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 Cyrenian, 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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