Stephen is another character in the book of Acts who does not feature in the gospels. We read of him first in Acts 6, a man ‘full of faith and of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 6:5) who was chosen to help serve the widows of the Greek-speaking Christians. Later in that chapter he is described as ‘a man full of God’s grace and power’ who ‘performed great wonders and signs among the people’ (Acts 6:8); unsurprisingly, this led to opposition and persecution, with the members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen accusing him of blasphemy. (Acts 6:11)

Acts 7 is devoted to Stephen’s response to this charge of blasphemy and is another example of the speeches in Acts. It is perhaps the most detailed and concise history of Israel and their relationship to God of any in Scripture, ‘an indictment against Israel and their failure as the chosen people of God who had been given the law, the holy things, and the promise of the Messiah.’[1]

Stephen shows us that a holy and godly life does not necessarily lead to earthly prosperity and blessing, for the Jews were angered by his speech even further and decided to carry out the death sentence reserved for blasphemy, stoning to death. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, a man who died with as much faith as he had lived: “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” (Acts 7:55-56) He may only feature in two chapters in the whole book of Acts, but his example remains a shining one to all of us: he had knowledge of the Scriptures, wisdom from the Holy Spirit, lived a life of grace and was totally committed to God’s plans and purposes for his life. He was faithful to preach the gospel boldly at all times and was committed to the Lord even in the face of death, praying for the Lord not to hold their sin against them as he died. (Acts 7:60) His life and death are testimony to what the Spirit of God can do with a fully surrendered heart and mind. One person truly can make a tremendous difference!

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Stephen.html

It’s interesting to note that those first twelve disciples of Jesus are all mentioned in the book of Acts, but the emphasis is very definitely initially on Peter and John (as it often is in the gospels.) Peter features in many of the gospel stories:

• walking on water to Jesus (Matthew 14:22-32)
• confessing that Jesus is the Messiah (Matthew 16:16-20)
• being a witness to Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-17)
• denying Christ (Matt 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-38; John 13:31-38)
• being lovingly restored to a relationship with Jesus after the resurrection (John 21:15-23)

In the book of Acts, we see him taking the lead in choosing another apostle after Judas’s betrayal (Acts 1:15-22) and he is the first to speak publicly after the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40). He is involved with the first miraculous healing recorded in Acts (Acts 3:1-10), is used by God to raise the dead (Acts 9:36-41) and is instrumental in the gospel being brought to the Gentiles (Acts 10). The first part of the book definitely has Peter as one of the main characters!

Yet interestingly enough, the key character in much of the book was not one of Jesus’s first disciples and was definitely the least likely person to be a key instrument in bringing people to faith! Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of Christians (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9:2, Acts 22:2-5), a Pharisee who believed that Christians should be killed. His miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19) reminds us that God is able to intervene in the direst of situations and can use the most unlikely of people to spread the gospel! Paul was God’s ‘chosen instrument’ to proclaim His name to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15); ‘In little more than ten years St Paul established the Church in four provinces of the [Roman] Empire, Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Before A.D. 47 there were no churches in these provinces; in A.D. 57 St Paul could speak as if his work there were done, and could plan extensive tours into the far West without anxiety lest the Churches which he had founded might perish in his absence for want of his guidance and support.’ (Roland Allen, quoted in F.F. Bruce. ‘Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit’, P 18)

Whether we’re a ‘big name’ person or a more insignificant figure in God’s story, the book of Acts reminds us that people are still a part of God’s plans to proclaim His name to others. What’s your role today?

God is able to work powerfully in our world without the need for human intervention. The Psalms have made it abundantly clear that God alone created the heavens and the earth (e.g. Ps 33:4,6; Ps 104:5) and He sustains the earth by His great power (Heb 1:2-3). Despite this affirmation of God’s sovereign control and power, however, the Bible also makes it plain that God’s plans for the world involve people (see Matt 28:18-20, Eph 2:10, Eph 3:6). People play a key role in the outworking of God’s plans and He has entrusted the message of reconciliation to ordinary, flawed people  (2 Cor 5:18-21)– to those who are not great by worldly standards (1 Cor 1:26-30), to those who carry the treasure of God’s presence in ordinary human bodies (2 Cor 4:7). This amazing truth is seen throughout the book of Acts, where the power of the Holy Spirit is seen working in ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things.

At our Bible study, we looked at some of the major characters in this book: the apostles John, Peter and Paul, for example, along with many others (Philip, Stephen, Timothy, Silas, Priscilla and Aquila and Apollos, to name just a few.) We know a lot about some of these people (Peter is probably the disciple about whom we know the most, both from the gospels and from this book and his two letters), and virtually nothing about many others. Some of the characters in Acts are mentioned in one verse only (Theophilus, to whom the book is written, is only mentioned at the beginning of the book!) Nonetheless, this wide array of characters reminds us of the importance, value and worth of every individual to God.

Do you often feel insignificant and unimportant? Our world now has an estimated total population of 7.7 billion people and it can be difficult for us to comprehend how God not only knows us (down to numbering the hairs on our head, as Matt 10:30 affirms) but also loves us unconditionally. The Bible – with its many lists of people and genealogies – affirms wholeheartedly the value of every individual in God’s plan. You may know nothing of Sopater and Sosthenes, Trophimus and Theudas, Demetrius and Damaris (and care even less!), but the Bible reminds us that all of these people played a role in God’s story. We too have a role to play, jobs to perform, tasks to undertake. We too matter. Our names are written in God’s book of life and we too feature in the outworking of His plans on earth.

We celebrated the first of our February birthdays tonight:

Jesus has promised to return, but we don’t know when this will happen. He told a story once about an owner who went away from home, leaving his servants in charge of different tasks (Mark 13:13). Garry told this story tonight using felt characters:

The story tells us to ‘keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.’ (Mark 13:34-35) God has entrusted us with work to be doing: telling other people what He has done, looking after other people, helping others and doing what is right in God’s eyes. He wants us to keep meeting together and to encourage each other. Our task is to remain awake and alert, carrying out the tasks He has entrusted us to do faithfully and gladly.

The children enjoyed retelling the story afterwards!

Dave spoke this morning from Luke 17:11-19, a story where Jesus healed ten lepers… but only one returned to give Him thanks.

Lepers were at this time outcasts, for the disease was incurable and all who had leprosy were isolated, unable to live within the normal society. They were effectively ‘living dead’, without hope, so even to cry out to Jesus for mercy was a bold move. Jesus told them to go to the priest – to act as if they were cleansed, and it was only as they went that they did receive cleansing and healing.

In effect, this physical healing was what they had wanted and the majority were satisfied with this. One, a Samaritan, realised that Jesus had done more than offer physical healing, however. He saw that this cleansing paved the way to salvation, to a wholeness that encompassed more than the body. The majority were happy to be ‘normal’ again, to be able to dwell in society and take part in normal activities, but this one man was ‘more than normal’. He came back to Jesus because he realised that He could do more than heal.

Jesus gave His life to save us and offers us both cleansing and healing. We too can be grateful and thankful because He offers us the miracle of eternal life, a life that is supernatural, a life that is more than normal.