In chapter 6 we learned that the explosion of Christ followers happened so fast that certain problems arose. The disciples through God‘s wisdom quickly identified that they should not have to deal with some of those problems as they were there to preach and pray with the people. So they needed to identify certain Christlike brothers who would be involved in ministries that needed special attention. I noted in my Bible that there may have been approximately 50,000 followers at this point in Jerusalem. So, the 12 disciples chose 7 men of good reputation, full of the spirit and wisdom and appointed them to these duties.
Have you ever had someone ask, if you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Evidently, these 7 men could easily have been convicted of being Christians and they couldn’t stop talking about it as Jennifer mentioned a couple days ago. Out of 50,000 people, these 7 stood out and were chosen for this task. That’s pretty amazing really. I am often chosen for things at church, but there’s only about 30 of us. Even though I’m 60, I’m one of the younger people in my congregation. I get chosen by default ha ha.
Stephen was full of grace and power and was performing great wonders and signs among the people. it’s important to note, he was performing the same types of wonders and signs that Jesus did. Jesus told his disciples that they would do greater things than He. The same expectation is for all of us. I quickly identify in my mind why I couldn’t or can’t do things, like Moses did when he was called to perform God’s greatness in Egypt. Remember all the excuses? How many times have I had that debate in my mind, and not just with spiritual matters but with personal circumstances as well as professional. I tend to have a limiting belief that I bow to.
We know how the Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus which is why they had him killed. Can you imagine the jealousy that arose after seeing this huge number of people explode in Jerusalem after the death of the problem they thought they got rid of. And then to see someone like Stephen performing the same wonders and signs as Jesus made them furious to the point they wanted to falsely accuse him just as they had done with Jesus. I’ve been falsely accused by others just as I’m sure you have. Work, friends, family. Typically, these people can talk, they just can’t hear, won’t hear, will not listen to truth. They just want their way no matter what that is. The really crazy thing is, if everybody actually verbalized what it is they wanted, they usually say they want the same thing. Don’t you think the religious leaders of this passage wanted a strong and faithful walk with God, you know that’s what they would say. That’s what Stephen wanted, that’s why he was serving the ministry that he was chosen for, why he was able to perform the great wonders among them. But because it didn’t look the way some wanted it to look or wasn’t being done by the right people, jealousy distorted and blinded certain people to God‘s truth and lead them to follow Satan‘s distortion. There’s a lot of that going around in today’s world.
When asked by the high priest if the accusations of blasphemy were true, Stephen gave a bit of a history lesson, which means that before coming to know Christ he studied the books of Moses and knew what God’s word said. At the end of the sermon, he called his accusers “stiff necked people”, think he followed Jesus around? He stated their ancestors didn’t listen to the prophets and had them killed. This man Stephen, performed signs and wonders like Jesus, admonished his accusers just like Jesus and in the end, asked for his killers to not be charged with their sin just like Jesus did from the cross.
Acts 6&7 are basically the highlight reel for Stephen. Many of us like catching up on sports and we love to watch the highlights of the greatest moves. What we don’t see is that for every 20 seconds of great play there was hours of hard work, daily work. My daily routine with God gives me the confidence to know I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength (Phil 4:13) which helps me overcome my limiting beliefs. What great signs and wonders have you been doing for Christ? Don’t sale yourself short, your parting of the Red Sea in your life will look very different from Moses’ parting. Who are you excitedly telling about Jesus?!