Acts 6:8 ¶ And Stephen,
full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the
synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and
Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with
Stephen. 10 And they were not able to
resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. 11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have
heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
12 And they stirred up the people, and
the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and
brought him to the council, 13
And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak
blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: 14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of
Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses
delivered us. 15 And all that sat in the
council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an
angel.
Stephen is going to
stand out as the first Christian martyr after Christ. He was an exemplary
person of great faith whom God had imbued with significant power to perform
miracles.
According to Strong the
Libertines were Jews who had been enslaved but were set free and formed their
own synagogue. Cyrene was in what is today northern Libya. Simon, a Cyrene, was
forced to carry Jesus’ cross part of the way for Him.
Matthew 27:32 And as they
came out, they found a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
He was the father of
two who may have become notable Christians.
Mark 15:21 And they compel
one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of
Alexander and Rufus, to bear his
cross.
Alexandria was a city
in Egypt that will become known for its Christians and their allegorical method
of Bible interpretation while Antioch, where Christians were first called by
that name, was known for the literal.
Cilicia was in southern
Asia Minor, the territory of the Roman province of Asia, which today is the
modern country of Turkey.
These Jews debated with
Stephen and their lack of success in their arguments prompted them to turn him
in to the council, accusing him of blasphemy. Notice how this tactic was used
against Jesus.
Matthew 26:60 But found
none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the
temple of God, and to build it in three days.
Christians in the pagan
Roman Empire, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state
religion in the early fourth century AD, were accused of wishing for the end of
Rome and praying for the destruction of the world at that time.
The Holy Ghost has
given Stephen calmness and reserve in the face of his accusers.
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