ARREST OF STEPHEN by J. O. Corliss

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 12, 1902

ARREST OF STEPHEN.

By J. O. Corliss

The noble stand taken by the apostles when persecuted by the Jewish commonwealth, resulted in many disciples being added to the church. In doing their work the apostles had given more attention to presenting Christ as the promised Messiah, than to the perfecting of any organization looking to the care of temporal matters. The distribution of funds for the support of dependent widows was, therefore, soon made a public question, because the Grecian believers complained that, under existing conditions, their widows did not receive the due amount of care in comparison with that bestowed on the Hebrew portion of the church.

Seeing the necessity for something to be done by which the difficulty might be adjusted, the apostles called a mass meeting of all near-by believers, and briefly set the situation before them. They said that inasmuch as it was not reasonable for them to leave the preaching of the Word, in order to serve in temporal affairs, they recommended that seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost, be sought out, and appointed over that necessary work. Acts 6:1-3.

While the work of these men was to be somewhat different from that of the apostles, yet one great requisite was necessary for both classes,—the possession of the Holy Ghost in its fulness. From this it is clearly seen that to minister properly in the temporalities of the church, one must have the same qualifications as he whose labors are wholly confined to teaching the Word of God. Another lesson for the church in all ages is, that the prosperity of the church depends upon the various branches of its work being under the supervision of men of decided ability to do the work in the various departments to which they are assigned. But to have the best success, even these natural gifts must be strengthened by the operation of the Holy Spirit.

The seven upon whom the choice of the church rested to fill the deacon’s office, were duly set apart to their work by the apostles, through prayer and the laying on of hands. This done, the apostles proceeded to their special work, and soon saw the number of the disciples greatly multiplied by the enlargement of the Word through them. But this was not wholly due to the efforts of the apostles. Prominent among the seven deacons was one named Stephen, who, being full of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, performed great and wondrous miracles among the people. His witnessing for Christ was so convincing that many, even of the priests, were won over to the side of truth. Verses 5-8.

This last was more than the formal leaders could well endure. They saw the very foundation of their structure crumbling, and that some extreme measure had become necessary to divert the flow of thought into some other channel. So certain leaders of the various synagogues united to confuse Stephen by opening upon him a fusillade of questions and contradictions. But this course did not have the desired effect upon the people. The wisdom with which the intrepid reformer met the storm turned the victory against his opposers.

Seeing their failure in these tactics, others were resorted to, better calculated to close the mouth of the man whom they already cordially hated. But a short time before, Christ had been convicted before the Jewish tribunal through the testimony of false witnesses. What had before been successful was worthy of another trial. So they had men called who were easily induced to swear that they had heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. The infuriated leaders well knew that could such a charge be made to appear correct, the whole populace would be quickly turned against the man to whom they had so gladly listened.

True to the calculations of those basely interested, the people were stirred to indignant prejudice against Stephen. This was the desired opportunity to be seized by the elders and scribes, who, with the people, rushed upon the fervent herald of truth. No chance of escape appearing, he was caught, and brought before the Sanhedrin, the highest council of the Jewish nation.

In an ordinary case such a position would have been no cause of alarm to an innocent man; for the body before whom the reformer was cited, was intended to be organized on a plan to ensure even more than justice. It was supposed to be a court of mercy, and it is said that to secure this the Jewish law permitted no one to become a member of that court who was not first a husband and father, that he might give his voice in behalf of those brought before him as tho they were his own children. But in the days under consideration, and especially under existing circumstances, this feature was no longer regarded.

To make sure of convicting their man on this occasion, they would not trust the testimony of truthful men. In this case their victim might elude their grasp, and so they would fail to curb the press of people toward the faith of Jesus. But Stephen was not deserted of God, even tho in the hands of murderous enemies. As the false witnesses whom they hired to testify against him were saying that they had heard him teach that Jesus would destroy the temple, and the customs Moses had delivered to them, God’s glory shone full in the face of the persecuted one, revealing to all in the council that he was a child of the Most High.

One would think that such a sight would have deterred the council from going further in the persecution they had begun. But like others before and since, their pride of opinion would not let them retrace their steps. Through their own bigoted folly they had taken matters into their own hands, and entirely divorced themselves from God’s grace, so that the needed power for repentance was absent. In the same way now, many become fatally entangled in Satan’s snares, and will only awake to a sense of their mistake when overtaken by the judgment of the great day.

It may be thought that the hardness of heart manifested by the persecutors of Stephen was an extreme case, and one not easily duplicated in the present age. But this is a mistake. The history of the church ever since that day, is but a repetition of the circumstances which made that man of God a martyr. And altho the scenes of the Dark Ages appear dim in the lapse of time, yet the same spirit of bigotry exists to-day in the hearts of some, and is only prevented from manifesting itself in deeds of violence because of the vestige of Protestantism still left in the land. Let this fade out entirely, as it now bids fair to do, and the last protection for private views of religious faith will be swept away. It is well for all to beware of any movement looking to the church gaining control of civil statutes, lest when it does, it makes its faith a part of the common law, and then holds all amenable to it. It was this condition alone that made persecution possible in the days of Christ and the apostles, and has done the same in every age since.

J. O. Corliss.