In Acts Chapter 6 we start to read about Stephen brought before the Sanhedrin. The last verse describes the look of him, "All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:15)".
You could imagine the men of the Sanhedrin, and their expressions. They must have all looked at him with concern of what he was accused of doing. I'm sure some may have looked at the angelic face and wondered if it was true. Then the discourse of Stephen began, as stated in Acts Chapter 7.
I wonder if some of the men felt comforted, and a sense of pride as Stephan started to describe the Father of Faith, Abraham, and his story. I bet some of men even nodded their heads with agreement as he went on talking of Issac and Jacob. Some may have even thought that, "Is this man really accused of wrongdoing?"
Stephan continued and told of Moses, David, Solomon, and then he the accusation. "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it. (Acts 7:51-53)"
I bet the eyebrows raised now... "Here this man with the "face of an angel" is saying I'm "stiff-necked". I wonder how many of the men of the Sanhedrin thought, "How dare he. Me a murderer? I obey the law! I enforce the law. This man has lost his mind!" And then Stephen mentioned the Nazarean. Oh, that was the tipping point for the Sanhedrin.
As a person in the Sanhedrin, they must have thought here is someone who blasphemies, "Here is someone who wants to displace my position as irrelevant, and place instead someone who was not the Messiah. I'm not going to let go of my power."
What was Stephen spoke was truth. That truth was inconvenient to the men of the Sanhedrin, for that they had him killed. Stephan kept the faith, and even as the death blows came from the stones he said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them. (Acts 7:60)"
In our own lives we may have to tell others things that are inconvenient for them to comprehend. It is important that we tell the truth in a loving and faithful manner as Stephen did, even if it received on deaf ears. Sometimes the Truth is inconvenient, but the rewards are eternal.
"St. Stephen, your martyrdom showed how some will reject the truth; even though the Truth leads to eternal life. Pray for us so that we may continue to spread the Truth to others."
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