this way, God provides us with a 296 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,120 model for those who will suffer martyrdom. 297 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:24,450 We often say the New Testament has patterns. A pattern for how the 298 00:26:24,450 --> 00:26:28,410 church should be organized, a pattern for how we should take the communion, a 299 00:26:28,410 --> 00:26:32,610 pattern for how we should baptize. And and I agree, absolutely. 300 00:26:32,610 --> 00:26:36,480 There are patterns for how we do things. I believe the Bible also has a pattern 301 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:42,669 for martyrdom, as we see here. First, don't act like 302 00:26:42,669 --> 00:26:51,669 you're executioners. Don't act like you're executioners. Secondly, keep your 303 00:26:51,669 --> 00:26:58,389 eyes of faith on Jesus, because He's the one you're going to. Thirdly, don't 304 00:26:58,389 --> 00:27:03,159 exchange a few more years of life on this earth for an early departure for 305 00:27:03,159 --> 00:27:08,860 heaven. And finally, forgive those who are taking your life, because in doing so 306 00:27:08,860 --> 00:27:14,679 they may have a chance to see you in heaven one day. Open the opportunity for 307 00:27:14,679 --> 00:27:19,539 them to be forgiven. When someone harms you or hurts you, why should you forgive 308 00:27:19,539 --> 00:27:22,509 them? Well, if you don't, the road to 309 00:27:22,509 --> 00:27:29,590 forgiveness is closed to them. You have to open the doorway to forgiveness by 310 00:27:29,590 --> 00:27:34,809 forgiving them, so that at some point if they cry out to God for forgiveness, He 311 00:27:34,809 --> 00:27:41,980 will forgive them. Important. All right, a couple of lessons just from the material 312 00:27:41,980 --> 00:27:49,720 that we've covered today: Satan always finds a way, doesn't he? Always finds a 313 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:54,460 way. Notice that it doesn't take long before Satan begins his attacks on the 314 00:27:54,460 --> 00:27:59,200 young church in Jerusalem: Peter's arrested to keep him 315 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:05,549 quiet, then all the Apostles are arrested to remove the church's leadership, 316 00:28:05,549 --> 00:28:14,259 they're beaten, then stirring up trouble in the benevolence ministry. Notice, the 317 00:28:14,259 --> 00:28:18,549 trouble wasn't in theology, it wasn't in the teaching. It was in the 318 00:28:18,549 --> 00:28:26,919 benevolence. Imagine, you're trying to do good, you're trying to do good, and that's 319 00:28:26,919 --> 00:28:32,919 the place where the trouble is going to start. And you know why? Because I'll tell 320 00:28:32,919 --> 00:28:40,450 you something, nothing offends a person more than being accused of doing 321 00:28:40,450 --> 00:28:47,019 something bad when they're trying to do something good. That's the most 322 00:28:47,019 --> 00:28:52,000 hurtful type of accusation, when in Christian love and 323 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,320 kindness you're making an effort to do something good or in service to 324 00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:00,130 someone else, and somehow somebody mistakes that 325 00:29:00,130 --> 00:29:06,420 information and turns it into something bad. That really hurts. 326 00:29:07,140 --> 00:29:14,050 And then, attacks, I'm saying that the devil attacks, a dynamic servant of the 327 00:29:14,050 --> 00:29:21,820 church who is having an impact on the people in the name of Christ, and it 328 00:29:21,820 --> 00:29:28,930 began almost from the beginning and has continued throughout history to this 329 00:29:28,930 --> 00:29:32,980 very day. Those of you who have been members of this congregation, 330 00:29:32,980 --> 00:29:36,340 you know what happens here sometime, and every congregation. I've worked in many 331 00:29:36,340 --> 00:29:39,220 different congregations and sooner or later there's always trouble 332 00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:46,180 of some kind. So Satan continually attacks the church, 333 00:29:46,180 --> 00:29:51,220 especially when it is growing and bearing fruit. So we need to be on our 334 00:29:51,220 --> 00:29:56,110 guard, because we are growing and we are bearing fruit of good works, many good 335 00:29:56,110 --> 00:30:00,910 works. I always ask myself, when people 336 00:30:00,910 --> 00:30:04,270 come to see me and they say, well, I'm thinking this and oh my I can't get this 337 00:30:04,270 --> 00:30:08,410 idea out of my mind, and I'm discouraged. I always ask them, I say, 338 00:30:08,410 --> 00:30:17,700 okay, who is talking to you? If your heart is saying to you, you're no good, you're 339 00:30:17,700 --> 00:30:22,060 no good, you're not worthy, you're just not a good person. You 340 00:30:22,060 --> 00:30:26,140 may be able to fake it to the other people in the church, but I know me, the 341 00:30:26,140 --> 00:30:33,190 guy inside of you, I know you're no good. And when they, people, come to me and tell 342 00:30:33,190 --> 00:30:38,640 me something like that, I always ask the same question: who's talking to you? Is 343 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:44,290 that Jesus talking to you? Really? Is that, think now, have you ever heard Jesus 344 00:30:44,290 --> 00:30:49,270 say that - you're no good, you won't make it, you're not good enough, you haven't 345 00:30:49,270 --> 00:30:56,310 done enough. That's not Jesus talking to you, that's the devil talking to you. 346 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:02,679 So Satan always finds a way to get to the church and get