When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 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. Acts 7
Gerald Elston, Sr. is the Senior Impastor of Good Hope Union United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, MD.
During a recent sermon, he drew comparisons between the death of Stephen, the first martyr murdered for unflinchingly preaching Christ, and the death of Jordan Neely, who was ‘murdered’ for simply saying ‘I’m hungry and thirsty.’
Elston says in the same way that the ‘proud’ Sadhedrin sought to stop Stephen from preaching his famous sermon in Acts 7, so too did the ‘proud on the train say ‘we got to stop this guy from talking.’ and then they killed him for it.
(In reality, Neely, who’s been arrested 42 times, frequently for assault charges, was acting erratically on a subway train and allegedly making threats of violence against passengers. He, unfortunately, passed away due to being subdued by good citizens seeking to stop him.)
“Our text says ‘the proud covered their ears and with a loud shout all rushed him and they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him’
You know, this story of Stephen reminds me of what happened to brother Jordan Neely up in New York on the New York subway. All he said is this ‘I’m hungry and I’m thirsty and I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired of having nothing’ but the proud on the train say ‘we got to stop this guy from talking.’
And so they took it upon themselves to put brother Jordan nearly in a chokehold and he died. Y’all remember that story, it just happened, yeah. We’re so quick today to give death. That’s what happened to brother Jordan Neely and so many others. But we have no right to give death. Well I got to say it again-we have no right to give death.
We are not God. Who died and made you God? Come on somebody, what does the word say? ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ Some translations say ‘in fullness thereof.’ The world and all who live in it. This is God’s. Keep your (grabby?) hands off of (it?)
Come on somebody. Ah my Lord oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. But this is just arrogance, prideful arrogance. We’re wrapped up in our self-pride and in the pride of life as if somebody gave us the right to take life.”
