Stephen and the Stoning

Currently, I am reading in Acts. I just read about the stoning of Stephen and it always leaves a lump in my throat. I am amazed at how serene and calm Stephen was in the face of his accusers. It even says that those accusing him noticed he had the face of an angel. They noticed something heavenly about him and yet still went forward with their intent to kill.

Stephen was so brave and strong during that whole ordeal. Faced with a mob who wanted his blood he boldly spoke and what came out of his mouth was power. It was power to accuse the accuser and set their hearts ablaze with shame and conviction. They knew in their heart of hearts that they had slaughtered the Christ and they hated Stephen for showing them that.

Next came death by stoning. So, I thought I'd research death by stoning a bit more closely. I want to know what he faced. What he saw in the moments before he was received into heaven. What does it take to throw a stone at another human being with the intent to kill? Were they small or large? Did it take many to end his life? Was his suffering very long? 

Here is what I found out about stoning:

*It is perhaps the oldest form of execution known to man.

*It is not practiced in the U.S. but is actively practiced today in many Muslim countries.

         *Example - A 13 yr old girl was stoned in 2004 for being raped by her own brother
*It is primarily enforced by fundamentalist "sharia" law

*The prisoner is buried either up to his waist (if male) or up to her shoulders (if female) and then pelted with stones by a crowd of volunteers until obviously battered to death. Under the terms of most fundamentalist courts, the stones must be small enough that death cannot reasonably be expected to result from only one or two blows, but large enough to cause physical harm. The average execution by stoning is extremely painful, lasting at least 10 to 20 minutes.

To stone a person you have to be completely committed to the act. It's up close and personal. How filled with hate do you have to be, as a human being, to be a part of this kind of murderous act?

Thinking about Stephen, the first martyr for Christ, humbles me to the core. It's as if the shiny, glass monument I have built to myself in honor of my "great" religious deeds just comes crumbling down in the face of his man's sacrifice for the cause of Christ. What have I sacrificed in my entier Christian life that is even slightly in comparison to what Stephen gave?

Easy answer - nothing. Not a single thing.

Big shoes to fill that my dear brother Stephen left behind for us all. Shoes that are canyons wide and oceans deep! Even as he was dying from the stones being thrown at his broken body he pleaded for mercy from God. Mercy for those killing him. Just like his Savior did on a cross. Mercy to the murderers. It's almost incomprehensible really.

As I was writing this tonight I had one more thought of Stephen. A wonderous, amazing, brilliant thought!

Stephen was the very first voice that God heard as a Martyr! It is Stephen's voice that shouts out the loudest and longest among all the Martyrs at the throne of God, right now! Right now as I type these words that will be forgotten in a day or two, the great crowd of Martyrs around the Almighty Throne of God are calling out for justice and our dear Stephen was there first!!

As he gazed up into heaven, seeing into the throne room, can you imagine what he must have seen? He said he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, that much we know. But there has to be so much more to it! Well, that's what my finite mind thinks anyway but now that I re-read my words..........Jesus was enough. Jesus was enough for him to see and have a face of rapture and beauty. Jesus was enough for him to glance upon and just know that he's bound for glory.

It had to be the sight of Jesus that gave him the strength to go through the horrendous death. I believe that Stephen, once he saw Jesus, felt nothing else after that. He was caught up in the ecstasy of seeing His Savior waiting for him in Heaven. Perhaps, when Stephen saw the very throne of God he saw the place he would sit and wait. Maybe he knew before he left his body to be with the Lord that his place was right at the feet of the throne.

I wonder how he felt when more souls of the Martyrs began to join him there. Oh, I am sure he cried out so loudly by himself but can you imagine how much more he would have put into his cries with another voice? And another, another and then millions upon millions more?

I'll go to bed tonight and dream of Stephen and the martyrs I hope. Dream of the wonders that the book of Acts has in store for me. Dream of my place in heaven and what I'll do when I'm there.

Dream of my Jesus - smiling at me and running with me in a field of brilliantly colored flowers. Just me and Him. But don't worry dear Beloved, He'll have time for you too! :)

With the Eternal, Jubilant Love of Christ,
Mar