to individuals in the 347 00:31:02,679 --> 00:31:09,489 church. And maybe my exhortation here is try to decipher who it is who's 348 00:31:09,489 --> 00:31:23,129 attacking you. And number two, we will see what Stephen saw. We will see that. 349 00:31:23,129 --> 00:31:27,730 Stephen saw Jesus at the right hand of God, just moments before he fell asleep, 350 00:31:27,730 --> 00:31:32,110 the kind of death that believers experience as they await Jesus's return 351 00:31:32,110 --> 00:31:38,649 and their awakening from sleep. We will both see and hear Jesus at the right 352 00:31:38,649 --> 00:31:45,659 hand of God, saying, well done good and faithful servant. That's what Jesus says. 353 00:31:45,659 --> 00:31:55,769 He's the one that says keep going, don't quit, this is good. He's the one that says 354 00:31:56,399 --> 00:32:00,190 that's a 30-fold increase. Do you understand what I'm saying? 355 00:32:00,190 --> 00:32:05,080 In the parable of the seed and the sower, He says, the one who sews 356 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,299 the seed on good soil, he gets an increase thirtyfold, sixtyfold, 357 00:32:09,299 --> 00:32:16,119 a hundredfold. We kind of pass over that little passage there - 30, 60, 100. What's He 358 00:32:16,119 --> 00:32:20,590 telling us? You're not always going to hit a home run out of the park. It's not 359 00:32:20,590 --> 00:32:25,809 always going to be a hundred-fold, your effort to serve Him, your ministry, it's 360 00:32:25,809 --> 00:32:29,710 not always going to be a hundred. Sometimes it'll be thirty or sixty or a 361 00:32:29,710 --> 00:32:37,899 hundred. That's what Jesus said. He says to you, 362 00:32:37,899 --> 00:32:43,109 good effort, keep trying. That was a 60-fold effort, but don't beat yourself up, 363 00:32:43,109 --> 00:32:50,400 that's okay. 364 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:56,420 This is what we'll experience a moment after we are awakened by an Angel's 365 00:32:56,430 --> 00:33:00,660 trumpet in the call of the Lord, when He returns. A word of encouragement, a word 366 00:33:00,660 --> 00:33:07,650 of welcome. Stephen was only a man, but as the first Christian to die, God had shown 367 00:33:07,650 --> 00:33:13,200 him, has shown all of us through him what to expect after death, no matter how we 368 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:19,290 die: peaceful sleep, a resurrection, and the ability to see 369 00:33:19,290 --> 00:33:27,990 and hear Jesus Himself, and a welcome to heaven, a welcome to heaven. This is what 370 00:33:27,990 --> 00:33:32,670 I look forward to when I see the world and the mess that is 371 00:33:32,670 --> 00:33:36,000 continually reported. There's always been a mess. I just finished 372 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:41,490 reading a book, a series of books that my my daughter gave me on Winston Churchill. 373 00:33:41,490 --> 00:33:47,300 A very interesting character and historical character, amazing human being. 374 00:33:47,300 --> 00:33:52,950 But the figure that kind of jumps out at me is the number of people who 375 00:33:52,950 --> 00:33:58,100 died in World War Two - forty million people. 376 00:33:58,100 --> 00:34:05,550 Forty million people died in World War Two, military people and 377 00:34:05,550 --> 00:34:14,700 civilians. Forty million. Every major city in Germany was reduced to ashes. London, 378 00:34:14,700 --> 00:34:22,100 the city of London, and major cities in England, reduced to ashes. Forty million 379 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:28,350 people dead. So let's try to get some perspective. The difference between then 380 00:34:28,350 --> 00:34:36,419 and now is that then you read about that in the paper that came out once a day or 381 00:34:36,419 --> 00:34:47,340 the radio that had the six o'clock news. Today we have news and 382 00:34:47,340 --> 00:34:56,460 information bombarding us 24 hours a day. Sometimes I wonder how would 383 00:34:56,460 --> 00:35:04,630 today's media, how could they report 40 million deaths, when 384 00:35:04,630 --> 00:35:11,800 it's front-page news if Kim Kardashian buys a new sweater. What would they do 385 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:19,450 with 40 million people dying? So let's not let the exaggerations and the 386 00:35:19,450 --> 00:35:27,670 huffing and puffing of the media today discourage us. We live in a marvelous 387 00:35:27,670 --> 00:35:32,410 country. We're still free. You know what, everybody was free to come 388 00:35:32,410 --> 00:35:38,320 here today and hear a lesson from the Bible. And you know what, they were 389 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,920 free to either come here and hear a lesson from the Bible or go across the 390 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:45,880 street or go across to that one. We might not agree with everything, but 391 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:50,250 one thing I do agree with, isn't it wonderful that everybody has a choice. 392 00:35:50,250 --> 00:35:55,390 All right, so that's our lesson. We'll stop at Stephen because there's a whole 393 00:35:55,390 --> 00:35:59,620 other dynamic that begins after Stephen's death and we'll continue that. And 394 00:35:59,620 --> 00:36:04,450 there's the bell. Our reading assignment for next week, Acts chapter eight, verse one to 395 00:36:04,450 --> 00:36:09,130 9:43. Always appreciate you reading ahead, because as I say, I don't always read all 396 00:36:09,130 --> 00:36:12,730 the material in class. Thank you, that is our class for this morning. Thank you. 397 00:36:12,730 --> 00:36:15,840 you very much for your attention