Acts 6 - 10.10.23

Scripture

Acts 6:15

15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Observation 

Stephen is described in the Word of God as “full of God’s grace and power (vs. 8) and filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit when he spoke (vs. 10 paraphrased). The members of the Synagogue didn’t like it and felt threatened by it, very similar to how the Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus. As a result, they made up lies about Stephen and tried to get other people to buy into those lies. They spread false rumors about Stephen that eventually had him brought to the Sanhedrin. They even produced false witnesses to testify against him. However, Stephen remained at peace the whole time and his countenance was proof of that. His face looked like it was “the face of an angel.”

Stephen didn’t literally get transformed into an angel or his face changed to that of an angel. Commentary says that Stephen, as a servant of the Lord, “possessed a clear conscience, cheerful hope, and Divine consolations, which enabled him to smile in the midst of danger and death (Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary-concise).” Stephen felt secure knowing he did no wrong and was confident in who his Defender was. The Holy Spirit’s peace and comfort was shining and showing through his face, which made it look like that of an angel. 

Application 

Trust Jesus to be our Defender.

The Lord is our defender and it is His job to avenge, not ours. (Romans 12:19). 

Have you ever been falsely accused of something? The Biblical term for it is slander, which the New Oxford American Dictionary defines as “the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.”

When we become Christians, living by a different standard than the world will naturally bring upon “haters” and opposition, sometimes from even within the walls of the church. Commentary blames “the heart of a fallen creature, which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary-concise).” However, when we are living in submission to God’s ways and in righteousness, He will defend us. 

“In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?” -Psalm‬ ‭56:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” -‭Matthew‬ ‭10:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Prayer

Thank you Lord for being our defender. Thank You that we can live in your peace in the midst of trial and persecution. May we be reminded that we can have the “ face of an angel” in the midst of trial, just like Stephen did, as we live for You. Amen. 

-Michelle Gaddi