St Stephen 			August 3
The first Christian Martyr 
Stephen, who is celebrated as the first martyr in the name of Christ, appears in the New Testament only in the book of Acts. Of the seven chosen to attend to the material needs of the Hellenist widows, Stephen in particular is “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). Presumably Stephen was a “Hellenist” himself, i.e., a Greek-speaking Jew with cultural roots in the Dispersion. Even before his conversion to the way of Jesus, he would be less bound than the “Hebrews” to the letter of the Mosaic Law. While the seven were appointed to “serve tables” in contrast to preaching the word (Acts 6:2), the idea that Stephen was the first deacon only grew up later in the church. Deacons actually seem to have emerged in Gentile Christianity as associates of the presbyter-bishops.
If Stephen was a Hellenist, it is not surprising that as a Christian he was challenged particularly by fellow Hellenist Jews of the Dispersion (Acts 6:9) who wished to retain their association with the traditions of Israel. They provided the strongest opposition to the growing church through the whole apostolic age. Stephen was charged with speaking against the Temple and the Law. This was in order to secure his conviction by the Sanhedrin, which was dominated by conservative Sadducees (Acts 6:11-14). But in his speech (Acts 7:2-53) Stephen hardly addresses these charges, except to argue that the Temple should never have been built (Acts 7:44-50). Rather he shows that the Jews right through their history have been disobedient to God’s law, just as they have now murdered the “righteous one” (Acts 7:52f.). Stephen’s speech is no defence, but rather a prosecution of the whole Jewish nation. It is an attack on “the people” as well as the elders and scribes (Acts 6:12), anticipating the Jewish rejection of the gospel. This is an idea that runs right through the book of Acts.
Stephen’s speech is followed inevitably by his martyrdom. Because Luke understood Jesus as the supreme example for others of living and dying, Stephen’s death is presented as following the pattern and fulfilling the promise of the passion of Jesus (Acts 7:55-60). So, like Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1), Stephen sees the Son of Man at the right hand of God as Jesus promised he would be (Luke 22:69). Outside the city of Jerusalem, he is stoned, as Jesus had indicated was the fate of those sent by God (Luke 13:34). He commits his spirit to Jesus, as Jesus commended his life to the Father (Luke 23:46). Not being physically constrained by crucifixion, he kneels down like Jesus in Gethsemane (Luke 22:41), and also prays forgiveness for his executioners (cf. Luke 23:34). If Jesus himself is the first martyr of the Christian era described by Luke, Stephen is the martyr who now stands closest to him in God’s heavenly glory (cf. Acts 7:55).
For Liturgical Use
Stephen was one of the seven appointed to care for the needs of Hellenist widows in the early Jerusalem church. Presumably a Hellenist from the Jewish Dispersion himself, he was challenged by fellow Hellenistic Jews. His speech in Acts chapter seven is less a defence to their charges than a prosecution of the whole Jewish nation for its disobedience to God. In the account of his death, Stephen follows the pattern of the passion of Jesus. If Jesus is the first martyr of the new era, Stephen is the one who stands closest to him in God’s heavenly glory.
Sentence, Prayers and Readings as in A New Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, page 675-676