We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. So when we read the scriptures, God is speaking. And that's why we give thanks, right? So we remind each other of this every week when we do the scripture reading. It always concludes with, this is the Word of the Lord. And we respond, thanks be to God, right? Now I would just, I encourage you, say that with genuine enthusiasm and gratitude. I mean, if we mumble that, or just kind of say it thoughtlessly because it's part of our liturgy, what does that say about our view of Scripture? So you know it's coming every week. We're pretty consistent. Just take a few seconds when we read Scripture to measure your gratitude to God for His Word. And then say, accordingly, thanks be to God. Now, I'm saying that, and you're turning to Acts chapter 6. Why? What's the connection? I'm glad you asked. I'm gonna preach 71 verses of God's Word today. All of chapter 7, which is one of the longer chapters in the book of Acts, and a bit of 6 and 8 on either end, that's a lot of text. It's over 1,700 words. It takes roughly 8 or 9 minutes to read out loud. And my intention over the course of this sermon is to read all of it. And here's why. because when the Scriptures are read, God is speaking. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, this is 1 Timothy 4.13, he says, until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and to teaching. So it's my conviction then that we give our priority to the reading of God's Word than to preaching. So I don't want to stand up here and say, I'll summarize the Bible for you so I have more time to talk. I'm not going to do that. I'll take plenty of time to talk. Don't worry about that at all. And I'm not going to give you some assignment. Go read this on your own. For now, just listen to what I have to say. I would so much rather let God speak. and I'll fill whatever time is left. So that's why we're going to read a lot of scripture today. So you will want a Bible in front of you, some form, in Acts chapter 6 to follow along. Let's start by reading Acts chapter 6 verses 7 through 15. And the word of God continued to increase. And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those who come from Cilicia and Asia, they rose up and disputed with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. and they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council and they set up false witnesses who said, this man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us. And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Would you pray with me so we can get into God's word? Father, we pray that you would make our eyes open to see what you have done, our ears open to hear your word, our hearts open to receive it, and our hands open to be changed by it. In Jesus' name, amen. So Stephen, who we meet here, is often called the first Christian martyr. The first Christian to die for his faith. And we'll get there. It happens at the end of chapter seven and into chapter eight. Martyr is actually a Greek word. So it's a transliteration. We just take the word from the original language and say it in more of an English tone. But the Greek word does not mean someone who dies for their faith. Actually, the word martyr and all the related words are legal words. They're used in a law court. So I'll just, I'm going to read them for you and kind of tell you some different meanings so you can hear how we just take this word from Greek to English. So martyria means a testimony. Martus means witness. Martyrion means proof. Martyreo and martyromi are verbs which mean to testify or to witness. So you hear all those like kind of martyr, repeated in there. That's the Greek concept of witnessing. So it's a legal term, which is why Jesus tells the disciples in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, you're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my martyress, my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So sometime in the hundred years after Jesus' death, in the next hundred years, Christians started using the word martyr to refer to someone who suffers on account of testifying about Jesus. One of the earliest recorded uses that we have is a little document called the Martyrdom of Polycarp. Now you can just jot that down. I highly recommend you read it. It is a great read. It's short. It's fun. It's really a little strange. But that's probably the earliest time where we see this word martyr, which means to testify or to witness, used to describe someone who dies for their faith. And like today, that's the only way we use the word martyr, to describe someone who suffers and dies for their faith. That's a really fascinating evolution in my mind. And it's a rightful one. that those who die on account of Jesus die because they testify about him. In the whole book of Acts, there is no Christians who die for doing good, and lots of Christians do good in the book of Acts. They die for speaking and preaching, testifying, teaching. It's words that stir up trouble. And as we just read in verse seven, It's the Word of God that gives life. Words really matter. So we're gonna follow Stephen and his words from his witness to his martyrdom. Now, we looked at this a little bit last week and saw that Stephen in verses 8 through 15 is a continuation of the ministry of the apostles. What's progressing is that the good news about Jesus is now spreading to other languages. Stephen and all of these Cyrenians and Alexandrians and so forth are Greek-speaking Jews. We call them Hellenists. But as the witness of the gospel grows, so does the opposition. As a matter of fact, the opposition now boils over. Remember, they arrested the apostles, and they warned them, and they arrested them again, and they beat them. Now