Full of the Holy Spirit, death is quite a sight

"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God. ... With a loud cry the Council members covered their ears with their hands. then they all rushed at him at once, threw him out of the city, and stoned him."

Wow, and uh, wow.

As I was reading from the book of Acts late in the morning, having spent a late night at the movie theater this morning watching comic book superheros save the world, I came across the stoning of Stephen. What interests me is that Stephen has little to do with the gospel, little to do with Jesus himself, before he shows up in the sixth chapter of Acts. He, and that evangelist called Philip I looked into yesterday, were appointed by the 12 apostles to help take care of finances. When the apostles chose seven men known to be full of the Holy Spirit and put them in charge of the bucks, the apostles could then take care of preaching and prayer.

But Stephen is arrested and the next thing you know, he gives one of the great speeches in all of scripture, and finally he is stoned to death with the apostle Paul looking on.

Wow, and uh, wow.

What a marvelous story that stands out in a marvelous book of history called the Acts of the Apostles. You can't read these tales without wondering how incredibly courageous these men must have been. Then you have to wonder what happened to the rest of us, in terms of our courage?

Tradition and scripture has this as being the fate of the apostles:

1. Peter was crucified head down in Rome, 66 A.D.
2. Andrew was bound to death. He preached until his death in 74 A.D.
3. James , son of Zebedee, was beheaded in Jerusalem by the sword. (Acts 12:1-9).
4. John was banished to the Isle of Patmos, 96 A.D. (Rev. 1- 9).
5. Phillip was crucified at Heirapole, Phryga, 52 A.D.
6. Bartholomew was beaten, crucified, then beheaded by the command of a king, 52 A.D.
7. Thomas was run through by a lance at Corehandal, East Indies, 52 A.D.
8. Matthew was slain by the sword in the city of Ethiopia about 60 A.D.
9. James son of Alphaeus, was thrown from a pinnacle, then beaten to death, 60 A.D.
10. Thaddeus was shot to death by arrows, 72 A.D.
11. Simon was crucified in Persia, 74 A.D.

All because they came in contact with a man named Jesus.

I believe the biggest reason we can believe that Jesus was resurrected was because these men gave their lives for that belief. No one does that if it isn't true. No one. Beginning with Stephen, they saw a wonderful sight, Jesus sitting at the right hand.

What do you see this Friday afternoon? What do you see?