First Christian Martyr, Deacon, Preacher
c. 34 AD · New Testament
The first Christian martyr — one of the seven original deacons of the church, stoned to death for preaching Christ as the prophesied Messiah.
Stephen appears in Acts 6-7 as one of seven men chosen to serve the early Jerusalem church. The apostles asked the church to select seven men 'of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom' (Acts 6:3) to handle the daily distribution of food to widows. Stephen is described as 'a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost' (Acts 6:5). He did not limit his ministry to serving tables. Acts 6:8 — 'Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.' Opposition arose from certain Jewish synagogues. False witnesses accused him of speaking against the temple and the Mosaic Law. Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin. His face, Acts records, 'was as it had been the face of an angel' (Acts 6:15). Stephen delivered the longest sermon in Acts (Acts 7) — a sweeping review of Israel's history showing how Israel had rejected its prophets and now crucified the prophesied Messiah. He concluded: 'Ye stiffnecked... ye do always resist the Holy Ghost' (Acts 7:51). The Sanhedrin was enraged. Stephen, looking up, saw 'the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God' (Acts 7:56) — the only NT image of Christ standing at God's right hand. They rushed at him, dragged him outside the city, and stoned him. His final words echoed Christ's own: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit' (Acts 7:59) and 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge' (Acts 7:60). A young Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus watched, holding the coats of those who threw the stones (Acts 7:58). Saul would later become Paul the Apostle.
Full of faith and the Holy Spirit
Ministry beyond food distribution
Face like an angel before the Sanhedrin
Sweeping review of Israel's rejection of prophets
Only NT image of Christ standing at God's right hand
Forgave his executioners; Saul watched
Stephen is the first Christian martyr — the model for thousands who would follow. His death established a pattern: faithful preaching, refusal to recant, forgiveness of executioners. His vision of Christ 'standing' at God's right hand has been read as Christ rising to welcome the first martyr. The young Saul who watched would later be converted on the Damascus road and become Paul — leading some to see Stephen's prayer for his executioners as having been answered in Paul's conversion. As Tertullian later wrote, 'the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.'
“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”— Acts 7:56
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”— Acts 7:59
“Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”— Acts 7:60 — forgiving his executioners
Stephen was the first Christian martyr — one of the seven original deacons of the Jerusalem church (Acts 6). Described as 'full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,' he became a powerful preacher and miracle-worker. He was arrested for preaching Christ as the Messiah, delivered the longest sermon in Acts, and was stoned to death. The young Pharisee Saul of Tarsus (later Paul) watched.
Acts 7:59-60 records: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit' and 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.' Both echo Christ's prayers from the cross: 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit' (Luke 23:46) and 'Father, forgive them' (Luke 23:34).
Stephen was stoned to death — the Jewish penalty for blasphemy — outside Jerusalem, around 34 AD. After delivering a long sermon to the Sanhedrin and reporting a vision of the risen Christ standing at God's right hand, the council was enraged, dragged him outside, and stoned him. Saul of Tarsus watched, holding the witnesses' coats.
Stephen is the first recorded death of a Christian for confessing Christ. The Greek word for 'martyr' (martys) originally meant 'witness'; Stephen made the connection literal — his witness cost his life. His death (c. 34 AD) became the model for thousands who would follow.