they, according to verse 12, they seize Stephen. It's a little more violent, and it gets a lot more violent. They're gonna kill him. Why? Why did they kill Stephen? Well, listen to the false witnesses. They've said in verse 11, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. And verse 13, this man never ceases to speak words against this holy place in the law, for we've heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us. This is exactly what we saw with Peter in previous chapters. Stephen, likewise, is being accused of blasphemy. He's blaspheming God by preaching Jesus. So the Jewish religious leaders, the elders, the council, the Sanhedrin, they consider Jesus an opponent of Israel. And at that point you can almost hear the apostles, and now we'll hear Stephen too, pleading with him saying, no. Like you're getting it totally wrong. Jesus is the hope of Israel. He's the fulfillment of God's promises. That's been their message. But also this says something about their unbelief. See, unbelief is more than just misunderstanding. Unbelief is refusing to consider the truth. I hope that doesn't describe you. But I know that sometimes people are sitting in churches that don't believe a word of this book. So I do well from time to time to just remind you If your mind can't be changed by God, you will suffer the judgment of God. I hope you'll listen to him. I hope you'll listen to what Stephen has to say, what Peter has to say. The fault of the religious leaders in Jerusalem is that they refused to listen. They didn't just misunderstand. So Stephen gives a good defense, that Jesus is the hope of Israel. He is the fulfillment of God's promises. Now, it's interesting that he could have said, Jesus did not claim to destroy this place. Remember that accusation from verse 13? That this place is probably meaning the Jewish temple. Jesus did speak of the temple's coming destruction, back in Luke chapter 21. But when Jesus spoke of it, he didn't say he would do it. He said the foreign armies would do it. And that would be God's judgment. And you can read through the Gospels and there's really nowhere that Jesus claims to change customs. Jesus claims to fulfill customs. Jesus even says, not a jot or a tittle of God's law will pass away. So Jesus isn't, these are false claims about Jesus. And Stephen could have taken those false accusations and refuted them, but he doesn't do it. Actually, Stephen never explicitly mentions Jesus until the end of his defense, and even then he calls him the righteous one, kind of veils his definition of Jesus. Rather, Stephen wants to focus on his hearers. on Israel, on the Jews, on their leaders, showing that by rejecting Jesus, they're rejecting God. So basically, we're gonna follow, Stephen, this little outline. Their accusation, Stephen answers each one in turn, right? The accusation that he's speaking against Moses and God, against this place and the law, we're gonna follow that. Stephen answering his charges about God, Moses, the law, and temple. And as we move through this defense, and again, there's a lot of text, Listen for two common themes, because both of these connect to Stephen's point and to Jesus. The first is that God is the one who raises up saviors. And the second theme is that saviors are opposed by their brothers. So pick it up in Acts chapter 7 verse 1. We'll read through verse 16. And the high priest said, are these things so? And Stephen said, brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you. Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot lengths, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect, that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others who would enslave them and afflict them 400 years. But I will judge the nation that they serve, said God. And after that, they shall come out and worship me in this place. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob and Jacob of the 12 patriarchs. And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now, there came a famine throughout all of Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob, his father, and all his kindred, 75 persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died. And he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. Now Stephen here is appealing to his people, to the nation of Israel. Start out by saying, I'm talking about our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I'm talking about our people, and I think most significantly, I'm talking about our God. See, Stephen did not speak words against God. As a matter of fact, and you're gonna see this through this whole narrative, he is repeatedly emphasizing God's action as the primary actor. So again, notice verse two. The God of glory appeared. And then in verse 3, God is the one who speaks and directs Abraham. And then in verse 4, God removed him. And then in verse 5, God gave him no inheritance, but God promised to give him a possession. And just on and on and on it goes. There's a repeated affirmation here of the sovereignty of the God of Israel. That God alone determines what he will do, and when he will do it, and how he's going to get it done. God directs people, God makes promises, God speaks, and God gets to decide how history progresses. You're gonna see that over and over and over in this passage. God does as he pleases, and the response of his people is to listen, to obey, to worship, to trust. And the logic is, if God Being sovereign over all things, being the one who gets to decide what happens and when it happens, if God has raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord and Christ of Israel, then the matter is settled. He's the one that gets to decide when this happens and what happens. God is the one who raises up saviors. That's Stephen's