Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 is a decisive turning point in the movement of the Church from being a messianic movement within Judaism in Jerusalem and Judea to being a cross-cultural message of salvation to the nations. Prior to this point the narrative is set in Jerusalem; immediately after Stephen's martyrdom we see the Gospel going to the Gentiles as Phillip ministers to the Samaritans. The transition is not coincidental.
There are three levels one can look at the narrative of Stephen's speech and martyrdom. First, from a theological perspective as a glimpse into the relationship between Israel and church, temple and Jesus, man and God. The theology that got Stephen killed comes into play later in Acts at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15).
Second, one can look at the story in terms of the corporate mission of the Church. In this light, we look most closely at the role it played in believers being sent out from Jerusalem, how it marks the end of the Jerusalem focus of the apostles in the Acts narrative, and how it has a condemning effect on the Jewish religious leaders.
However, in this post I want to look at the narrative through a third lens: the example of Stephen as a call to faithfully proclaim the Gospel at any cost. Throughout the history of the Church, some have been called to die for their faith. As Luke tells the story of Stephen, he is showing that when opportunity is given to share our faith, the Christian must do it at any cost—and that this is what it means to follow Christ.
The pattern is most clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 11:1 where Paul calls the Corinthian church to be imitators of him (inasmuch) as he imitates Christ. There is an important place in the Christian faith for us to look to those who are more mature in the faith than ourselves and see them as evidences of God's sanctifying and persevering grace. We look to the mature and see that it is God who has shaped them and grown them to maturity, and from that gain the confidence to persevere.
Stephen is described as "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." Luke tracks the path of Stephen in this short pericope from being one with gifting, to one who is placed in a position of leadership in the church—and serves faithfully, to one who is persecuted for his faithful ministry of the Gospel. Luke wants his reader to see that it is not just the Apostles—the superstars of the faith—who are called to take up their cross as faithful disciples. In fact, the first Apostles to be martyred is not until James the son of Zebedee is put to the sword in Acts 12.
Stephen's final questioning and execution are narrated in a manner purposefully similar to Jesus' passion. Some of the religious leaders have men bring false charges against him, the High Priest questions him, and the people seal his doom. As he dies, he both asks for the forgiveness of his killers and gives up his spirit.
All these elements are meant to show what the imitation of Christ means. The reader is invited to imitate Stephen, as Stephen immitated Jesus. But don't read Stephen's imitation of Christ as an isolated incident. Stephen lived a faithful life before he died a faithful death.
The faithful life can be seen in Luke 9: Jesus says that his disciples must deny themselves and take up their crosses daily. The daily taking up of the cross is not martyrdom, but dying to self.
Interestingly, both the Luke 9 and Acts 7 accounts are capped in the same way: a vision of Jesus in glory. In Luke 9 it is Jesus' transfiguration; in Acts 7 it is Jesus at the right hand of the Father.
Luke's ethic is this: In order to die faithfully, we must also live faithfully. This faithfulness is not of ourselves. It is of the glorified Son of Man. Because Jesus has been risen from the dead and glorified, to live is Christ and death is gain.
No comments:
Post a Comment