Stephen was one of the seven men tasked to care for the Gentile widows. His ministry, however, provoked antagonism. A sect of jealous enemies falsely accused him of blasphemy. They marched him to the council of the Sanhedrin and demanded that he defend himself…and did he ever!

He caused a stir before he even opened his mouth. “Everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s” (Acts 6:15 NLT).  Did heaven bathe him in a tunnel of brightness? I don’t know how to imagine the scene. But I know how to interpret it. That was God speaking.

The sermon emerges, not from Stephen’s mind, but from God’s heart.  It was not a lightweight message.  Fifty-two verses led the listeners from Abraham to Jesus.  Two thousand years of Hebrew history resulted in one indictment– “You’re forgetting who holds you.”