"God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf-course."
Stephen 3
Lessons from Stephen 3 – his deathAnd Stephen told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand!” Acts 7:56
God gave Stephen a vision of Jesus. By referring to Jesus as “The Son of Man” Stephen was recalling one of the claims of Jesus at his own trial that his accusers would see the Son of Man coming on the clouds. (Mark 14:62) It is significant that Stephen refers to Jesus as the Son of Man. In a sense Stephen is repeating Jesus own claim to be God.
People have debated the significance of Jesus standing as opposed to being seated at the right hand of God. One suggestion is that Jesus is standing as Stephen’s advocate. There is an alternative suggestion that Jesus who had sat down at the right hand of God was now standing to greet the first Christian martyr. Alternatively we can see Stephen confessing Christ before men and Christ confessing his servant before God.
Stephen died, facing Christ and asking forgiveness for his persecutors. As with the death of Jesus what looked like defeat for Stephen turned out to be a glorious victory. He was a witness in life and his death was a triumph. The comment about Stephen which we referred to earlier that “None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke” was as true in his death as in his life.
The consequences of his death were significant: In a sense Mark Twain’s quip: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” is totally true. As the American evangelist DL Moody once said “dead – I will never be so alive in my life”. Stephen went to be with the Jesus he has seen in his vision - forever.
It is one of the great paradoxes of the life of Jesus that he was killed and his Jewish opponents seemed to have won but his death was really his greatest victory. The song “In Christ Alone” expresses it well.
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Songwriters: Keith Getty / Stuart Townend