point. His first example is Joseph, right, the son of Jacob. Verse 9 says, the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt, but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh. Right? And then it's Joseph who provides salvation to Israel during the famine. You can go back and read the whole story at the end of Genesis. It's a fun story. I just remind you though, and this is what Stephen reminds them of, Joseph's salvation was met with resistance. Joseph was appointed the savior of his brothers long before they sold him into Egypt. You can read it in Genesis 37. But there they mocked him, they opposed him, they attacked him, they sold him into slavery, but God raised him up. Now, like this passage, and as we keep reading, Stephen references all sorts of events that are recorded in the book of Genesis and well into the book of Exodus. And as much fun as it would be to chase all those down, and maybe someday I will, because I'm really fascinated by this whole sermon, my goal today is to get the big picture of what Stephen's doing, so we're not going to chase down all those references. But if you want, if you're not familiar with these stories, just read Genesis and Exodus. That's going to give you a great foundation. Okay, back to Stephen. Pick it up in verse 17. Back to chapter 7. But as the time of the promise drew near, the promise to deliver those people out of their slavery in Egypt, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born. And he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. When he was 40 years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he appeared to them and they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them saying, men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other? But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside saying, who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? At this retort, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. Now, when 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire and a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. And as he drew near to look, there came a voice of the Lord. I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, take off the sandals from your feet for the place where you're standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning and I have come down to deliver them and now come, I will send you to Egypt. So here we meet Moses, the great savior of Israel. Beautiful before God, preserved from death, mighty in words and deeds. Verse 25 makes it clear. God was giving them salvation by his hand. That's really gonna be emphasized more in the next section we'll read. But Stephen is here reminding them, don't forget the whole story. Israel loved to elevate Moses, had a high view of Moses. And Stephen's saying, don't you remember though, how when Moses came to save his people, they looked at him and said, who made you ruler and judge over us? That's not just one story in Exodus. Go read Exodus, read the book of Numbers. Moses is opposed at every turn. In that sense, he is a type of Christ. So use that language, type. You can think of a type as like a foreshadowing, a pointer. We use the word prototype, a first example. Now Moses isn't the first, but he is one of many saviors in the Old Testament that point forward to Jesus. Maybe kind of the supreme Old Testament savior that points forward to Jesus, the final savior. But of course here, Moses isn't a type of Jesus the Savior as much as he's a type of Jesus opposed. His brothers rejected their God-appointed ruler and judge. And that point is not lost on the rulers of Israel who are attending Stephen's trial. I mean, Stephen is building the case and he's doing it brilliantly, showing that these rulers are basically the brothers of Joseph. These rulers that are opposing Jesus are the Israelites that opposed Moses. So he's pointing out that in opposing Jesus as they are doing, these rulers are truly opposing God. It's as if Jesus is turning back their accusations against him back onto them. Like those who reject Jesus are the ones speaking blasphemous words against both Moses and God. And yet at the same time, he's going to, that he accuses them, he holds out Jesus as their savior. Just as Israel was saved by Moses, so now Israel can be saved by Jesus. So keep reading, pick it up in verse 35. This Moses, whom they rejected, remember back the people rejected Moses, saying, who made you ruler and judge? This man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for 40 years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. Okay, pause there. Stephen is doing something really interesting here. He's connecting the events of Moses with the events of the apostles. I'm going to show you this little connection. Because though Stephen doesn't ever mention Jesus or his defense until the very end of Jesus, he's doing it all along. Here's the connection. In verse 35, Moses is called the ruler and redeemer. And I think the climax of Peter's sermon in Acts chapter 2 in verse 36, he says that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, which are just synonyms for ruler and redeemer. So you see, this message that we've been preaching about Jesus is the same message that God put on Moses. In verse 36 of Acts 7, Moses is confirmed by God when God performs signs and wonders through Moses, both in bringing Israel out of Egypt and on their journey to the promised land. Jesus was confirmed by God by performing signs and wonders. And over and over, we've seen it repeated with the apostles and now with Stephen, that their message of the gospel is confirmed with signs and wonders. So again, building this case, just as Moses led Israel out of slavery to Egypt, now Jesus and the apostles are leading Israel