The Victory of Christ By: Daniel Guzmán
Witnesses of the Risen King (Acts 7)
One of the most compelling stories is that of a victory gained after what appeared to be a certain defeat. A triumph is always more glorious when it's achieved against a backdrop of utter disaster. When darkness seems to overcome and there’s just a small flicker of light left, we all close our eyes hoping for that light to shine forth in such a way that there’s no more darkness at all. This glorious triumph was true of Jesus’ victory as well. He came to darkness as light and the darkness tried to beat Him, but it could not overcome Him (John 1:5). His victory on the cross seemed like a great defeat. He died the death of a criminal, shamed and mocked by the people whom he came to save, yet He is the victorious King who conquered His enemies forever. How can we see that wonderful and glorious victory?
Through His resurrection and exaltation/coronation at the Father’s right hand. He is the Risen King, His victory secured, and now the restoration of the Kingdom is at hand. How will this Kingdom be restored? Through living witnesses of the victory of Jesus in the resurrection. That won’t come without opposition though, this world is the kingdom of darkness, and they hate the light (John 3:20), persecution will come (John 15:20). What in the beginning seemed like a great victory for the Gospel, now seems to be defeat, they are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. How then can the people of the Victorious Christ share in that victory in the kingdom of darkness that hates the light that they represent? That’s what Acts 7 is all about.
Acts 7- The Growing Church is Threatened
Throughout the book of Acts, we see the Church flourishing and growing by the grace of God. Every day we see the church in Jerusalem grow as more and more people come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 2:47). That, of course, impacted the people in Jerusalem. We now have thousands of people following this new movement, something that caught the eye of the Jewish authorities. The Jewish authorities by now, (Acts 7) had warned Peter and John twice, whipping and threatening them not to preach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18; 5:40-52). Nevertheless, the Gospel of the Risen Christ continued to be preached and more people came to the faith, even some of the priests! (Acts 6:7).
Accompanying that growth also came some misunderstandings. To resolve an issue regarding the distribution of food to widows, the Apostles and the church in Jerusalem ordained deacons to take care of the issue at hand- The deacons’ task was to make sure that there was even distribution to both Jewish and Hellenist widows. (Acts 6:1-7).
One of those Deacons was named Stephen, and same as the Apostles, he was a witness to the victory of God and the restoration of the Kingdom by the Risen King Jesus. We can see this because Stephen has the same Spirit, performs the same signs and wonders, and most importantly, proclaims the same good news: Scripture has been fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. He preaches boldly and wisely, so much so, that they couldn’t refute his teaching, which came from the Spirit (Acts 6:10). As the Jewish religious and judicial leaders repeated with Stephen what they did with Jesus (Matthew 26:57-68, cf. Mark 14:53-56), they come to their evil ways. With their hardened hearts, they set up false witnesses against Stephen, taking him to trial in the court of true versus false witnesses. (Acts 6:11-13a).
It is important to remember that the word for witness in the original Greek (i.e., martyr) has a legal connotation, not simply of someone giving his personal opinion and sharing his personal beliefs and experiences, but of a legal representative in a trial that can testify that the events or sins the defendant is being accused of are true. It is important to note that no final verdict could be given unless there were two or three witnesses (see Deuteronomy 17:6-7).
Now Stephen is under trial and must fulfill his role of a witness of the Risen Christ against the same court, the same people that Jesus stood in front of to be judged as Christ. And it is not only a trial in the same court that Jesus and Stephen share in this moment, Luke will also show us many parallels between Jesus and Stephen’s trials. Two innocent men stand against a corrupt court of false witnesses and are vindicated as true witnesses, faithful witnesses of God and His Kingdom in Christ. We will now look at how that takes place throughout Acts 7.
