Stephen

Stephen holds a unique and solemn place in Christian history: he was the first person to die for faith in Jesus Christ. One of seven deacons chosen by the apostles to serve the growing community in Jerusalem, Stephen was described as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and power, who performed great wonders and signs among the people. He was not merely an administrator; he was a fearless preacher and miracle worker.

His speech before the Sanhedrin, recorded in Acts chapter seven, is the longest speech in the entire book — a sweeping review of Israel's history from Abraham to Solomon, building toward a devastating conclusion: You stiff-necked people! You always resist the Holy Spirit! His accusers were enraged, but Stephen, gazing into heaven, saw a vision of the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

As they stoned him, Stephen echoed the words of Christ on the cross: Lord, do not hold this sin against them. A young man named Saul — the future Apostle Paul — stood watching, approving of his death. The blood of the first martyr thus became a seed: without Stephen's death, there might have been no conversion of Paul, and without Paul, the shape of Christianity would have been unrecognisably different. Stephen teaches us that faithfulness unto death is not futile but generative — that God can bring unimaginable fruit from apparent destruction.