Stephen and Saul

The Holy Spirit records Stephen’s martyrdom, but does not enter into details of his sufferings and death, as uninspired recorders would have been so apt to do.

The object of the Holy Spirit is not to indulge curiosity nor to harrow the feelings, but to instruct and move to imitation.

He tells us of the martyr’s posture,—“He kneeled down”; his prayer,—“Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”; and his composure,—“he fell asleep.”

Upon each of these points volumes might be written.

Our attention is now called to the incident of Saul’s being present.

This supplies us with—

I. A SUGGESTED CONTRAST. Stephen and Saul.

These were both highly earnest, fearless men.

Yet at this time they were wide as the poles asunder.

1. Stephen spiritual; giving in his address great prominence to the spiritual nature of religion, and the comparative insignificance of its externals. See verses 48–50.

   • Saul superstitious, worshiping form and ritual, full of reverence for the temple and the priests, and so forth.

2. Stephen, a humble believer in the Lord Jesus, saved by faith alone.

   • Saul, a self-righteous Pharisee, as proud as he could live.

3. Stephen, defending and vindicating the gospel of Jesus.

   • Saul, giving his countenance, his vote, his assistance in the persecution of the servant of the Lord Christ.
   • Inquire if a Saul is now present. Call him forth by name.
   • Have you been a consenting party to the persecution of good men?
   • Have you thus copied this young man Saul?
   • You do not object to making Christian men the theme of ridicule.
   • You smile when you hear such ridicule.
   • By your indecision in religion you aid and abet the adversary.
   • In these ways the witnesses lay down their clothes at your feet, and you are their accomplice.
   • Oh, that grace may yet convert you!

II. A SINGULAR INTRODUCTION TO TRUE RELIGION.

Many have been brought to God by means somewhat similar.

The young man, whose name was Saul, met with the religion of Jesus in the person of Stephen, and thus he saw it with the following surroundings:—

1. The vision of a shining face.

2. The hearing of a noble discourse.

3. The sight of a triumphant death.

   • These did not convert Saul, but they made it harder for him to be unconverted, and were, no doubt, in after days thought of by him.

Let us so introduce religion to men, that the memory of its introduction may be worth their retaining.

III. A REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF THE LORD’S CARE FOR HIS CHURCH.

The apostolical succession was preserved in the church.

1. Stephen’s death was a terrible blow to the cause; but at that moment his successor was close at hand.

2. That successor was in the ranks of the enemy.

3. That successor was far greater than the martyr, Stephen, himself.

   • There is no fear for the church: her greatest champions, though as yet concealed among her enemies, will be called in due time.
   • The death of her best advocates may assist in the conversion of others.

IV. A GRACIOUS MEMORIAL OF REPENTED SIN.

Did not Paul give Luke this information concerning himself? and cause it to be recorded in the Acts of the Apostles?

It was well for Paul to remember his sin before conversion.

It will be well for us to remember ours.

1. To create and renew feelings of humility.

2. To inflame love and zeal.

3. To deepen our love to the doctrines of sovereign grace.

4. To make us hopeful and zealous for others.

   • Let dying Stephen be cheered by the hope of young Saul’s salvation.
   • Let wicked young Saul repent of his wrong to Stephen.

Observanda

A Spanish painter, in a picture of Stephen conducted to the place of execution, has represented Saul as walking by the martyr’s side with melancholy calmness. He consents to his death from a sincere, though mistaken, conviction of duty: and the expression of his countenance is strongly contrasted with the rage of the baffled Jewish doctors and the ferocity of the crowd who flock to the scene of bloodshed. Literally considered, such a representation is scarcely consistent either with Saul’s conduct immediately afterwards, or with his own expressions concerning himself at the later periods of his life. But the picture, though historically incorrect, is poetically true. The painter has worked according to the true idea of his are in throwing upon the persecutor’s countenance the shadow of his coming repentance. We cannot dissociate the martyrdom of Stephen from the conversion of Paul. The spectacle of so much constancy, so much faith, so much love, could not be lost. It is hardly too much to say with Augustine, that “the church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen.”—Chinaberry and Howson.

Here first comes in view an individual destined to be the most extraordinary character in the church of God. Had a prophet stood near on this occasion, and said, “Ah! Saul, you will by-and-by be stoned for the same profession, and die a martyr in the same cause”; he would have been filled with surprise and indignation, and have exclaimed, “What, is your servant a dog, that he should do this thing?”—William Jay.

As soon as Satan heard of the conversion of Saul, he ordered the devils into deep mourning.—John Ryland, Senior.

Among the leaders of the great revival of the eighteenth century were Captain Scott and Captain Toriel Joss, the former a captain of dragoons, the latter a sea-captain. Both became famous preachers. Whitefield said of them, “God, who sits upon the flood, can bring a shark from the ocean, and a lion from the forest, to show forth his praise.”

The following lines by William Hone, author of the “Every-day Book,” were written to describe his own experience—

The proudest heart that ever beat

Has been subdued in me;

The wildest will that ever rose

To scorn your cause, and aid your foes,

Is quelled, my God, by you.

Your will, and not my will, be done; My heart be ever your; Confessing you, the mighty Word, My Savior Christ, my God, my Lord,

Your cross shall be my sign.

Might they not have been written by the young man, “whose name was Saul”?