“and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Acts 7:56, 58, 60 KJV
Dr. Luke recorded, ““Look!” Stephen said. “I can see the heavens opening and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God to welcome me home!” Then they pounced on him and threw him outside the city walls to stone him. His accusers, one by one, placed their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus. He crumpled to his knees and shouted in a loud voice, “Our Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” And then he died.” Jesus sits at the right hand of God, but when He saw Stephen give his last breath for the Gospel, He stood to welcome His martyr into his eternal reward. Stephen’s graduation was Saul’s initiation who later would go on to become Paul the apostle after his conversion when he met with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. As Stephen was about to die, the words that came out of him were the same which Jesus said to forgive His killers for they didn’t know what they were doing. Let’s consider the example that Jesus, our Lord, has set before us. Let His mindset become our motivation. He existed in the form of God, yet He gave no thought to seizing equality with God as His supreme prize. Instead He emptied Himself of His outward glory by reducing Himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled Himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a Man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in His death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion! Because of that obedience, God exalted Him and multiplied His greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the Name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Amen!
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