“Do Not Hold This Sin Against Them”

How could a man, while being unjustly and violently put to death, utter as his last words, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”?  Could I, like Stephen in Acts 7, have forgiveness in my heart and on my lips at that moment?

We are introduced to Stephen in Acts 6 where we’re told that he is a Christian in the Jerusalem church and was chosen to be one of the seven men responsible for the daily distribution of food to the needy. Stephen is described as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. With the apostles’ uninterrupted focus on teaching and this organized program of care for one another, the church is steadily growing in number.

Stephen also works “great wonders and signs among the people.” This attracts the attention of Jewish leaders from different parts of the world who engage in debate with him.  But they are unable to “withstand the wisdom and Spirit with which he was speaking.” In other words, they can’t find fault or contradiction in his teaching, nor can they persuade him to back down.  But instead of considering that his message could be from God, they instigate witnesses with false charges and stir up a crowd against him. They accuse him of speaking against the Holy Place and the Law and “changing the customs that Moses delivered.”

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is much like the narrative of Jesus in His ministry.  People were “astonished” at His words and the authority by which He taught. They glorified God for His undeniable power over illness, evil spirits, even death. Thousands followed Him wanting to hear more and receive more.  The religious leaders of the day, however, argued with Him and tested Him. They tried to back Him into a corner, but His answers revealed their hypocrisy and attachment to the “commandments of men.” So they set out to destroy Him. 

As Stephen begins to address the crowd, “all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”  Does that mean his face visibly changed and glowed with light? Or was he simply unafraid, a serene messenger of God’s word? We can’t know, but this detail was related to Luke, and he relates it to us.

Stephen addresses the accusation that he is determined to destroy the Holy Place and the Law. His speech is a beautiful retelling of the history of God’s relationship with His chosen people. Stephen begins  where God beganHis covenant, His promise to Abraham, long before Moses was born.  He tells of faithful men like Abraham, Joseph, and Moses and of the repeated rebellion and unfaithfulness of the people. He does not call for the destruction of the Temple, but reminds them of God’s words through the prophet Isaiah: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me….?” (Acts 7:49).

Stephen concludes by calling them “stiff-necked” and “uncircumcised in heart and ears.” He condemns them for their unwillingness to believe and for clinging to the culture of their fathers and rejecting the prophets. Finally, he declares their guilt in murdering “The Righteous One.”

We are reminded of the parable Jesus told in Jerusalem the last week of His life, about the man who planted a vineyard, then went to another country. At harvest, the vineyard owner sent to his tenants for some of the fruit that belonged to him. But instead of returning what was his, they abused all the messengers, eventually even killing the beloved son of the vineyard owner.  Christ’s enemies knew He was referring specifically to them. and they began their plans to arrest Him. 

This harsh accusation by Stephen enrages the crowd to the point of frenzy. Stephen looks up to heaven as God gives him a vision - of the heavens opened, God’s glory, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. When he speaks aloud of what he sees, they cover their ears and rush at him.  They take him out of the city violently and, illegally, begin to stone him. 

Stephen is going to his death, having just seen a vision of eternity for the faithful.  Does anything else exist for him at this moment?  Is there room for anger or a need for vengeance for those who are harming him?  How real and horrific does their fate seem to him?  

Looking back to Jesus, who, when asked by the High Priest if he was the Son of God, answered, “I am and you will see the Son of Man sitting at God’s right hand and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). Jesus knew this statement assured His death sentence.  He gave Himself to be beaten, mocked, spit upon. and put on the cross to pay the price for our sin.  Hanging on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  He had often referred to the people as sheep without a shepherd.  In the middle of His own agony The Good Shepherd loved His sheep. Then calling out to God, Jesus gave His Spirit into God’s hands and died (Luke 23:46). 

My own “enemies” and persecutions pale in comparison to either Jesus or Stephen. But when I am wronged, or rejected, or laughed at, or left out, where does my heart go? Sadly, I find I focus on the hurt, let the hurt breed anger, and let the anger take pleasure in thoughts of revenge.  Can I, like Stephen, look to heaven, with the clear picture I’ve been given of the victorious Christ at God’s right hand, and know I only have this hope because I am a forgiven sinner?  Will I, in turn, forgive those who harm me?

We don’t know if Stephen saw Jesus on this earth, or met Him, or listened to Him, but it’s clear he knew Jesus.  Stephen lived teaching his brethren, serving the widows, and speaking boldly for the truth.  And dying, he asked the Lord to receive his spirit. He kneeled, and made one last request, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  Stephen was following in the footsteps of Jesus, his Lord and Savior.

And while the story is truly gruesome and sad, Albert Barnes says this: 

“How peaceful and calm is a death like that of Stephen, when compared with the alarms and anguish of a sinner! One moment of such peace, in that trying time, is better than all the pleasures and honors which the world can bestow.”

Bear with me now as I go a little further to explore how being willing to forgive as Christ forgives will affect His church.

A young man named Saul approved of the execution of Stephen; their coats were laid at his feet.  Saul initiated a campaign to exterminate this new sect, and Acts 8:3 says he was ravaging the church, taking both men and women to prison.

But as we know, God knew Saul’s heart and had a plan for him. Saul himself saw a vision from heaven and received a message from the voice of God. Saul was convicted by the truth and became a believer and almost immediately a powerful proclaimer of Jesus as the Son of God.  

There were two reactions to Saul’s new life. The Jews quickly became his enemies and sought to kill him.  They persecuted him continually.  Yet not many years later, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. The physical Kingdom of Israel was no more.

What about the Christians? The believers were understandably afraid of Saul and hesitant to accept him. But in Jerusalem, Barnabus brought him to the apostles and recounted the full story, explaining how Saul was now preaching boldly in the name of Jesus. In Acts 9, we are told that “he went in and out among them at Jerusalem” and that Christians helped him to safety when his life was in danger. The Family of God found it in their heart to forgive the man who had brought such harm to their own.  

And what happened to God’s Kingdom, Spiritual Israel? Acts 9:31 says, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.  And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it multiplied.”

With thanks in my heart to God, I don’t face a murderous crowd like Stephen.  Yet I can pray, “Lord, help me to forgive as You forgive, and may Your Kingdom grow.”