“Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”

Acts 7:51-8:13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. ⁵² Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; ⁵³ you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

⁵⁴ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;⁵⁶ and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. ⁵⁸ When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. ³ But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

⁴ Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.⁵ Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.⁶ The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. ⁷ For in the case ofmany who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ So there was much rejoicing in that city.

⁹ Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰ and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.¹² But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

The brief account of Stephen is one of the most positively challenging examples I see in the New Testament scriptures. As we saw before in Acts 6:8 Stephen, who was selected to serve food to widows, did it as unto the Lord. It says:  Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.  Then, after being accused and brought before the council, for doing good in the name of Jesus, he brings a defense, not of himself, but rather a testimony of Jesus. In today’s text, after his lengthy proclamation of Christ through scripture, he concludes saying:  “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.  Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;  you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”   The response of those who heard Stephen is recorded in today’s text:   Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him…  they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.  They went on stoning Stephen…    So Stephen, an ordinary man, called to do ordinary service in the church, did it with extrordinary results; performing great wonders and signs among the people. Then, he continued to show that he was full of grace and power. As Jesus said in Acts 1:8, he received power to be a witness of Christ. As Jesus said in Luke 12:12, the Spirit gave him the words to speak when he was brought before the council. Stephen’s example should encourage and challenge each one of us that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can serve well and be a witness for Christ.

Perhaps though the greatest challenge and the greatest example that Stephen offers us, is not how he lived, it is the grace he showed as he died. The text says:    But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently 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 up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” … They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”  Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.   Stephen offers us a perfect example of following Jesus; following both what He did and what He commands us to do. In Luke 6:27-28 Jesus says:  “I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”   On the cross, in Luke 23:34, in the midst of His suffering and sacrifice, Jesus said:  “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”   Jesus never asks us to do what He has not done or what He has not empowered us to do. Like Jesus, Stephen prayed for and blessed those who were mistreating him.  I marvel at how Stephen could forgive, like Jesus, in the midst of his pain; even as the rocks were showering down upon him.  For most of us, when we forgive, it is after the fact; after we have come through the trial and tribulation. Sometimes it takes a long time before we can truly forgive. Other times, perhaps soon after we have passed through the storm, we forgive those who hurt us. Either way our forgiveness is conditional to our overcoming. Can we though, like Stephen, follow Jesus and bless those who mistreat us? Can we forgive in the midst of our pain and suffering, even before we know what the final outcome will be? True forgiveness is unconditional. Jesus didn’t point out the sin, He said: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”      He didn’t offer forgiveness in response to their/our repentance. He offered forgiveness that they/we might repent. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.   That’s the love that Christ calls us to. That’s the love that Stephen demonstrated even as he died, that we would forgive in the midst of our pain.  In my own life, I have learned and am learning to forgive. I am convinced that the only way we can forgive as Jesus forgave; the only way we can show grace like Stephen did, is to recognize and accept that people will mistreat us; that like Jesus, even those who are close to us will hurt us, leave us or betray us. Because we are human and in the midst of our suffering the pain is too great, we need to forgive in advance. We need to pray, as Jesus taught us to pray: …forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors…  Only if we choose and decide in advance that we will forgive unconditionally, can we possibly bless those who mistreat us. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”   

Look at the result of the grace and forgiveness Stephen demonstrated. The text says: …the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.  Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.  Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.   The persecution that resulted from Stephen’s death caused the gospel message to be spread, as Jesus had said, to the remotest parts of the earth. Persecution, because it releases the loving response of forgiveness by those who truly follow Christ, causes the message of the gospel to be spread rather than being suppressed. Even the young man Saul, who persecuted the church, I’m sure, was impacted by the love and grace he witnessed in the life and death of Stephen. I am sure in the days that he was blinded leading up to his conversion, he saw the image of Stephen looking up to heaven and heard the words “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, grant me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that I would be a witness to the world of Your love and grace. May all that I do, like Stephen be for Your glory. May I testify, by my words and by Your word that Jesus is the Christ and may I truly forgive others as You have forgiven me. May I forgive them even though they do not know what they are doing and may I forgive them, demonstrating Your love, even as they mistreat me. May my response to the persecution of the world, release the message of grace to the world and bring glory to You.   Amen.