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Anyone who has watched “American Idol” will know the oft-spouted phrase by one of the show judges: “Keeping it real.” Well, Stephen, one of the Seven in the early Jerusalem Church, kept it real. So real his hearers were furious with him for exposing their lie and stoned him. Though Stephen is mentioned in only seven verses in the book of Acts, his message to the Jews – exhortation – was accorded one whole chapter (Acts 7). Reading this chapter takes only 10 minutes. But his final oratory would lead to his martyrdom and Saul’s salvation.
The early church was growing. After Apostle Peter’s preaching, 3,000 persons were saved in a day. Jesus’ 12 disciples picked 7 men “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3) “to wait on tables”, so the Twelve could focus on ministering the Word and prayer. Just as the church grew, so did its opposition. There were Hellenist Jews, some who were “Freedmen Jews” (Acts 6:9) who kept their Jewish traditions at a cost. “Active sticklers for Judaism” (Matthew Henry), they refuted Stephen’s teaching that Jesus shall supersede Moses (Acts 6:14). These men stirred up the people against Stephen on the charge of blasphemy.
Some Apostles had been locked up and beaten (Acts 4, 5) for preaching the Saviour Jesus who gives Israel forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31). When Stephen told the Jews not to be stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart but to believe in the Righteous One whom they murdered (Acts 7:51, 52), they were furious. They mobbed him, dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.
Exhortation (Rom. 12:8) could mean to instruct, admonish or reconcile. Whatever the purpose, an exhortation is a stirring message. It moves people to act. Stephen’s gift of exhortation was: 1) He was steeped in the Word of God, enough to know details like the sons of Hamor, whom Abraham bought his burial plot from (Acts 7:16). 2) He was unflinching in the face of opposition. While the Jews accused him, he had the face of an angel. When they mobbed him, he looked up to heaven and saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand. When they stoned him, he cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 6:15; 7:54-60). We cannot exhort out of a dry well. Exhortation can be kept real only when we drink deeply of the Bible – the Word of God.
