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The Story of Redemption
on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
The scene about him faded from his vision; the gates of heaven
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were ajar, and Stephen, looking in, saw the glory of the courts of
God, and Christ, as if just risen from His throne, standing ready
to sustain His servant, who was about to suffer martyrdom for His
name. When Stephen proclaimed the glorious scene opened before
him, it was more than his persecutors could endure. They stopped
their ears, that they might not hear his words, and, uttering loud cries,
ran furiously upon him with one accord. “And they stoned Stephen,
calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he
kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to
their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Amid the agonies of this most cruel death the faithful martyr,
like his divine Master, prayed for his murderers. The witnesses who
had accused Stephen were required to cast the first stones. These
persons laid down their clothes at the feet of Saul, who had taken
an active part in the disputation and had consented to the prisoner’s
death.
The martyrdom of Stephen made a deep impression upon all
who witnessed it. It was a sore trial to the church, but resulted in
the conversion of Saul. The faith, constancy, and glorification of the
martyr could not be effaced from his memory. The signet of God
upon his face, his words, that reached to the very soul of all who
heard them, except those who were hardened by resisting the light,
remained in the memory of the beholders, and testified to the truth
of that which he had proclaimed.
There had been no legal sentence passed upon Stephen, but the
Roman authorities were bribed by large sums of money to make no
investigation of the case. Saul seemed to be imbued with a frenzied
zeal at the scene of Stephen’s trial and death. He seemed to be
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angered at his own secret convictions that Stephen was honored of
God at the very period when he was dishonored of men.
He continued to persecute the church of God, hunting them
down, seizing them in their houses, and delivering them up to the
priests and rulers for imprisonment and death. His zeal in carrying
forward the persecution was a terror to the Christians in Jerusalem.
The Roman authorities made no special effort to stay the cruel work,