Main Verse 7:59 NLT
59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
Stephen’s testimony is considered one of the most detailed and concise telling of the history of Israel and their relationship to God in Scripture. Stephen repeatedly reminded his listeners how God had faithfully kept his promise to them as a people even though they continually rebelled against him. But even so, God had made a way for them and given them the Messiah, Jesus, whom they rejected. Stephen detailed the redemptive nature of God from the Old Testament beginnings to their current day, but his listeners wanted no part of it. Still he spoke without fear and in confidence of his own salvation. He desired for all of them to know and understand the work of the cross and what it meant for their lives so much that he was willing even in death to proclaim it.
We can learn a lot from Stephen. Even in death he showed the grace of the Father. With his final words he offered forgiveness to them and asked God not to hold it against them. That description of being full of God’s grace and power was true about him til the very end. Let’s aim to show that same grace and desire for people far from God to know Him no matter the cost.