out of their slavery to sin. And again, in verse 37, we're reminded that Moses was never intended to be a final prophet or savior. He was always pointing to another. Another's going to come after me, right? Who will be a prophet in my name. So Peter, interestingly, back in chapter 3, quoted this exact same passage that Stephen is now quoting. So Acts chapter 3, verse 26. Here's how Peter concludes that sermon. He says, God, having raised up this servant, just like he raised up Moses, now sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. When it says that Stephen is filled with the Holy Spirit and skilled in wisdom, this is what we're seeing. We're seeing a masterful rhetoric showing that Abraham was always pointing to Jesus, and Joseph was always pointing to Jesus, and Moses was always pointing to Jesus. And, as we keep reading, the law was always pointing to Jesus. Pick it up now in verse 38 of Acts 7. This one, speaking of Moses, Moses, who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai with our fathers, he received living oracles given to us. That's a reference to the law of Israel. Verse 39, our fathers refused to obey him but thrust him aside And in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets. Did you bring me slain beasts and sacrifices during the 40 years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. So remember they accused Stephen of speaking against the law. Now he's at that part of his defense, remembering that scene from Exodus 32. This is right after God said, these are the Ten Commandments, right? You should have no other gods before me. That's Commandment 1. Commandment 2, make no images of me. Just a few chapters down the road. What do they do? They demand an idol. The point is that Israel's heart was far from God. From the beginning, Israel refused to obey God's law. They thrust aside God's Savior. They thrust aside God's law. They worshiped false gods. And again, this is not just Exodus 32. It's the whole story from Moses to Jesus. Now, to be sure, God always preserves a faithful remnant in Israel. That's one of the beauties of the Old Testament. But the overarching point is that the nation of Israel has gravitated towards idolatry, which led to God's judgment. There's a new twist now in Stephen's speech. He's starting to show the leaders of Israel why he's talking this way. He's warning them of judgment. In verses 42 and 43, he's quoting from Amos chapter five. And Amos is looking forward to Israel's exile in Babylon, roughly 1,000 years after Moses. The point being that God judges Israel when she rejects God. Again, it's God's sovereignty in verse 42. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven. There's an implicit warning here from Stephen to the rulers of Israel. Unless you turn from your sin and trust in Jesus, you will face God's judgment. He will turn away from you. and even maybe more implicit, Stephen's saying that to reject Jesus is to reject God's law. That's the issue at hand. God has exalted Jesus. He has proved that Jesus is the divine son to be worshiped. So to deny Jesus is to break the first commandment, right? You should have no other gods before Jesus. Which means, Stephen's saying, to trust Jesus then is to perfectly keep the law. Now Stephen has one more accusation to answer, that he spoke against this place, against the temple. Listen to his defense in verse 44 through 50. Stephen said, had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen. Our fathers, in turn, brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God gave out before our fathers, or drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands. As the prophet says, heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord? Or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things? Now to me this whole temple business is the most intriguing part of Stephen's defense. Because up to this point in the Book of Acts, there's been no mention of the temple being a point of conflict. Nothing's spoken against the temple. There's no implication that the apostles were teaching against the temple. Remember, actually, they were gathering at Solomon's portico, which is part of the temple complex. So this accusation of speaking against the temple comes out of nowhere. But Stephen doesn't repudiate it. Actually, he gets at the underlying issue. Because for the Jews, the temple was where God dwelt on earth. But the Christians are preaching that God dwells in the person of Jesus Christ. So the Jews are saying, to meet with God, you need to go to the temple. And the Christians are saying, to meet with God, you need to go to Jesus. You don't go to a building, you go to a person. And that makes the message of the gospel translatable into all cultures and peoples, which is where this whole thing is going. You don't need to go to Jerusalem to worship God, you need to go to Jesus, who is God. So Jesus doesn't destroy the temple, he is the temple. And today, you meet with God when you have faith in Jesus. Like, I get it, we came to a building today. We love this building, we're grateful for it. But you know that's not the point. We came here, not because this place, but because Jesus is here. He's present in his spirit, he's present in his people, he's present in his word. And this is the case that Stephen has been sort of building all the way along. Actually, you gotta go back through the whole argument and trace references to this place, which come up a lot. He's been showing that this is actually what God has been doing. Because in Abraham's day, God promised to meet him in the land of Israel, but gave him no inheritance. In Moses' day, God promised to meet them in the tent, but the tent was temporary. In David's day, he promised a house, but David didn't get