Thematic Bible: In persecuting stephen
Thematic Bible
religious Intolerance » The jewish leaders » In persecuting stephen
And Saul was in full agreement with Stephen being put to death. And a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church, and all the disciples, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the districts of Judea and Samaria. The godly men who buried Stephen's body mourned over his loss very deeply. But Saul brought devastation to the church by entering everyone's house and dragging men and women off to jail.
But several men from the synagogue, made up of freed slaves from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, began arguing with Stephen. But they could not stand up to the wisdom and [power of] the Holy Spirit by which Stephen spoke. Then they enlisted men to say [i.e., to testify falsely against Stephen, verse 13], "We heard him criticizing Moses and [even] God." read more.
And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council. They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses, for we [ourselves] heard him saying that this Jesus from Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down to us by Moses." Then, as all the Council members stared at Stephen, his face appeared to them like an angel's.
And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council. They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses, for we [ourselves] heard him saying that this Jesus from Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down to us by Moses." Then, as all the Council members stared at Stephen, his face appeared to them like an angel's.
But they shouted loudly and refused to listen, and then all of them rushed at him. They threw him out of the city and stoned him [to death]. Those who witnessed [the incident] placed their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. So, they stoned Stephen [to death] as he called out to the Lord, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit [as I die]."