Learning from St. Stephen, Deacon & Protomartyr

In the name of God the Father, Christ Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God. Amen

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus

The Indian Orthodox Church commemorates the feast of Theophany or the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ on January 6th. During this feast we commemorate the revelation of the Trinity through the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ by the forerunner John the Baptist. The feast is called Theophany because at the baptism of Christ the Holy Trinity appeared clearly to mankind for the first time—the Father’s voice is heard from Heaven, the Son of God is incarnate and standing physically in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove. The feast of Theophany is the culmination of the Season of Nativity, which starts on December 25 and ends on January 6 and it also signifies the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry.

But it is very astounding to look at the liturgical calendar of the Church and find the next two days – January 7 and January 8, dedicated to commemorating the ‘Beheading of John the Baptist’ and ‘Stoning and death of St. Stephen, the first Deacon and hence becoming the first martyr for the Christian faith’ consecutively. While we are basking in the afterglow of the Christmas celebrations with family, friends and food and while we recount our gifts and are guilty of the few inches of waistline the Church has entirely changed it’s celebratory tone by proclaiming the brutal deaths of St. John the Baptist and St. Stephen. Have we ever thought why do we remember these two deaths at such a moment? Why can’t we continue our celebrations a tad bit longer?

While we may complain, but after reflecting on the beauty of the understanding that our Church Fathers had while deciding on the lectionary calendar of the Church, we might recognize it as pretty smart. The Church, as a spiritual mother, always looks out for her children. She knows that the Christian life is not a life of enjoyment and merriment, but it is a life of hardship and struggle. A Christian is not meant to enjoy in his/her gifts but always strive to walk closer to Christ and be a disciple worthy of being called a Christian. In such a scenario, the life of these two martyrs are a shining example of the ideal Christian life.

In this blog, let us take a journey through the Scriptures and look at the life of St. Stephen who was first of the Deacons and the first martyr of the Christian faith. In the way he lived and died, Stephen catapulted the early Christian church from its local Jerusalem roots to a cause that spread across the entire world. The little that we know about the life of St. Stephen is from the book of The Acts of the Apostles, where he is mentioned for the first time in Chapter 6.

Life of Stephen

Stephen is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food and charitable aid to poorer members of the community in the early church. According to Orthodox belief, he was the eldest and is therefore called “archdeacon”. In the days of the early church, there was dissatisfaction among the Hellenistic Jews (that is, Greek-influenced and Greek-speaking) that their widows and orphans were being slighted in preference to Hebraic ones in the daily distribution of food. To meet the needs of the people, it was decided that the Apostles would bless select members of the Church who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom who would help them in regards to administration activities while the Apostles concentrated on prayer and ministry of the Word and for this endeavour seven men were selected and ordained as Deacon – Stephen being one among them.

Although he was just one of seven men chosen to make sure food was fairly distributed to the Grecian widows, Stephen soon began to stand out:

Exactly what those wonders and miracles were, we are not told, but Stephen was empowered to do them by the Holy Spirit. He was a Hellenistic Jew who spoke and preached in Greek, one of the common languages in Israel in that day.

Members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen argued with Stephen. Scholars think these men were freed slaves from various parts of the Roman empire. As devout Jews, they would have been horrified at Stephen’s claim that Jesus Christ was the much-awaited Messiah. That idea threatened long-held beliefs. It meant Christianity was not just another Jewish sect but something entirely different: a New Covenant from God, replacing the Old.

This revolutionary message got Stephen hauled before the Sanhedrin, the same Jewish council that had condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy. When Stephen preached an impassioned defence of Christianity, a mob dragged him outside the city and stoned him.

Stephen had a vision of Jesus and said he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. That was the only time in the New Testament anyone other than Jesus himself called him the Son of Man. Before he died, Stephen said two things very similar to Jesus’ last words from the cross:

As we look at the life of Stephen in the backdrop of the Nativity and Theophany of our Lord, there are some lessons that we can take up in our life. Let us look upon some of the lessons we can inculcate

Committed to a life of service

A true Christian life is exemplified through a life of humility and willingness to serve others, especially those who are much in need without being able to repay the kindness back to you. Our Lord taught this lesson through His own life by washing the feet of His disciples. In the same manner, Stephen was willing to give a committed life of service to others by taking care of the widows and orphans of his city. Stephen understood that there was a need for people to serve those in need because the Apostles were not able to do it and he was willing to do it in their stead. He not only understood the need for such people, but he was also willing to do the serving.

