You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. 53 You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”
54 When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. 58 They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep.'
1 Now Saul was consenting to his execution. On that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. 3 Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.
Stephen delivered a powerful speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:1-50, recounting the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon, emphasizing God's faithfulness to His covenant and Israel's repeated rejection of His messengers. He accused the religious leaders of resisting the truth and refusing to listen to the message of God's salvation through Jesus Christ. He charged them with resisting the Holy Spirit as their ancestors did and with betraying and murdering the Righteous One, Jesus Christ, just as their ancestors, who received the Law but did not keep it (Mt. 23:1-36), treated the prophets throughout Israel’s history.
The council responded with anger but, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Stephen was granted a vision of heaven where he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen described what he saw and his vision enraged the council even more. They responded by covering their ears, refusing to listen to him any longer. The Glory of God was no longer in the Temple but in Heaven with the risen Christ. They rush at him, driving him out of the city, and begin to stone him. As Stephen was being stoned, he prayed to the Risen Christ, asking Him to receive his spirit and not to hold this sin against his persecutors, mirroring the words Jesus spoke in petitioning the Father from the cross on mankind’s behalf (Lk. 23:34,46). Many of the prophets the prophets were murdered outside the city of Jerusalem (Lk. 13:34).
Saul [Semitic], also known as Paul [Greco-Roman] (Acts 13:9), was a consenting witness to Stephen’s execution. Following Stephen's death, a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem and many believers were forced to flee from Jerusalem to escape persecution, scattering throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Despite the persecution, the Apostles remained in Jerusalem. Saul, a devout Pharisee who studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) strictly observed the Law, understood that the Christian movement differed from Judaism in its teaching, and vigorously persecuted the early Christian Church. He considered followers of Jesus to be a threat to Judaism.
Almighty God, grant us the courage of Stephen, to stand firm in faith amidst persecution. Help us to fix our eyes on heavenly things, and to forgive those who oppose us. Strengthen us so that we may persevere in spreading the Gospel, the light in a world of darkness. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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