Through Stephens example, we can learn to speak boldly for our faith, and know that our lives here on earth cannot compare with the joys well experience in heaven. [31][32][33], In 428 (when Saint Theodosius II the Younger Roman Emperor) relics of saint: Stephen, Nicodemus, Gamaliel and Abibas were translated from Jerusalem to Constantinople and relics have been placed in Saint Lawrence church, and after preparations were made relics were moved to specially prepared Saint Stephen church in Constantinople, this event took place on 2 August.[34][32][33]. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong. What Does It Mean That "Your Life Is Hidden with Christ"? 1. 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God!" Stephen Bohr: Secrets Unsealed: Happily Ever After: 2:00 AM: Last Sunday's Episode: Doug Batchelor and Jan Ross: Bible Answers LIVE- AF: RERUN Bible Answers Live: Stephen was mentioned for the first time in Act 6:5 of the Bible. This church was destroyed in the 12th century. Still others interpret them as deliberate choices making theological points. Seeing themselves beaten, they took recourse to the ignoble method of declaring him a blasphemer and a heretic, by using the same foul means that the enemies of Jesus had resorted to, by suborning false witnesses to the plot, by stirring up the people against him, by appealing to their Jewish prejudices and to the scribes and elders, members of the Sanhedrin, and thus eventually brought about his arraignment. It is not so much a plea in self-defence as a grand apology for the cause which Stephen represents. Stephens story shows us that no matter how insignificant we may think our role is, we can use it to reach others for Christ and endure the persecution that is sure to follow. [7] Stephen denounces his listeners[6] as "stiff-necked" people who, just as their ancestors had done, resist the Holy Spirit. Customs of Moses (Acts 6:14) were the institutions that distinguished the Jews and that were derived from Moses. Stephen tried to make people understand that Christianity is a completely different sect and God's new covenant. He shows how Israelites in the Old Testament failed to see past their stubbornness and turned away from God and persecuted and killed anyone who spoke Gods word (several of the prophets were martyred). Phillip was the name of two of King Herod the Great's sons by different wives ( Luke 3:1 and Matthew 14:3 ). Stephen was a man of godly character. Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. He was thus prosecuted and stoned to death. But instead, they turned against him (Acts 6:11). They responded by conspiring to lie about him in an effort to stir up the people and members of the local synagogue. As Paul later put it, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" ( 2 Tim. More than 400 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. [6] Stephen recounts the stories of the patriarchs in some depth, and goes into even more detail in the case of Moses. Stephen then told how they, being set in their stiff-necked unbelieving ways, resisted the Holy Spirits conviction just as their fathers before them had resisted the preaching of the prophets who told of Jesus coming. Once the selection was completed, the newly chosen deacons were set before the apostles who laid their hands on them and prayed over them. https://www.learnreligions.com/stephen-in-the-bible-first-christian-martyr-4074068 (accessed April 18, 2023). Find out more about her here. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush,[Acts 7:3032] and inspired Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. According to the Bible stories, Stephen was a faithful man who possessed charismatic powers. 6. Just before they drag Stephen out of the city to be stoned, he receives a vision of heaven where he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen's claim that Jesus stood by him and gave him the power to endure the hardships tells us the fact that he was a true believer in God. Zavada, Jack. It's library of books The Bible is a library of 66 books, written by 44 authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit over a period of about 1,500 years. Photo credit:Wikimedia Commons-Public Domain/Annibale Carracci. His sacrifice and sufferings taught us a very important lesson about the cost of faith. 6. Not too long after, Saul would be converted by Jesus and become the great Christian missionary and apostle Paul. Dr. Mike and his wife, Pamela Rose, live in Northeast Ohio and they have children and grandchildren that live in various states. "Stephen in the Bible Was the First Christian Martyr." R. J. Knowling, Acts in Expositors Greek Testament ., 2 (1900); Feine, PRE 3 , 19 (1907); Pahncke in Studien u. Krit . We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. This resulted in the number of new disciples in Jerusalem increasing along with a large number of priests being saved. He also had Hellenistic roots: This articlefrom Encyclopedia Britannica says he was a Hellenistic Jew (a foreign-born Jew), which would make sense why the apostles would place him in charge of the distribution of food to the Hellenistic widows. Many people who are familiar with the Bible are not familiar with Stephen who was one of the first deacons in the Bible. One of the seven men chosen by the early Church, Stephen was responsible for distributing food to the Grecian widows, who had been overlooked by the church. Any information you provide to us via this website may be placed by us on servers located in countries outside the EU if you do not agree to such placement, do not provide the information. He did not hesitate to preach his views, choosing the Hellenistic synagogues for this purpose, and soon became engaged in controversies there. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, creative tips and more. Stephen was the first Christian who was murdered for spreading the words of Christ. 