Stephen’sTrial Is Similar to Jesus’ Trial
It is under these circumstances that the trial begins. The prosecution consists of false witnesses who accused Stephen of blasphemy against Moses and God (Acts 6:11), and of “never ceasing to speak words against this holy place (the temple) and the law” (Acts 6:13b). All these charges are based on Stephen’s teaching of Jesus as the fulfillment of Scripture (Acts 6:14). The parallel with Jesus’ secret trial is evident: both are accused with false witnesses, and both are proven innocent without even speaking: Stephen has the face of an angel and Jesus utters no word during His bogus trial (compare Acts 6:15 with Mark 14:61a, cf. Matthew 26:63a). This proves their innocence because they are in the presence of a corrupt court and false witnesses, so their innocence is proved in silence, their defense against false accusations and an evil court that has already predetermined their sentence is for their false witnesses to speak, contradict each other and show their true intentions.
We now come to the verdict of the trial, and Stephen has been declared innocent. We can continue to see another parallel with Jesus’ trial as well, we see the high priest asking the question that will turn the tables. In the case of Jesus, the high priest asks if He’s the Christ (the Son of the Living God). In the case of Stephen, the question is very simple “Are these things so?” (Acts 7:1). Now it is the opportunity for Jesus and Stephen to present their defence, Jesus replies simply “you have said so”, Stephen’s defence is a lot more elaborate, but the parallel still stands. A corrupt court of false witnesses (that have already determined to execute them) after being unable to present a case with their witnesses, needs for them to say something they can accuse them of just to inflict the death penalty that they have already set their hearts on. What they didn’t realize in the trial of Jesus, and what they didn’t realize in the trial of Stephen is that the tables have turned. In the case of Jesus, He shows them how Daniel 7 will be fulfilled in His victory on the cross, they will see the Son of Man at the right hand of majesty, the corrupt high priest and judge is now in front of the Righteous Judge of the whole world. In the case of Stephen, the false witnesses that couldn’t reply to his wisdom and Spirit will now be on trial by this Christ’s Spirit-filled witness.
False Witnesses
Now Stephen’s trial of the false witnesses starts with an opening statement based on Scripture (in contrast with the general and vague statements made by the false witnesses). We see the beginning of the promises of God for His people in Abraham through a covenant (a binding agreement between two parties with blessings for obedience and curses for rebellion), even though they weren’t accomplished during his lifetime (Acts 7:2-8). These covenant promises continue, in the providence of God to His people even when the patriarchs acted out of hate for their brother, God used Joseph to preserve them in the end (Acts 7:9-16). We also see God’s providence in the life of Moses. Who God saved from the hand of Pharaoh, put him in his own house, and gave him the best education (Acts 7:17-22), yet he was faithful to the people of God even killing an Egyptian to save one of his brothers, they didn’t want a savior though, and rejected Moses as ruler and judge over them (Acts 7:23-29).
It is based on this historical and covenantal background that the direct examination of the evidence by Stephen stands: The people of God have constantly apostatized and rebelled against Him even though He has loved them; as a faithful Husband, He loved them with covenant love, being faithful always, however, as an unfaithful wife, God’s people have gone to other gods over and over. God proved faithful for a thousand generations; the people had proved faithless from the beginning. He gave them Moses as ruler and redeemer through wonders and signs and freed them from slavery in Egypt (Acts 7:35-36, 37). Yet, they did not obey him and in their hearts turned to Egypt, worshipping the True God against His instruction (Acts 7:39-41), so God delivered them to their hardened hearts (Acts 7:42a) and promised exile for their disobedience and idolatry (Acts 7:42b-43). He also gave them the tabernacle and the temple (Acts 7:44-47), and in their hardened hearts they forgot that God is not limited to a structure built by human hands, and the place to render worship to God became God itself, the temple became the center of their worship and they abandoned the God who gave them the temple, they exchanged the Creator for the created things (Acts 7:49-60, cf. Romans 1:23).
