Stephen, filled with grace and power
Stephen was filled with grace because his he was filled with Jesus himself from whom we have all been given "grace upon grace" (see John 1:16), and he was filled with power because he was filled with "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (see First Corinthians 1:24).
The fact that Jesus lived in the heart of Stephen did not mean that Stephen was liked by all, or that he was a universally appealing character without any sharp edges to him. He was not unkind. But he did not hold back from proclaiming the entire Gospel. In this he was like Jesus himself. Just as the message of Jesus was inherently the cause of division so too was that of Stephen for it was in fact the same message.
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Stephen was doing something that was normal in the Spirit filled days of the early Church. We read elsewhere, for instance, that Paul also made use of "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (see First Corinthians 2:4). In modern times we assume that such miracles would be a neat and tidy way to settle all debates. We imagine that a sufficiently reliable healing ministry might be able to convert the world. But in the time of Stephen such signs did not automatically entail conversion. Often they led to a hardening of hearts, at least at first, for those who witnessed them. This did not make them less important. But it did mean that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church was not going to be a replacement for the reality of the cross in the lives of believers. It was rather that the truths were meant to be deeply interrelated in a mysterious way, just as we see in Stephen. Miracles would usher many into the arms of the Church, but they would not make everything easy or end suffering entirely. Believers would still need to take up their own crosses and follow Jesus. They would each individually still be a seed that must die in order to give life.
they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.
Stephen did not worry about what he was to say but rather allowed the Spirit of his Father to speak through him. Here again we see the fact of the miraculous did not solve all of his problems. Winning the argument did not immediately win the souls of his listeners. And yet we must acknowledge that all of these things that he did had a purpose and were prepared by God. What was that purpose if the things themselves did not immediately bear fruit? The purpose was to make the life of Jesus present once again in the life of Stephen. Jesus spoke with wisdom and did many mighty deeds. Yet he did not stop their but went on to make a gift of his entire life, a gift to his Father and a gift for us all. It was precisely on the cross that his divinity was truly manifested in a way most perfectly able to convert hardened hearts. It was for this reason that the centurion and the guards exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" (see Matthew 27:54).
But he, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven
and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and he said,
“Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God.”
It was here in his persecution and suffering, as he made a true gift of his life that Stephen most clearly resembled Jesus himself. Here the veil that separated heaven and earth became thin and the presence of God was made manifest. Stephen himself was so filled with the Spirit of Jesus at that moment that the words of Jesus to the Father were adapted to become his own.
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
The fruit born by the witness of Stephen was not immediate. But such fidelity to the person of Jesus himself would inexorably bear fruit eventually. We may assume that the seed this planted in the heart of Saul of Taurus who witnessed to this death was only one such seed.
We should note that tt was not merely his suffering that made Stephen a powerful witness. It was the love with which he suffered and the witness of his whole life of which his death was the final and most perfect confirmation of authenticity and sincerity.
Stephen is an example to us of the degree to which we can rely on God, the degree to which God himself is willing and desires to make the life of Jesus present again in each of our lives. It means no joys or sorrows we experience need to be separate from this or to separate us from the love of God in Christ (see Romans 8:35-39). They can all be taken up into the higher purposes of providence if we only learn to pray with Stephen, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
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