Day 32: Acts 7-9, Stephen, Philip, and Saul
So, the rest of Stephen's story. He preaches a rousing sermon, and gives a summary of salvation history, starting with Abraham and ending with Jesus. And he calls them stubborn and unrepentant, totally disobeying the Holy Spirit. This makes (as you might imagine) the religious leaders even angrier. So they stone him. And Stephen sees the heavens open up, and he sees the angels and the Son of man, and he says to those who are stoning him, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing". Who does this sound like to you? At the very end of this chapter, you might have noticed a brief appearance by someone who will end up playing a major part in both the book of Acts and in the growing church (we will read many letters by him). A young Pharisee named Saul is zealous for his faith, holding the coats of those who are stoning Stephen. And he has other plans for the follows of Jesus.... But, we move on for a moment, to hear about some exploit...