If Peter's denial of Christ is a bad example of giving assent to falsehood and wickedness, then the martyr Stephen's noble defense before his killers is an example of obeying God's command that we deal truly.
Stephen was falsely accused by those who hated the Gospel of blasphemy against Moses, the law, the temple, and God.
Stephen could have mounted a traditional defense, and denied the lies that were being told about him, and demanded proof from the perjured witnesses.
But that would have meant giving assent to the falsehood that under-girded the entire kangaroo court proceedings against Stephen.
Those implicit falsehoods were that the leaders of Israel honored God, obeyed the law, revered the temple, and obeyed Moses and the prophets.
Stephen refused to proceed on such false and wicked presumptions.
Therefore, instead of defending himself again manufactured false accusations, Stephen cut down the entire facade upon which his prosecution was based.
Stephen refused to accede to the utter hypocrisy and immorality of his accusers. He refused to accept the false premises underlying their claims against him.
Stephen's defense was a recitation, from Holy Scripture, of the truth of what Israel had done, how it had betrayed Moses, murdered the prophets, defiled the temple, violated the law, and murdered the Lord Jesus, God's Messiah.
For telling that truth, and proving it from Scripture, Stephen was foully murdered by the rulers who sat in judgment against him.
Stephen confirmed Jesus' judgment against those same men, that they would murder the preachers of Christ's gospel, and thereby embrace the murder of all the true prophets that went before. |
