Acts 7:54-60 - "Stephen's Testimony"

Acts 7:54-60

"When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing 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. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 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."

Acts chapter 7 brings us to the close of Stephen’s testimony, and it is here that the Spirit of God shows us what true Faith looks like when pressed to its extreme. Stephen was not merely a servant appointed to a practical task, but a man full of Faith, and therefore a witness to Christ. When the LORD is pleased to reveal His Son in a sinner, that Revelation does not remain hidden. It speaks, it testifies, and it does so even in the face of fierce opposition.

When Stephen’s hearers received his words, we are told that “they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth” (v.54). This cutting was not repentance, but rage. The truth concerning Christ does one of two things: it humbles or it hardens. Stephen’s message left no room for human self-righteousness or self-worth, and no shelter for religious pride. Christ was set forth as the Righteous One, and men were exposed as rebels. That exposure produced fury.

Yet Stephen’s response reveals the difference grace makes. “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven” (v.55). This was not natural courage. By nature, we either fight back or flee. Stephen did neither. Being filled with the Spirit, his eyes were lifted away from men and fixed upon His LORD Christ in heaven. Faith always looks outside of itself to Whom Righteousness is found.

What Stephen saw is crucial. He saw “the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (v.55). Scripture teaches us that Christ, having finished His work, sat down at the Right Hand of the Majesty on high. His sitting declares completion. Yet here He is standing. This is not a contradiction, but a Revelation. The risen Christ stands as Mediator, as Advocate, as the One Who receives His suffering servant Stephen into glory. Christ in heaven is not indifferent to the death of one of Christ’s own. He ever lives to intercede for His own.

Stephen declares openly what he sees: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (v.56). The title "Son of man" is deliberate. It is the Name Christ used of Himself in His humiliation, and it is the Name by which He is still known in glory. There is a Man in heaven. The One Who obeyed, suffered, died, and rose still stands as Mediator for His people. We will never approach God apart from Him.

The reaction is swift and violent. They cry out, stop their ears, and rush upon Stephen “with one accord” (v.57). Unbelief unites men against Christ. They cast him out of the city and stone him, believing themselves to be doing God a service. Religious blindness is always most dangerous when it is convinced of its own righteousness.

Yet even in death, Stephen’s testimony remains Christ-focused. As the stones fall, “they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (v.59). He does not call upon an abstract deity, but upon the LORD Jesus Christ Himself. There is no coming to God apart from Christ. Stephen’s prayer echoes the words of his Savior, Who committed His Spirit to the Father. The servant follows the pattern of the Master in and through infinite Grace.

Stephen then kneels and cries with a loud voice, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (v.60). This is not natural mercy. This is Grace taught by the cross. Stephen knows that if sin is not laid to the sinner’s charge, it must be laid to the charge of Someone else. He had already testified that it was laid upon Christ. Having been forgiven much, he forgives freely.

The chapter ends with these simple but profound words: “he fell asleep” (v.60). For the believer, death is not terror but rest. To fall asleep in Christ is to awaken in glory, to see the One Who paid the debt, satisfied Divine justice, and obtained eternal life.

Stephen’s testimony was clear, Christ-honoring, fearless, faithful, and gracious. Such testimony does not arise from human resolve, but from Divine Revelation. It is the fruit of seeing the glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ.