Acts 7:54-8:3 The Martyrdom of Stephen and the Persecution of the Church
54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 8:1 And Saul was consenting to his death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samar′ia, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Stephen’s execution—or rather lynching—by a stone-throwing mob of religious zealots (including the young Saul/Paul) sparked a violent persecution of the Jerusalem Church. But in God’s providence, the fleeing disciples at the same time became missionaries throughout Judea and Samaria and beyond.
Stephen’s listeners heard Stephen—as they had heard Jesus before him—introducing a shocking intimacy between Jesus and the Lord God. For these zealous traditionalists the reaction was visceral and instantaneous. But the mob was acting outside Jewish legal norms of the 1st century. Although Leviticus 24:10-16 prescribed death by stoning as the punishment for blasphemy, Jewish practice had taken a much more merciful turn. According to the sage Shimon ben Gamaliel (c 10BC-70AD), son of Saul’s own teacher Gamaliel, a court that executed more than one person in 70 years was considered a “bloody court.” But this didn’t prevent local outbreaks of violence, and Shimon Ben Gamaliel himself was assassinated by Jewish zealots.
Saint Paul never forgot the religious fanaticism that had driven him so violently in his early years. Indeed, the memory of what he had done kept alive both his deep gratitude for God’s mercy and his equally deep humility.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. (1 Cor 15:9-10)
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; 14 and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. (Gal 1:13-14)
12 I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, 13 though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; 16 but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim 1:12-15)
We apply this last text to ourselves every time we say the prayer before receiving communion: “I believe, O Lord, and I confess, that Thou art truly the Christ, the son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first…” May our Lord keep us ever mindful of the grace and mercy we have received.
Update
It has been a few days of varied miscellaneous Chancery work. Emails of course on various issues of concern. Queries about transfers of clergy. Questions about background checks. Assisting bishops with parish and clergy issues. Making progress on sorting, cataloging and culling materials in the Archives (Father Dan and Matushka Tamara Skvir were here again yesterday to help Archivist Alexis Liberovsky with this continuing project.) Plans for His Beatitude’s travels. And with everyone else in the US, looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday (we’ll have an Akathist of Thanksgiving in the Chapel that morning.)