Acts 6:11-15 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.… It is necessary that the Bible should be brief. A book so important must be made portable by the hand and the memory. Accordingly, out of a vast mass of materials the sacred writers have been directed to the choice of a very few. The thirty-three miracles of our Lord are specimens; why should others yielding no fresh lessons be detailed? Tautology only weakens effect. St. Stephen supplied the inspired specimen of martyrdom, although there were many others. Conformity to Christ's sufferings according to that Word, "Ye shall indeed drink of the cup," etc. You have it here. Brave protest for Christ in the face of those who have power to kill the body — it is here. Joy in the hope set before the martyr — it radiates from Stephen's face. Love to persecutors mingled with stern faithfulness — it exhales like a precious perfume from Stephen's prayer. Studied imitation of Christ in the act of dying — nowhere is this more remarkably exhibited than in the death of Stephen. This providential conformity to the image of Christ, however (as distinct from the studied imitation of Him), is the first thing which strikes us. What befell the disciple is what befell the Master over again. I. THE CONDUCT OF STEPHEN'S OPPONENTS. Infuriated by defeat in argument, they resorted to calumny and violence. Agents were employed to set about a story of blasphemy. With precipitate violence — the word used is the one applied to the seizure of the demoniac by the legion of devils, and to the seizure of St. Paul's vessel by the fury of the wind — they laid hands on him and hurried him away to the Sanhedrin. The paid agents of the Hellenist synagogues pronounced the formal accusation, "This man ceases not to speak," etc. Now the actual deposition is to be made, and the witnesses feel that their words may be called in question, we hear no more of the big terms of ver. 11. God is exchanged for "the holy place," and Moses for "the law". Full well they knew that Stephen had said nothing derogatory of Moses, much less of God. No doubt he had said much to this effect. Christ had predicted that not one stone of the temple should be left upon another, and Stephen echoed the prediction. Stephen too had probably seen further into the mystery of the admission of the Gentiles, and very possibly may have preached that Jewish rites were non-essential to salvation. But if Stephen had foretold all this, why are the witnesses stigmatised as false? Because they took his words out of the context which interpreted them, and gave them a totally different colour. Doubtless, like his Master, Stephen had the profoundest veneration for the temple and the law. But he had an intelligent apprehension of the place which each held in the system of true religion. He saw that both were elements of a preparatory discipline, and that now "faith is come" the "schoolmaster" was unnecessary. A man who says that a school book may be parted with when education is finished, by no means implies that school books are unnecessary while education is in progress. And if the words "School books are valueless" were separated from his explanation of the circumstances, the witness would be false. By telling half the truth we may convey quite as wrong an impression as by a contradiction of the truth'. Nothing is easier and commoner than to make sweeping charges against these who maintain suspected propositions, while wilfully ignoring their explanation of what they hold. I have no right to say that a man denies inspiration because he denies verbal inspiration; nor that he impugns the atonement because he dissents from certain popular views of it. II. STEPHEN'S DEMEANOUR. 1. He heard the calumnious charge. It is not hard to see what course natural feeling would take. In the first place there would be indignation; and then would come perplexity as soon as it became apparent that the charge was so worded that it could not be met with simple flat denial. With these feelings fear would mingle, and altogether painful discomposure and hesitation of mind would be produced which would communicate itself to the feelings of the accused. But in that exciting moment Stephen retained the most perfect serenity of spirit. When the accusation was advanced, every member of the court turned to see how the servant of Christ thus brought to bay would look. Greatly were they surprised, and for the moment disconcerted. This was no wan and haggard culprit; those features spoke of nothing but communion with the invisible God, of the love, joy, and peace which are the result of such communion (ver. 15) — a lower grade of transfiguration. The Sanhedrin are momentarily cowed, as the devil's agents are so often by the majesty of holy innocence. Possibly the radiance of Stephen's countenance reminded them of the similar radiance on Moses' face, the result of similar communion with God. 2. Could there have been any nearer approach than this to our Lord's circumstances? He, too, had been apprehended with sudden violence; in His case false witnesses were suborned; His words, too, were twisted from their meaning, and finally His demeanour made His enemies quail. It may have been that this conformity to his Master's image was the secret of the supernatural joy that radiated from Stephen's countenance. Application: 1. "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you": do not consider it foreign to Christian experience. If the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, let not His soldiers claim exemption. Therefore, when the cross is placed upon us, let us rejoice in the resemblance between us and our Master, and in the prospect of perfect conformity which that resemblance guarantees. 2. Let the supernatural radiance of Stephen's features, caught from the contemplation of his Master, remind us of the spiritual transfiguration which should be daily proceeding in ourselves. "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed," etc., and the secret of this is disclosed in "We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed," etc. (Dean Goulburn.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. |
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