to build it, Solomon did. You kind of see the pattern here? What God is building towards is not a building. Because God doesn't dwell in lands, and God doesn't dwell in tents, and God doesn't dwell in buildings. No, the end of the story is God himself dwelling among his people. Scott so wonderfully pointed us to this morning, right? God with us. We didn't even plan that, that was just God's good providence. Jesus, Jesus is the dwelling place of God among men. Who was crucified, but God raised him up. and exalted him into the heavens. So now, you see what Stephen's doing, this whole message is that Jesus is a better Moses, he's a fulfillment of the law, he's a better Abraham, and he's the final temple, ultimately getting to the fact that Jesus is God, the appointed Savior. God raised him up, not just in the resurrection, wonderfully in the resurrection, but raised him up as the Savior of Israel. And remember, that was the big theme. The other theme was brother rejection, which is where Stephen now turns in his prosecution to the rulers of Israel, verse 51. You stiff-necked people. So he shifts his narrative, right, from talking about the history of Israel to looking at the leaders. You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and in ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered. You who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. Man, there's like, Stephen gathers up all this Old Testament language. God called Israel a stiff-necked people. Remember circumcision being that central covenantal command to Israel, and now he calls them uncircumcised. I mean, this is like, the most awesome burn of burns. He's just really, really poking at them and getting at the heart of the problem. Like, you're doing like your father's doing. They're accusing Stephen of saying Jesus is going to change the traditions. Stephen's looking at them and saying, you're keeping the tradition of Israel, the tradition of killing prophets and saviors. These are harsh, harsh words. And for them, it's unbearable. Verse 54. Now when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. I hope you don't imagine Stephen saying that to himself. This is the last point in his sermon. He's saying it to them. Behold, I'm looking into the heavens, the dwelling place of God, the temple of God, and I see the Savior and the lawgiver of Israel, exalted as God had intended him to be. This is Stephen's final defense. Look at Jesus standing at the right hand of God. What did they do with him? Verse 57, they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. I was reading a commentary this week and there's a little bit of a debate. Did they, did they kill Stephen out of like rage and bloodlust? Or was this a calculated move? And I just don't know how you can read verse 57 and think this was a calculated move. Right? What happens when you plug your ears and go la la la la? You just like, this is rage. This is murder. Verse 58, they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. Now this whole scene is against the Roman law. The Jewish council was not permitted to put anyone to death. But that doesn't matter. Their unbelief leads them to rebel against the Romans, but more so to rebel against God. Of course, even with the death of Stephen, God will not be stopped. Because he has exalted his savior through resurrection from the dead. And he's saving his people, even his opponents, Just remember this young man named Saul. This is probably not a spoiler for a lot of you, but spoiler alert, this young man, Saul, becomes the Apostle Paul. He's not a passing detail. Verse 59, pick it up. And as they were stoning Stephen, Stephen called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. That is, he died. Stephen, in his dying breaths, follows in the footsteps of Jesus. Doesn't that sound like Jesus? You know, remember that Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke, is also the author of the Book of Acts. So we always have to look for these little connections. Remember, Jesus, what Luke records about Jesus at the cross, two things. Luke 23, 46, Jesus says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And Luke 23, 34, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And then he breathes his last. And then we go to Stephen. What does Stephen say? He says, Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Stephen is following in the footsteps of Jesus unto death with the hope of resurrection. Let me give you a word that you can put over this whole scene. Stephen's death is cruciform. Cruciform. That word means cross-shaped. That is, it follows the pattern of Jesus. And that's on purpose. Stephen's witness is cruciform. He follows Jesus through life and into death with the hope of resurrection. And in doing so, Stephen is giving us a template, a way to follow after him, that the Christian life would be a cruciform life. That's what that word means, cruciform, cross-shaped. So you might hear this word used about, like, buildings or, like, even our windows. They are cruciform. They've got a cross shape to them. And kids, this would be a great thing for you to remember today and think about. That fun word, cruciform. I like saying it. I think it's fun. Kids, you can think of some other things that are cross-shaped. Maybe write them down. Draw them. But remember, the point of the cross is not the shape. It's Jesus who died on it, so that we would live for Him. And that's what we see in Stephen, is a cross-shaped life. So we follow Stephen thinking of our lives through the lens of Jesus, who said, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Stephen's death stands as a call to us, a call that Jesus made. If anyone would save his life, he will lose it. But if anyone loses his life for my sake and the