November 1930
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ror of the supposed blasphemy. Rushed upon him with one accord. The mob spirit was aroused. A few leaders were doubtless responsible. Completely con trolled by wild passion, they surged like angry beasts upon the helpless martyr. V- .58. Cast him out o f the city. This was in order that the city might not be defiled with a dead body (cf. Lev. 24: 14); In like manner Jesus suffered outside the camp (cf. Heb. 13:12, 13). Some scholars believe that Stephen was stoned on the spot where Jesus Christ was cruci fied— interesting, if true. And stoned him. The Jewish mode of capital punishment was stoning. Blasphemy was one of the crimes punishable with death. It is gen erally supposed that during Pilate’s gov ernorship Rome denied the Jews the right to inflict capital punishment. It may be that under his successor they were given larger freedom in this matter. The wit nesses. They went through the motions of a trial in a supposedly legal fashion. The Mosaic law. (Deut. 17:6, 7) demanded the testimony of two witnesses before an accused one could be condemned— these two to be the first to cast a stone when sentence was passed. In Stephen’s case there vrere false witnesses (cf. 6:13). Laid down their garments. That is, their outer robes, which they put off in order to be the better able to fling the stones. A t the feet "of . . . Saul. This is the first mention of Saul. Many things that he later wrote show that this incident made a very deep impression upon him. At this time he was probably a member of the Sanhedrin. If so, he had taken part in the deliberations of the court which condemned Stephen, and had been appointed to take charge of the execution of the sentence. He heard Stephen’s de fense. He saw the martyr’s countenance shining like the face of an angel. He lis tened to the words about the Son of man in the glory. An indelible impression was made upon his mind. V.,59. Calling upon the Lord. With his last breath, Stephen gave testimony to the fact that Jesus, whom the mob hated, was the Lord. Jesus Christ, receive my spirit . These words aré so similar to the last cry of Jesus, “Father, into thy hands I com mend my spirit” (Lk. 23:46), that many have believed that Stephen must have been present when Christ was crucified. V. 60. He kneeled down. Literally, “he struggled to his knees.” The last words of the martyr were words of prayer. Cried with a loud voice. This indicates that his physical strength was not entirely gone (cf. Lk. 23:46). Lay not this sin to their charge. In these words, too, Stephen was like his Lord who prayed: “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34). He fell asleep. Death to the Christian,, since Christ has died and risen again,- has been robbed of its terror. The body sleeps, awaiting the resurrection; but the real person departs to be with Christ'(cf. Phil. 1:23). * * * L esso n Q u e stio n s V. 7. What is meant by “the word of God” ? What caused it to increase? What caused the numbers in the church to be multiplied? Did the removal of complaints and strife in the church have anything to do with )he increased blessing? What does ‘ it mean to be “obedient to the faith” ? V. 8 . With what was Stephen “filled” ? Which do you think the more important—,
BLACKBOARD LESSON
have been~a great revival in that mob, 2. “If Stephen had not prayed, the church had not had Paul.”— St. Augustine, 3. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. When He occupies every part of the temple, the life will be full of grace and power. 4. The Spirit-filled witness is always faithful to. the Word of God. He has no other message, no other rule of faith and practice. If the preacher does not preach the Word, he had better not preach at all. 5. Every Spirit-filled Christian is a wit ness, Sometimes he may witness and serve in practical business affairs of the church, but he need .not be limited to “serving tables.” He may win souls for Christ. 6 . It does not necessarily follow that a message is not given in the power of the Spirit when none are converted. Some times the rage of those who have been convicted but not convinced is very posi tive evidence of the Lord’s working. On the day of Pentecost conviction brought three thousand converts. Some one has remarked that when Stephen preached it brought three thousand stones upon him. But both Peter and Stephen were filled with the Spirit. 