Acts 7:55-56 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
The seventh chapter of Acts is a major turning point—both in the book of Acts and Church history as a whole. Whether Christians knew it or not, a war was coming. Every day they would begin experiencing a new level of violent persecution. Mass persecution was coming, and this passage was just the start. It’s the story of Christianity’s first martyr.
A martyr is someone who is murdered for their faith. Acts seven briefly introduces us to a young and passionate evangelist named Stephen. He was traveling around the city of Jerusalem, preaching the power of Jesus to anyone who would listen. While preaching near one of the religious centers in the city, Stephen was challenged by intimidating religious leaders. They wanted him to shut up, but Stephen spoke up. He stood up for his faith in the midst of impending danger. He gulped and said, “you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” (Acts 7:53). Ultimately, his radical rebuttal became some of his last words.
In a fiery flash, the eager crowd became a blood-thirsty mob. Under the ironic instruction of peace-preaching Pharisees, the mob launched rocks and boulders at Stephen. With a crack, a few jagged stones struck his head. He stumbled to the ground. You’d think the mob would let up, but they didn’t. Instead, they began dropping boulders onto his body, pummeling an innocent man into a bloody pulp. Disgusting, isn’t it?
While Stephen’s blood pressure dropped and his lungs collapsed, he looked up into heaven to see a vision. He wiped the blood from his swollen eyes and said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). At his death, Stephen saw His Savior. I imagine that he smiled at the sight. While his surroundings were terrifying, He started looking for Jesus.
Stephen’s story is proof that the Christian life isn’t all perfect families, catchy worship songs, and vegetables that tell Bible stories. It can look like suffering, agony, persecution, or even murder. The pain of human existence is unavoidable, especially as a person of faith. We cannot change all of our surroundings in life, but we can change who we look to. Be like Stephen. Look towards Jesus in the middle of pain and suffering.
Never stop looking towards Jesus. He will be there in your most challenging circumstances — including death.