Acts 7

Tonight I read Acts 7. It's a good one.

So, after Stephen is seized and charged falsely, the high priest asks him if the accusations are true. For some reason, he decided to go back to Abraham and explain I don't know how many hundreds of years of Israel's history. It's a great summary, though, and I'm just in awe of how accurately this chapter depicts so much of the Old Testament. I wonder how it was written... I mean, I don't think people in those days had copies of the Law and the Prophets just lying around to study, but Stephen (and Luke) obviously knew their Scriptures. It's just amazing to me to think about this holy book and how it all came to be over so many years and with so many authors... Nothing short of miraculous, I'd say.

Then, when Stephen is done with his history lesson, he starts criticizing his accusers and captors: "You stiff-necked people..." he begins (Acts 7:51-53). Up to that point, he probably wasn't really telling them anything they hadn't heard before, but with this they'd heard enough. "They were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him" (vs. 54). So they took him out and stoned him (vs. 57-59). And yet, Stephen seemed completely at peace, full of the Holy Spirit, gazing up into heaven at the glory of God (vs. 55-56). He even asked God not to hold their sins against them (vs. 60), which reminds me of Jesus' own plea on the cross.

From this chapter I take away two things: I wish I knew God's Word better, and I wonder how I would handle facing death for my faith. Stephen is truly a role model in both regards.