2. Over the last few weeks, we:
encountered Stephen, a Greek speaking Christian who was arrested and hauled before the Sanhedrin, charged with breaking Jewish law.
examined Stephen’s defense, understanding that he more or less simply offers the Good News of Jesus to the members of the Sanhedrin, hoping to expose to them not only their need for salvation, but also evidence that Christ is the means to this salvation.

3. “When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.”

4. “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”

5. The response of the Sanhedrin to Stephen’s words is both quick and furious:
The gnashing of teeth is an idiom referring to extreme anger and rage.
The Greek word translated as furious actually means to be ripped in two by anger.
Luke used a similar figure of speech to describe the response of the crowd to Peter’s Day of Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:37.
There are but two responses to the gospel of Jesus Christ – offense leading to a rejection of the gospel or sober sorrow leading to an acceptance of it.

6. Though incited to anger, the members of the Sanhedrin have not acted on this anger yet, because legally, Stephen had said nothing that wouldn’t have been punishable by the same flogging the apostles had received a few chapters earlier.
Stephen’s glimpse into heaven
The phrasing “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” provides a transition point in both Christ’s and Stephen’s trials.
It is in exalting Christ to His place of heavenly authority that the charge of blasphemy and the punishment of death by stoning become a reality.

7. When Stephen uttered these fateful words, the Sanhedrin was pressed into a corner. They could:
vindicate Stephen, flog him and release him, by doing so admitting their mistake in having Christ crucified on the same grounds.
could sentence Stephen to death as they did Christ, maintaining a very consistent stance to the message of Jesus Christ.
Unwilling to admit their mistake, they rushed Stephen and began to stone him.

8. “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Stephen)
“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”  (Jesus)
Do you notice a difference between Christ’s words and Stephen’s words?
Commentators believe that one of two things is being communicated here:
Jesus rises to receive his servant, Stephen, into His eternal glory.
Christ stands as a heavenly witness in support of His servant

9. Filled with ferocity, the members of the Sanhedrin rushed at Stephen, hands over their ears and yelling at the top of their voices to deafen themselves to the good news of Jesus rolling off the tongue of Stephen, while preventing others from hearing it by drowning it out with unintelligible shouts.

10. Reminiscent of Christ’s words in Luke 23:46 – where immediately prior to His death, Christ uttered “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” – moments before his final breath, Stephen said “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).
Just as in Luke 23:34, Jesus said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”, in vs. 60 of our text today, Stephen said “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”. 
Just as in life, Stephen imitated Christ, so too in death does Stephen imitate Jesus.

11. These two statements of Stephen reveal a key understanding of the early church; in Stephen’s words, we see that he views Jesus not just as a great prophet or an excellent teacher, but on par with God the Father.
Stephen’s statement attests to an early understanding within the church of Jesus’ divine nature.
Stephen’s life is closed with a very interesting fact - Stephen “fell asleep”.
Stephen was so affixed upon Jesus, his spirit was so enjoined to the Spirit of God, that not even such a violent death could rob him of the peace experienced through his relationship with Jesus.

12. Those who perform the stoning place their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul – Saul of Tarsus, student to Gamaliel, chief opponent.
Saul towers over this incident, lending his approval to Stephen’s death.
Saul’s hostility toward the church isn’t quenched with Stephen’s death. Acts 8:3 tells us that he continues to persecute – he seeks to destroy - the church.
In a few short chapters, Saul will tower over the rest of the book of Acts, for a different reason.

13. From this point on in Christian history, the Jerusalem church remains very Hebraic in its nature, far more closely aligned with Judaism than the churches that will develop in other places within the Roman Empire.
The quiet and serene description of the church in Acts 2 and 4 however is forever altered in a drastic way - the church was now scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
In a very interesting way, the promise of Acts 1:8 – “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” – is beginning to be accomplished as Christians now find themselves scattered from Jerusalem.

14. Why did the Sanhedrin come down harder on Stephen than upon the apostles?
We’ve come to understand that becoming a Christian is something that occurs when some sort of mental assent to a set of statements occurs.
Following Jesus from a scriptural perspective means something far different than simple mental assent; it’s about a willingness to be entirely sold out for Him. It’s about living our lives fully and completely for Him.

15. Stephen’s understanding of the exalted role of Jesus was even more advanced than that of the apostles, who were still continuing to go to temple worship, join in the Jewish rituals, and limit their preaching to the Jews. Stephen saw following Jesus as a more radical and wholesale shift.
Stephen embodies the idea that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” and he exists so that “Christ will be exalted in [his] body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20-21).
The Sanhedrin saw this radical commitment to Jesus and so feared what one life lived this way might do that they killed Stephen and sought to snuff out others who might live likewise.

16. So, do we live for Christ in a similar whole hearted and sold out way?
Do we see our faith as involving mere belief or do we recognize the call to follow, to imitate Christ with our lives?
If the threat of one man living this way was so feared by the church’s opponents, then imagine what a church full of people living like this might affect in our world.