7. The man who sees the glory of God and the invisible but real Christ on the throne will not mind persecutions or even death for His Master. 8 . Stephen’s great victory was the vic tory of love for his enemies. He prayed for the court that illegally sentenced him, for the furious mob, for the false wit nesses, and for every one that threw a stone. * * * G olden T e x t I llu str a tio n A Christian worker once said: “The lessons I learn from the lives of mission aries are invaluable. J. Hudson Taylor, • of China, teaches me the supremacy of childlike faith; Mackay, of Formosa, the transforming power of consecrated forces and the preaching of Jesus; Paton, of the New Hebrides, how holy a passion is love for souls ;> Andrew Murray and George Mueller, that prayer availeth; Sheldon Jackson and Egerton Young, that the frozen north cannot cool a flaming zeal for Christ.” Another said: “These missionaries teach me that the enduring of hardship inspires love and quickens zeal. The cold of Greenland could not keep the Moravians away from their noble work. The fever and.heat did not. daunt Livingstone- The dread of a living death among the lepers was not enough to hold Mary Reed in the homeland.” — o— December 14, 1930 Saul of Tarsus: How a Pharisee "" l_>eeame a Christian Lesson: Acts 22:3-15. Golden T ext: “I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge o f Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suf fered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain' Christ” (Phil. 3 :8 ). * * * L e sso n in O u t l in e I. Saul, the Jew (3 ). 1. Birthplace— Tarsus. 2. Education— at the feet of Gama liel. 3. Zeal for God.
NEELEO1* PRAYED IUED BY ENEMIES
HOLY SHOST COURAGE F A ITH G R A C E - P O W E R L O V E TRUST WOI^D o f GOO t-G.H. DCC.J./930.
to be full of grace, or full of power? Might it be dangerous to have power with out grace ? In what way did Stephen show himself “ full of -power” ? Vs. 9, 10. From what source did oppo sition to Stephen arise ? Were his ac cusers / able to answer Stephen’s argu ments ? u V. 54. What is meant by the words cut to the heart” ? „What caused this feeling ? What feeling is suggested by the words “gnashed on him with their teeth” ? V. 55. Why was Stephen not full of fear, or anger, or despair? In what direc- tion did he look for comfort and help*' Why? What did he see? Whom did he see ? What significance is there in the fact that Jesus was standing? What does “the right hand of God” suggest? •H i What is the meaning of the title Son of man” ? Why did Stephen use it instead of speaking of Jesus as “Son of God” ? Is He both ? V. 57. Why did the mob cry out? Why did they stop their ears? With what was Stephen charged? V. 58. To what place was Stephen taken? Why was he not stoned in the city? What was Saul’s connection with the in cident? Was he merely aij on-looker? V. 59. Upon whom did Stephen call? What did he say in his prayer? How did this resemble a prayer of Jesus on the cross? V. 60. What was Stephen’s last cry? How did this resemble a prayer of Jesus on the cross ? ♦ * * P ra c tic a l P o in ts 1. Professor Stifler summarizes the ad dress of Stephen about as follows: ( 1 ) God’s dealings with His children show steady but constant progress. Though there be delays, His promises will be ful filled. (2) The temple in Jerusalem is not exclusively holy. God appeared to Abra ham in Mesopotamia (v. 2 ) ; to some of the seed of Abraham in a strange land (v. 6 ) ; to Joseph and Moses in Egypt (v. 22 ) ; to Moses in Midian; etc. Where- ever God is, there is holy ground. (3) It has been Israel’s uniform practice to re ject God’s message at first and later to ac cept it. Joseph was first rejected then ac cepted by his brethren, Moses was reject ed at his first appearance as a deliverer, but was later received. So now, Jesus had been rejectd; but. later Israel will receive Him as Messiah. (4) Unbelieving Jews were the real law breakers and blasphem ers, not Stephen. His accusers were like their fathers who had stoned God’s mes sengers, the prophets. They were “stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.” Stephen’s address was masterly in its argument, fearlessly bold in its statement. Had there been honest hearts, there might
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