In the middle of their apostasy and rebellion, one thing remains true, all God’s promises are true, and they will be fulfilled. God promised to send a prophet like Moses (Acts 7:37) to be the true and final redeemer of His people. He sent prophets announcing the coming of the Righteous One (Acts 7:53b), He didn’t abandon His promises, His people, or His covenant. Now the Righteous One has come and has fulfilled all God’s promises, achieved the final redemption, and brought the end times. However, the Jewish leaders, like their fathers before them have proven to be apostates. and rebelled against God as well. They have chosen to kill the Son to become the sole owners of the Kingdom (Luke 20:9-19, cf. Matthew 21:33-41, Mark 12:1-12). They killed the prophets and now they killed the Christ, because their hearts and ears are uncircumcised, although they proclaim to be servants of God, they are His enemies. They proclaim to be the seed of the woman, but they are the seed of the serpent. They accuse Stephen of going against the Law, even though they have the Law and do not keep it. They prefer man-made commandments to God’s Law (Acts 7:51, 52a, 52c-53).
The final parallel between Stephen’s and Jesus’ trials
Victory
We can see how different victory looks for God in both instances, compared to how we as humans define victory. For us, victory is evident and powerful, like a powerful warrior conquering his enemies or a group of superheroes defeating the forces of evil in a way everyone can see. The victory of God, on the other hand, is sacrificial, it is through giving His beloved Son so that He could save His people from their rebellion. His victory is not through the sword but through the cross.
We see this in Jesus: the victorious Lion of Judah delivered like a lamb to be slaughtered, His victory is not through sword and the shedding of blood or through using His power in a violent way to defeat His enemies; instead, He is humble and is delivered to die, and in that way accomplishes the final and true victory: redemption. It is through His suffering that He is exalted and seated and the right hand of God, He is the Sovereign of all kings of the earth. The same is true for Stephen, who although being the true witness by denouncing the rebellion of God’s people, is executed. How can that be victory? He just died! That’s not victory, that’s defeat! Yet, he is declared a true witness of the Risen King, by God and the King himself, that’s His vision. He is a witness that all covenant promises of God have been fulfilled in Jesus, His Anointed One. He is a witness that the false accusations of the Jewish leaders cannot be held against Him, that the resurrection did happen, that He has ascended and has fulfilled Daniel 7, that He is on the throne, and He is ruling through His people. That is not defeat, that is victory! “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Stephen and all of us can be considered blessed if we are persecuted for the sake of His Name.
Relating Stephen’s Trial to Our Life
Now, we live in a society that, like the Jewish leaders, has abandoned God. Our society worships all sorts of idols, as we live in the middle of fallen and rebellious people, we have the same mission of Stephen and the Apostles: to be witnesses, true witnesses of the Risen King. We can denounce the apostate church that has abandoned the true Gospel for works-based salvation, celebrating sexual immorality, a Gospel of social reformation, the prosperity Gospel, the Gospel of death which murders the unborn, abandons the widow and the orphan, and so on. And, like Stephen, we can rest assured, that even if it costs us our lives, Jesus is seated on the throne, He has accomplished His new creative work and is restoring everything. We don’t have to overtake the government and judge everyone in their rebellion by God’s Law. We can unmask their evil, and therefore, be witnesses to them before God so that they don’t have any excuse on the final day.
We are called to be His true witnesses; the King has risen! Let the whole earth listen to those Good News, for their salvation or their judgment. God’s victory is accomplished through the proclamation of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Messiah. Even if the government or authorities are against us, we can be true witnesses, and, as with the death of Stephen, we will see God triumph through the salvation of many. The murder of Stephen brought the Gospel to Samaria and the ends of the earth, of that reality we are living witnesses. He is putting all His enemies under His feet, not through war, nor legislation, but through the Gospel of the Risen King!
“For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19, emphasis added) This is the Victory of God in Christ: It is done! Let us worship our great God: He is alive, He is Risen indeed, praise Him for the mercy tree. Death has died, and God has won. Jesus Christ has triumphed; He has risen from the dead. Hallelujah!
Let us not despair, nobody can be victorious over Jesus our King, not even death.
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