An unexpected windfall of Stephen’s death (end of Acts 7) was the spread of the gospel beyond Jerusalem as a result of the increased persecution of the Christians by Jews who were emboldened by their ability to get rid of Stephen.  As it says in Acts 8:1 – “And on that day a great persecution […]

The narrative of Acts 8 reveals a number of results of the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem (end of Acts 7).  Acts 8:1 includes: “And on that day” – i.e., the day of Stephen’s stoning – “a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea […]

As explained in Acts 7:51-60, Stephen faithfully testified of the person and work of Jesus Christ even when it meant his death at the hands of the Jewish leaders.  As his persecutors were gathering to rush upon him, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit (v. 55), declared (v. 56): “Behold, I see the heavens opened […]

When Stephen finished his defense before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7, including how they had rejected Jesus, God’s Messiah; the whole Council turned on him.  But we see in verses 55-56 that the circumstances have changed nothing for Stephen:      But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw […]