Title: Stephen's Last Sermon and Martyrdom
Contents
54 When they heard this, they were pierced in their hearts and gnashed their teeth against him. 55 And Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven, and looked up and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, Behold, the heavens are opened, and the Son of Man is God. I see you standing on the right hand side 57 They shouted aloud, covered their ears, and rushed to him with all their heart, 58 and threw them outside the city and stoned them. The witnesses took off their clothes and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They stoned Stephen. And Stephen cried out, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my soul." 60 And he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." After saying this, he fell asleep.
1. Words that begin
Returning guests on their way to the Seohae Bridge to pass the Chuseok holiday suffered a terrible tragedy, with 11 people killed in a series of 40 collisions caused by thick fog. The aired scene was like a living hell. Whenever people face such an accident, they feel sad and think about their own death that they have forgotten. We humans living in the cutting-edge science era that brings about more rapid social change than any other era in the past have no choice but to live with anxiety and fear of dying suddenly. At least I am grateful that the Creator allowed humans to forget their own death and live on, even for a moment.
In Confucianism, Gojongmyeong (考終命) is one of the five blessings. Calling King Gojong-myeong one of the five blessings also proves that very few people live according to my name and die comfortably. Christianity teaches the happiness of eternal life after death, and therefore places great importance on the question of how precious a death is. The most precious of all deaths is martyrdom for the Savior of eternal life, Jesus.
2. The Jews Go to Stephen's Preaching of the Holy Spirit-Filled Gospel
Stephen, who was martyred in the early church, was one of the seven deacons who were workers who helped the twelve apostles. Stephen was a man who was praised because he was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and he was full of God's grace and God's power, and he performed great wonders and signs in the civilian world.
Although the Jews argued with Stephen, they could not withstand Stephen, who preached the truth of the gospel with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Then the Jews framed Stephen and set him up in a court of law. Stephen, who was unfairly standing in the courtroom while preaching the gospel, followed God's will to take advantage of the unfortunate situation instead of being skeptical about God's protective love or power. That unfortunate situation was a golden opportunity for those with a religious mindset like Stephen to preach the gospel to the high priest and other dignitaries who lined up like Kira Castle. Everyone! Instead of complaining about our unfortunate situation, please do good according to God's will.
After succinctly and succinctly explained the Torah, or Old Testament, Stephen preached the gospel, making it clear that the point was pointing to the Savior Jesus. However, the high priests and other dignitaries who heard the sermon of the Gospel and the Jews hated Stephen and sharpened their teeth. It was reinforced with a legalistic preconceived notion and stereotype that only by obeying the law would be saved, so for those who were spiritually ignorant, even the sermons of Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, only nurture hatred and hatred.
A good sermon is not a good sermon, and a bad sermon is not a bad sermon.
A wandering Jewish preacher is called a 'magid'. Magid, who preached during the day in a village synagogue, met a believer at the market the next day. The believer said to Magid, "Rabbi, after I heard your sermon yesterday, I couldn't sleep all night." Magid exclaimed, “Really? Do you think my sermons had such a big impact?” Then the believer said, “No, no. If I sleep during the day, I can't sleep at all at night.”
Good preaching is biblical preaching and evangelical preaching. Therefore, proper listening does not mean listening to something that suits one's preconceived notions, stereotypes, preferences, or moods. It is to be filled with the Holy Spirit by focusing on prayer and the Word on a regular basis, and to listen with all your spirit following the Holy Spirit. After Jesus preached, He said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Or, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Everyone! I hope that your ears and eyes of the Spirit will be more enlightened by focusing on prayer and the Word.
A traveler to England saw many seagulls dead on the sand while passing through the coast. So I went to the people who were putting it away and asked a worker why the seagulls died. Then the worker answered. “A lot of tourists come here, and they see a lot of seagulls and throw food at them. The seagulls will enjoy eating sweets and sweets. In fact, such food is harmful to seagulls, not good natural food. However, the surprising fact is that when the seagulls eat sweets or candy, they completely lose their appetite for good natural food. When the season passes and tourists stop, the seagulls starve to death like this, despite the abundance of good natural food in the sea.”
If the members of the church who have to accept the sermon of the gospel like the sweet sound to their ears instead of preaching the gospel, they will die spiritually. The Jewish clergy, including the high priest, who had been accustomed to legalism, and the Jews had their teeth sharpened when they heard Stephen's sermon of the Holy Spirit-filled gospel.
But, instead of fearing, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and looked up to see the glory of God and the Lord standing at the right hand of God. Stephen exclaimed with excitement, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” In this spiritual state, even death would not be a problem, would it? Everyone! Please open your eyes to look up to heaven when, where, and in any situation, especially in difficult and difficult situations.
3. Members of the Council who stoned Stephen to death
Instead of hearing Stephen's cheers and not realizing them, the Jewish council members shouted and covered their ears to stop the cheers, and ran up to him with all their heart, threw them outside the city and stoned him. Those clergymen did not treat Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit, but with feelings of extreme anger and hatred. Those clergymen violated the laws they were so proud of, and were not approved by the colonial power of Rome.
In those days, when criminals were executed, they were dragged out of the city so as not to defile the holy city. Even though the priests broke the law, they threw Stephen outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned him with stones so as not to defile the holy city. When they were stoned to death, the Witnesses touched it first, and then the people touched it.
When he stoned Stephen, he took off his clothes and placed them at the feet of a young man named Saul, or Paul, in order to free the witnesses from stoning. That Saul, or Paul, did not directly take part in the sin of stoning Stephen, but he supported those who killed him.
Because he preached the gospel of Christ for the salvation of their eternal life, Stephen, who was stoned and bled without any sin, was also like Stephen. Instead of hatred or hatred, Stephen cried out and prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my soul,” like a saint filled with the Holy Spirit. Then Stephen knelt and prayed with all his might, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” So Stephen was martyred.
Even at the moment of his last martyrdom, Stephen prayed sublimely in imitation of the Lord Jesus. In Luke 23:46, Jesus prayed, “Father, into your hands I commit my soul”; In Luke 23:34, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
4. Conclusion
No matter how arrogant a human being, he does not know when his own death is, nor can he prevent it. All human beings living in this cutting-edge scientific age must secure a heaven beyond death and live. We must believe in Jesus, the Lord of eternal life, focus on prayer and the Word, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the spirit of martyrdom, follow the Holy Spirit in the Lord, obey the Word, and live a life of preaching the gospel.