In our current situation, many of our churches have been closed for quite a few months on account of the Government regulations pertaining to the Covid pandemic. But how many of us during these past few months have really thought about the people on the streets who are living in the bitter cold nights without food and clothing? Many would have given a cursory glance towards them while we per chance passed by them during our routine walks or while shopping but few would have had the compassion to truly help them in their need. As our Churches have closed, we have lost touch with many of our members and do not know how they have fared these past few months. On account of keeping ourselves safe, we have isolated ourselves many a times from the sufferings of the people around us.

The life of St Stephen should be an example to us to make room in our life to do things we aren’t necessarily thrilled to do, so we might maintain the role and attitude of “servant.” A Christian life is a life in ministry to Christ and we should approach every service opportunity in the same manner as Stephen: “It is not about me, it is about Christ Who serves through me and the body of Christ whom I serve.”

Called to be witnesses of our faith

The requirement that the Apostles looked for when selecting members as their helpers were that should be of good reputation, specifically, of being full of the Holy Spirit. This did not refer to an ecstatic experience, but to a daily walk under the control of the Holy Spirit that had continued for a long enough time to produce the evident fruit of the Spirit in their life. This quality is implied of Stephen in 6:10, where it states that his opponents could not cope with the wisdom and Spirit with which he was speaking. 

As Jesus had told His disciples, when they would be delivered up before synagogues and rulers, the Holy Spirit would teach them in that very hour what they needed to say (Luke 12:12). Thus Stephen’s wisdom and spirit in arguing with these Hellenistic Jews came from his being full of the Holy Spirit. That Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit in his defence before the Sanhedrin is specifically stated in 7:55. Stephen was able to hold his ground and defend his faith in Christ through the wisdom that came from the Holy Spirit.

In our current days, many among us face questions regarding our faith, through both verbal and non-verbal means. The world around us always throws us questions on our belief and understandings when they know that we are Christians and we are always called to defend our faith. It is sad, but not many among us are able to be true witnesses to Christ. Being a witness to Christ comes through progressive maturity through the fullness of the Holy Spirit. A new believer may be as yielded to the Holy Spirit as he knows how to be, but he will not demonstrate the fullness of the Spirit in the same manner as a man who has walked with God for many years.

The main thing is to walk daily in submission to and dependence on the Spirit of God. As we do that, He grows His fruit in our hearts and lives. He will give us the power to bear witness of Christ to those who are lost. Our godly character, as seen in the fruit of the Spirit, will back up our verbal witness. A person who claims to be a Christian, but whose character is ungodly, should keep quiet about being a Christian, because the enemy will use his inconsistent life to mock the name of Christ.

Leave the results to God

Stephen during his ministry was able to perform “great wonders and signs.” He also had superior logic and wisdom while debating with the men. But we can see these debates and miracles was not able to break through the hardness of their hearts. They were blind to the contradictions in their own logic and behaviour. They accused Stephen of speaking against the Law, and yet in violation of the ninth commandment, they used false witnesses to slander him! They were not willing to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. In their anger, the Sanhedrin and the members of the court dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

We might wonder how short the ministerial life of Stephen was. Even though he was filled with the Holy Spirit and had abundance of wisdom, he was still stoned to death by the angry mob of the city who were unwilling to soften their hearts and let his words reach their hearts. We might wonder at our own circumstances when we try to convince people of the truth of the gospel. We need to understand that logic, wisdom and even miracles are not enough to convert a sinner. Only God’s mighty power can do that, as He later proved with through the life and work of a bystander, Saul who later became Paul.

God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform! Through Stephen’s death, Paul got saved. But first the church was scattered through persecution, resulting in a more widespread witness. Whether the godly die young by violent deaths, and the wicked live long and prosper, is God’s sovereign business. Our business is to be faithful to His Great Commission and leave the results to Him.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, as we look at our lives contemplating on ways to live a life of ministry, let us live a life filled with the Holy Spirit and grace that comes with the continual indwelling of the Spirit. Let our lives be a courageous mission to win souls for His Kingdom through being courageous witnesses in all walks of our life, no matter how big or small. And in the end , live all the results upto God for Him to work wonders in the lives of people around us whom we might knowingly or unknowingly touch.

May the life of St. Stephen be a source of constant encouragement to live for Christ and may his intercessions be a stronghold for us.

Your brother in Christ Jesus

Jobin George