Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 7-8.

Yesterday I wrote about how the Believers prayed for boldness to preach in Jesus’ name in the face of threats.  The passage ended with Stephen being arrested for doing just that.  Today’s passage begins with Stephen’s trial.  There he even more boldly testifies about Jesus by tying the numerous times when the Israelites refused to obey God’s commands with the Sanhedrin calling for Jesus to be crucified.  As he was dying Stephen did two things which recall Jesus’ death on the cross.  Just as Jesus had called upon God to Receive His spirit as He died, so Stephen asked Jesus to receive his spirit.  Then, Stephen prayed that God not hold the sin of murdering him against those doing so, just as Jesus had prayed for God to forgive those who crucified Him. This represents a model we should strive to emulate as we face death, whether from the hands of men or from natural causes.  I want to note that the group which stoned Stephen to death was the same group which a few months earlier took Jesus before Pilate because they did not have the legal authority to condemn Him to death.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.