Acts 7:60 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

NIV: Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

NASB: Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them!' Having said this, he fell asleep.

CSB: He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And after saying this, he died.

NLT: He fell to his knees, shouting, 'Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!' And with that, he died.

KJV: And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

NKJV: Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

As Stephen is stoned, he paraphrases Jesus' words from the cross (Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). As Jesus hanged on the cross, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). As Stephen dies, he echoes the sentiment. It's not exactly clear what effect this has on God's interaction with Stephen's murderers. It doesn't mean they are saved, because salvation only comes through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8–9). But Stephen, at least, dies with no feeling of ill will.

In the New Testament, to "fall asleep" is a euphemism for dying (Matthew 9:24; Acts 13:36; 2 Peter 3:4). It reflects the fact that for the believer, death is not permanent. We will rise again, receive new bodies, and live for eternity with God (1 Corinthians 15:1–58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

Stephen's death is a tragedy and a crime, and what happens next is more so. Saul, the young man watching the mob's coats (Acts 7:58) will do everything in his power to destroy the church (Acts 8:3; 9:1–2). He will arrest believers, try to get them to blaspheme, and vote for their executions (Acts 26:10–11). But God works good out of Saul's sadism. As the Christians flee Jerusalem, they take the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Philip goes north to Samaria where the first group of non-Jews accept Christ (Acts 8:4–8), then south where an Ethiopian court official is saved (Acts 8:26–40). Some of the believers in Jerusalem are from Cyprus and Cyrene. These second-generation Jesus-followers take the gospel to Antioch, near modern-day Antakya, Turkey, where Barnabas will find a thriving church (Acts 11:19–24).

After Saul meets Jesus and repents from his sins against the church and Christ, he will meet Barnabas in Antioch where they will make their headquarters (Acts 11:25–26). And it is in Antioch where Jesus-followers are first called Christians (Acts 11:26).

Stephen's death is an illustration of a cryptic comment Paul will make several years later. He will write to the church in Colossae, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Colossians 1:24). Obviously, there is nothing we can do or experience that will add to Jesus' sacrifice, and His sacrifice is fully sufficient for our salvation. Paul was saying that suffering is necessary to spread the gospel (Colossians 1:25–29). May we remember this as we suffer, whether with slight ridicule or by martyrdom. Jesus told the disciples that the world hates Him and will hate His followers (John 15:18–25). But God will redeem the hate we experience and use it for something good (Romans 8:28–30).

Acts 7:54–60 finishes the story of the Jesus-follower Stephen. He has been falsely accused of blasphemy against God, Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). He has used the history of the Jews to show how over the years the Jews have come to worship Moses, the Law, and the temple like idols (Acts 7:1–53). His accusers are furious, but when Stephen claims to see Jesus standing next to God, the crowd goes mad, and Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr. His death sparks a great persecution against the church, but as the Jesus-followers flee Jerusalem, they take the gospel to the world (Acts 1:8).

Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.

Chapter 7 is one of the pivot points of the book of Acts. Until recently, the early church has seen favor from the people and indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin has beaten the apostles and ordered them not to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the people are starting to realize how different Christianity is. In Jerusalem, a Hellenist Jewish Jesus-follower named Stephen has been in a debate with other foreign Jews who finally accuse him of wishing to destroy the temple, like Jesus (Acts 6:8–15). This is Stephen's defense, which leads to his death and the introduction of Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.