gospels, he will save it. Christians, our way is the way of the cross. It's the way of Stephen. It's the way of Jesus, a cruciform life. And that is the way of countless Christians between Stephen and us. Stephen may have been the first Christian martyr, but his blood is the seed of the spread of the gospel across the Roman Empire. Pick it up, chapter eight, verse one. And Saul, remember he becomes the Apostle Paul, Saul approved of his execution. And there arose that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles, Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. And we'll pick up a little bit of that text next week, but yes, yes, the persecution of Christians spread, but along with the persecution, so did the gospel. And when Christians are scattered throughout the earth, guess what? The word of God is scattered throughout the earth, which is both painful and glorious. We also should lament the martyrdom of Christians. And yet we glory that God is making himself known in places where the gospel is rejected today. A generation from now, the gospel might be embraced by many. And that's also a call to us, then, to willingly give our lives to make Jesus known. Now, I know, that's a lot of story to take in. I hope, working through the whole text, you have a better understanding of the big picture of Stephen's defense. And you might just say, okay, that's good to have that understanding. Like, how can I apply this to my life? Kind of the, so what? Why does this matter? I'm gonna give you three brief points of application. And first, I already mentioned the idea of the cruciform life. And we're gonna see this so much in the book of Acts. That following Jesus' example of, we follow, sorry, Jesus' example of doing good and speaking truth no matter the cost. That our way of life is to follow Jesus through life, into death, and into resurrection. So start thinking of your life that way. I want to live a cross-shaped life. Not that we seek out suffering, rather that we do good and we speak truth and if we suffer, may it be. So first, live a cruciform life. Second point of application, lament over martyrs. I forgot to make an announcement today, but we got the voice of the martyrs prayer calendars in the mail this week, and I'm taking that as God's good providence, and the second point of my application in my sermon, that here we have a calendar, and in the back, they're for all of you to take, and I encourage you to take one. These calendars, every day of the year, point you to a country where Christians suffer for their faith today. And you can read just a little sentence and pray for martyrs. Again, that's just God's good providence as I'm preaching the death, the martyrdom of Stephen, that we get these calendars in the mail that we pass out to everybody in our church every year. We should praise God here where we're at. We worship in comfort and peace. And I remind you often that is a stewardship that we want to take good care of and use well for his glory. But don't be ignorant of the trials of our brothers and sisters across the world. Pray for them. Lament over the death of Christian martyrs. Don't get so cozy in our warm, fuzzy, convenient Christianity, which has many benefits. But don't get so cozy that you forget about Christians who are suffering. Just grab one of those calendars. Start looking through it. January starts up in just a few weeks. Start praying for the persecuted church, lamenting over martyrs, as the faithful saints did in Acts chapter 8. Third point of application, Christians, you've heard this in Acts before, you're gonna hear it again. The most dangerous thing you can do in this world is to open your mouth and speak about Jesus. And that's the exact thing that Jesus has sent us to do. It's dangerous to talk to your kids or your parents or your family members, or your friends, or your co-workers, or your neighbors, or strangers even. Now, we should do much good in this world in Jesus' name. Absolutely, Christians should be on the front line of doing good. And I think by God's good providence, many Christians are. But doing good is not usually dangerous. You just don't meet many people that say, I really hate that guy who's really nice to me. I mean, they might for a little while, but that wears off. It's speaking the gospel that is dangerous. Stephen did not get arrested for doing signs and wonders. Peter and John did not get arrested for healing a lame man at the temple. They got arrested for speaking the gospel. And speaking the gospel that is dangerous is also the instrument that God uses to save sinners like you and me and Stephen and Saul Speak the word. It's the word that gives life. It's the word that the lost people around you need to hear. Be a witness, even if that means you become a martyr. Let's pray. God, help us. Help us to open our mouths. I'm so grateful that God, you've actually put us in a place where, I mean, we don't have an immediate threat of death for speaking the name of Jesus like our brothers and sisters do in other parts of the world. Like the worst thing that can happen to us, well, that's probably worse things, but like somebody might get mad at us, slam a door in our face. And God, we hope those things don't happen. But God, give us the courage to speak no matter what. We pray that as the word of God is proclaimed, as the good news about Jesus is told, that you would bring many from death to life. That even the people that get angry and slam the doors on our faces would be like Saul, who in one chapter approves of the execution of a Christian and in the next chapter becomes a Christian. God, we long for you to do it in our day. and help us, God, to follow Christ in all our lives through death and into resurrection. We ask in his name, amen.