3. He was not at all worried about his earthly existence and stood firm in his belief in Christ. He was extremely courageous to stand against the entire Jewish council and took this opportunity to reach out to a wider audience with his preachings. Stephen was a Jew who had lived outside of Israel. After their false testimony, the high priest asked Stephen if these things were true. It is 216 years old and the patron of this parish is St. Stephen, the first Martyr of the Church and it is situated beside Kollam Beach. Some Orthodox churches, particularly in the west, follow a modified Julian calendar that places date names identically with the standard Gregorian calendar of widespread civil usage. According to Act seven where he is seen to apologize to the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, his Hellenistic dialect also had a Hebrew note to it, which gives us the idea that he was raised out of Jerusalem and was a foreign-born Jew just like many others. He showed that time and time again when it looked like the promise of coming of the Messiah would be prevented, God intervened. He was the first Christian martyr. Dr. Mike has worked in the information technology field for many years and he uses his talents and experience in the ministry for the glory of the Lord. According to the Golden Legend, the relics of Lawrence moved miraculously to one side to make room for those of Stephen.[21]. As an Amazon Associate, Kidadl earns from qualifying purchases. Many early Christians were martyred in the time after Christ. This language is important. Stephen relied upon the Holy Spirit to give him the Words to say, the strength to persevere under persecution, and the heart to forgive those who were responsible for his death. 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. Not to impiety or frivolity in Stephen, but to some other cause, must be due therefore the difference between him and his opponents. [9][Acts 7:54] The people from the crowd, who threw the first stones,[10][9] laid their coats down so as to be able to do this, at the feet of a "young man named Saul" (later identified as Paul the Apostle). The council members refused to listen to him, and even then, he kept his calm and said with a smiling face that he could see heaven open for the man standing on the right hand of God. Trilingual Rajnandini has also published work in a supplement for 'The Telegraph', and had her poetry shortlisted in Poems4Peace, an international project. The courteous and at once endearing terms in Stephens address (Acts 7:2) to the council, and the terms our fathers and our race inActs 7:2,Acts 7:19by which he closely associates himself with his hearers, his declaration of the divine majesty of Yahweh with which the speech opens (Acts 7:2), of the providential leading of the patriarchs (Acts 7:8,Acts 7:10), his recognition of the Old Testament institutions as divinely decreed (Acts 7:8), his reference to the divine sanction of the Law and its condemnation of those who had not kept it (Acts 7:53), at the close of his speech, show clearly his reverence, not only for the past history of the Jewish race, but as well for its Sacred Writings and all of its religious institutions. He relied on the Holy Spirit who showed him the right path. Here is something else you might like to read: 10 Famous Christian Martyrs, Resources Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version, Tagged as: As his name and his relations in the church at Jerusalem seem to imply (Acts 6:3ff), he was a Hellenist, i.e. Members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen argued with Stephen. (1912), I. Father: Zebedee Mother: Salome Brother: John Hometown: He lived in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. If you liked our suggestions for facts about Stephen in the Bible then why not take a look at facts about Gideon in the Bible, or Abraham facts. It has been partially translated into 2,883 languages. The word "bible" is from the Greek ta biblia, which means "the scrolls" or "the books." The word is derived from the ancient city of Byblos, which was the official supplier of paper products to the ancient world. Stephen had both a Hellenistic and Jewish background. Bible Characters. In a similar fashion to Socrates on trial, Stephen gives a point-by-point rendering of the Old Testament and how it related to Jesus work through his death and resurrection. In 415, a priest named Lucian purportedly had a dream that revealed the location of Stephen's remains at Beit Jimal. Stephen was a Greek-speaking Jew, called a Hellenist, and had ample knowledge about the Scriptures. Saint Stephen is also commemorated on 4 January (Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles) in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Christian Beliefs - Stephen Eyre 2001-01-25 In this twelve-session LifeGuide Bible Study, Stephen Eyre introduces what you need to know about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, human nature, sin, salvation, holiness, the church, mission, revelation and the last things. Outside work, her interests include music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading. Stephen in the Bible Known for: Stephen was a Hellenist Jew and one of seven men ordained as deacons in the early church. He is a Christ-centered counselor and in addition to counseling, he teaches how to overcome life issues Biblically on topics such as anger management, marriage, addictions, and other subjects typically referred to as mental illnesses. ", "LXXXVIII. He came out of nowhere but was, however, an extremely righteous man. The 39 books of the Old Testament were composed between 1400 and 400 B.C., the 27 books of the New Testament between AD 50 and AD 100. Stephen is often shown as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments. ( Mark 16:19) The men shouted out and plugged their ears! Stephen in the Bible Was the First Christian Martyr. When Stephen performs great signs and wonders, he draws opposition from a group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen. And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:60; compare1 Cor 15). Stephen saw that Christianity was not simply a remodelled Judaism. 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