SAINT STEPHEN – SERMON OUTLINE – DECEMBER 26, 2010
Acts 7:55-60; St. Matthew 23:34–39
“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
I. Introduction: Martyrs Old and New
a. Today we change from the white of Christmas to the red of martyrs, so we begin with a martyr’s tale
b. There was once a young man who was one of two brothers
i. He was the youngest of his parent’s children
ii. He was shepherd while his brother was a farmer
c. All was OK in their world until one day his brother fell out of favor with God
i. God had rejected an offering that his brother had made, but had accepted his
ii. His brother became jealous of him, so jealous in fact that his jealousy turned to hatred, and hatred into violent calculation
iii. So his brother tricked this young man: they went out into the field together
1. perhaps he argued about what had happened between them and God
2. perhaps the brother was showing off his crops (trying to justify himself)—but then he turned on his little brother and killed him in a fit of resentment
d. Now, on this feast of St. Stephen, you might recognize that this is not the tale of St. Stephen
i. No, this is not the tale of St. Stephen the first martyr of the Church, this is the tale of Abel the first martyr of the world
ii. Genesis 4 tells us about the first two sons of Adam and Eve, and how Cain—when he could not stand his own dismissal and God’s acceptance of Abel—let anger turn his mind to madness
e. But why start with Abel this morning? Because we can’t understand St. Stephen and his tale without Abel’s; each man sets a pattern for all who would follow him
i. As our Lord said in the Gospel earlier, one day, there has to be a reckoning
ii. Who will we stand with? With the martyrs who shed their righteous blood or with those upon those whom the martyr’s righteous blood will be required?
iii. In Acts 7, we find that St. Stephen not only chose the former, but joined their company
II. St. Stephen as the New Abel
a. In fact, with St. Stephen, history repeated itself; he became the new Abel
i. In every way, his persecutors tried to play Cain against him: they tried to argue about it, they tried to discredit him in jealousy, and finally they turned to violence
ii. But each time, God gave Stephen special grace to overcome them
b. First, like Cain, they unleashed their envy by arguing with Stephen
i. You see, like Abel, they saw that God was blessing Stephen—and they couldn’t stand it
ii. Stephen was working all kinds miracles and teaching with authority that they couldn’t match
iii. They tried disputing with him, but as St. Luke writes in Acts:
“They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”
iv. But like Abel, God was with him, and not with his enemies: with the help of the Holy Spirit, he defeated them every time
c. So, when they couldn’t beat him, they tried to disgrace him
i. They brought in false witnesses to lie against Stephen, claiming that he had spoken blasphemy against the temple and against the law
ii. Another Cain tactic: ‘maybe my sacrifice was better than yours; maybe God got it wrong and you’re the one with the problem’
iii. But Stephen did not return in kind: he maintained the innocence of Abel
St. Luke recalls: “And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.”
iv. Like Abel, Stephen knew he had the right sacrifice:
1. He knew that Jesus was the true sacrifice, not the law and the temple that the Jews had come to worship
2. He had not committed blasphemy; he knew that these things only pointed toward Christ
3. Like, Abel the shepherd, Jesus was the Lamb that was the true sacrifice
4. And Stephen preached a sermon about all of Jewish history had come to fruition in Jesus: but they had killed him, too
d. Well, that was it, they couldn’t stand hearing they were wrong
i. Like Cain, they finally turned to violence
ii. Stephen even warned them they were making a mistake
Luke writes that Stephen said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
iii. Like Abel, God had accepted him, but that made no difference, as it didn’t to Cain
iv. They dragged Stephen from the temple and stoned him to death
v. But even at the end, Stephen maintained his innocence; he never returned in anger, but like Jesus asked that God would forgive them
III. Christians of the Martyr Church
a. At death, comparisons between Stephen and Abel do break down
i. Stephen didn’t just stain the ground with his blood, he blessed heaven with his spirit
ii. Stephen did see Christ that day—welcoming into heaven as the Church’s first martyr
b. Appropriately, Stephen’s name means “crown” because it was a crown of glory that waited for him when he got there
c. That was his moment of reckoning—and Christ justified him. What will our day of reckoning hold?
i. Like Abel did for innocent men in the Old Testament, St. Stephen has set a high standard for us in the New
ii. He has shown us that it’s better to suffer for Christ than return it in anger
iii. It’s better to live according to truth than lie to get out of being dishonored
iv. And that, in the end, that our enemies often need more prayer than our friends do
d. But Stephen’s name says it all if Jesus is able to reckon our lives this way
i. A crown waits for us all
ii. We may never become a martyr, but we must be willing to stand with them
iii. As Stephen showed, being a Christian is a risk, but one worth taking
iv. In Revelation, Jesus Himself tells us that it’s all worth it:
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation… [but] be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” AMEN.
