Martyrs for Jesus

Acts 7

Remember the key verse in Acts? It’s the one where Jesus tells His followers that they will be His witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth, once they receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them (Acts 1:8), which happened in Acts 2.

The Greek word for “witness” is martus, from which we get the word “martyr.” That’s how closely the early believers become known for witnessing for Christ to the point of death. Stephen was the first to be martyred for His witness.

The Bible describes Stephen in glowing terms, literally. He was full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and full of power. He was doing great wonders and signs among the people when opposition arose. False witnesses were brought in to speak against him, but as Stephen faced the council they all saw that his face was like the face of an angel (Acts 6:15).

In chapter 7 Stephen makes one of the most comprehensive speeches of Israelite history recorded, and one of the most convicting. Essentially he argued that in the same way the people’s forefathers had rejected the will of God, now this generation did likewise. In a rage, the mob dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death.

In his martyrdom, Stephen witnessed faithfully for Jesus, died like Jesus and will also live eternally in the presence of Jesus!