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From: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59

Stephen’s Arrest

[8] And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among
the people. [9] Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the
Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians,
and of those from Cilicia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen. [10] But
they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

The Martyrdom of Stephen

[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 ci-
ty 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.”

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Commentary:

8-14. From the text it would appear that Stephen preached mainly among Hel-
lenist Jews; this was his own background. Reference is made to synagogues
of Jews of the Dispersion (Diaspora). These synagogues were used for worship
and as meeting places. The very fact that these Hellenist Jews were living in
the Holy City shows what devotion they had to the Law of their forebears.

No longer is it only the Sanhedrin who are opposed to the Gospel; other Jews
have been affected by misunderstanding and by misrepresentation of the Chris-
tian message.

The charge of blasphemy—also made against our Lord—was the most serious
that could be made against a Jew. As happened in Jesus’ case, the accusers
here resort to producing false witnesses, who twist Stephen’s words and ac-
cuse him of a crime the penalty for which is death.

55-56. “It is clear”, St. Ephraem comments, “that those who suffer for Christ en-
joy the glory of the whole Trinity. Stephen saw the Father and Jesus at His side,
because Jesus appears only to his own, as was the case with the Apostles af-
ter the Resurrection. While the champion of the faith stood there helpless in the
midst of those who had killed the Lord, just at the point when the first martyr
was to be crowned, he saw the Lord, holding a crown in His right hand, as if to
encourage him to conquer death and to show that he inwardly helps those who
are about to die on his account. He therefore reveals what he sees, that is, the
heavens opened, which were closed to Adam and only opened to Christ at the
Jordan, but open now after the Cross to all who share Christ’s sufferings, and
in the first instance open to this man. See how Ste- phen reveals why his face
was lit up: it was because he was on the point of contemplating this wondrous
mission. That is why he took on the appearance of an angel—so that his testi-
mony might be more reliable” (”Armenian Commentary, ad loc.”).

57-59. The cursory trial of Stephen ends without any formal sentence of death:
this Jewish tribunal was unable to pass such sentences because the Romans
restricted its competence. In any event no sentence proves necessary: the
crowd becomes a lynching party: it takes over and proceeds to stone Stephen,
with the tacit approval of the Sanhedrin.

Tradition regards Stephen as the first Christian martyr, an example of fortitude
and suffering for love of Christ. “Could you keep all God’s commandments,” St.
Cyprian asks, “were it not for the strength of patience? That was what enabled
Stephen to hold out: in spite of being stoned he did not call down vengeance
on his executioners, but rather forgiveness.... How fitting it was for him to be
Christ’s first martyr, so that by being, through his glorious death, the model of
all the martyrs that would come after him, he should not only be a preacher of
the Lord’s Passion, but should also imitate it in his meekness and immense
patience” (”De Bono Patientiae”, 16).

Martyrdom is a supreme act of bravery and of true prudence, but to the world
it makes no sense. It is also an expression of humility, because a martyr does
not act out of bravado or overweening self-confidence; he is a weak man like
anyone else, but God’s grace gives him the strength he needs. Although mar-
tyrdom is something which happens rarely, it does show Christians what hu-
man nature can rise to if God gives it strength, and it establishes a standard,
both real and symbolic, for the behavior of every disciple of Christ.

“Since all the virtues and the perfection of all righteousness are born of love of
God and one’s neighbor,” St. Leo says, “in no one is this love more worthily
found than in the blessed martyrs, who are nearest to our Lord in terms of imi-
tation of both His charity and His Passion.

“The martyrs have been of great help to others, because the Lord has availed
of the very strength as He granted them to ensure that the pain of death and
the cruelty of the Cross do not frighten any of His own, but are seen as things
in which man can imitate Him....

“No example is more useful for the instruction of the people of God than that of
the martyrs. Eloquence is effective for entreating, argument for convincing; but
examples are worth more than words, and it is better to teach by deeds than
by speech” (”Hom. on the Feast of St. Laurence”).

The Second Vatican Council has reminded us of the excellence of the martyr-
dom as a form of witness to the faith. Although there are heroic ways of imita-
ting and following our Lord which do not involve the drama of bloodshed and
death, all Christians should realize that confession of the faith in this way is
not a thing of the past and is sometimes necessary.

“Since Jesus, the Son of God, showed His love by laying down His life for us,
no one has greater love than he who lays down his life for Him and for his bro-
thers (cf. 1 John 3:16; John 15:13). Some Christians have been called from the
beginning, and will always be called, to give this greatest testimony of love to
all, especially to persecutors. Martyrdom makes the disciple like his Master.
[...] Therefore, the Church considers it the highest gift and supreme test of love.
And although it is given to few, all must be prepared to confess Christ before
men and to follow him along the way of the Cross amidst the persecutions
which the Church never lacks.

“Likewise the Church’s holiness is fostered [...] by the manifold counsels which
the Lord proposes to His disciples in the Gospel” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”,
42).

The Liturgy of the Church sums up the asceticism and theology of martyrdom
in the preface for Christian martyrs: “Your holy martyr followed the example of
Christ, and gave his life for the glory of Your name. His death reveals Your po-
wer shining through our human weakness. You choose the weak and make
them strong in bearing witness to You.”

Like Jesus, Stephen dies commending his soul to God and praying for his per-
secutors. At this point St. Luke brings in Saul who cooperates in the procee-
dings by watching the executioners’ clothes; Saul will soon experience the be-
nefits of Stephen’s intercession. “If Stephen had not prayed to God, the
Church would not have had Paul” (St. Augustine, “Sermons”, 315, 7).

Stephen has died, but his example and teaching continue to speak across
the world.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.