mattbraunlin
Member
With Their Dying Breath
The Last Words of Zechariah and Stephen
It is erroneous to think of the Old and New Testaments as disparate entities, or mutually exclusive aspects of God's personality. The Bible is a magnificent, harmonious whole, an artistic, progressive revelation of everything that God is.
But with that said, there is no doubt that a lot changed when God revealed his Son to the world. When Jesus was born two thousand years ago, grace replaced mercy, freedom replaced sacrifice, forgiveness replaced vengeance, and Love has been the lifeblood of all.
As a microcosm of this great shift in the destiny of the human race, I would like to look at two men of the Bible: Zechariah of the Book of 2 Chronicles, and Stephen of the Book of Acts.
Zechariah was an Old Testament prophet, the son of the high priest. Stephen was a disciple of Christ, who performed signs and wonders in His name. Born centuries apart, these two men share one sad thing in common: they died strikingly similar deaths for their faith in God.
In 2 Chronicles 24, the evil king Joash is desecrating Israel with pagan worship and sacrifice. Zechariah the prophet publicly decries this apostasy, saying,
'This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!'
2 Chronicles 24:20
Enraged, Joash and his advisors have Zechariah stoned to death on the spot. Zechariah's last words in verse 22 are May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death!
Now let's look at Stephen. As I have said, his tragic end is very similar. In Acts chapter 6, he is wrongfully accused of blasphemy, and brought before the Pharisee high council. He gives a powerful summation of the Old Testament, and fearlessly defies the Pharisees, calling them heathens and pronouncing them as betrayers and murderers of the Messiah.
Enraged, the Pharisees have Stephen stoned to death on the spot.
But here, things take a stunning turn.
Stephen's last words in verses 59 and 60 are Lord Jesus, receive my spirit…Lord, don't charge them with this sin!
Zechariah and Stephen are quite literally textbook examples of the inherent mortal danger of standing up for what is good and True and Godly. They both died in agony for defying evil in service to God.
But their last words! So very different!
With his dying breath, Zechariah begged God for vengeance. He cried God's wrath upon the men who had engineered his unjust death. This is perfectly natural, a legitimate example of the human longing for justice.
Stephen's twofold statement at the end of his days needs to be examined more closely if we are to grasp the enormity of what he was expressing.
When Stephen said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, he was expressing his utter peacefulness. He was okay. A call for vengeance like Zechariah's is, by definition, a cry of pain and wrath, of unfinished business. But Stephen was complete, serene, utterly unconcerned with the criminal injustice being perpetrated against him. He was going to be with Jesus, and this final moment of agony and persecution was merely the doorway to eternal Joy. He couldn't be bothered to lament over the circumstances.
And then he said something even more shocking.
Lord, don't charge them with this sin!
Even as he was slaughtered like an animal for his faith in Christ, he forgave the men throwing the stones, and begged his Lord to do the same.
With all his heart, Stephen hoped that his murderers would one day join him in the presence of his Saviour.
Zechariah prayed for vengeance upon his enemies; Stephen prayed for their salvation.
And the difference, quite simply, was Jesus.
I find it very likely that Stephen was present for Christ's Sermon on the Mount. And when he heard Jesus proclaim love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44) those words struck him to his deepest core. He lived them to their most heavenly extent on that blessed day when he defied all the logic of the world in praying for the very best for the men inflicting his painful death.
This is not an easy concept to grasp, let alone live by. It runs contrary to every human instinct; many skeptics find it outrageous, not virtuous. Please do not get the idea that I am any better than anyone else.
And yet we follow the God who commanded it, and then lived it beyond comparison as he hung in agony on the cross. Stephen could not have given us his example without the work of Christ's Holy Spirit in his heart.
The more we allow that work to be done, the less we fear our enemies. You cannot love an enemy and fear them at the same time.
That honour is reserved for God alone.
The Last Words of Zechariah and Stephen
It is erroneous to think of the Old and New Testaments as disparate entities, or mutually exclusive aspects of God's personality. The Bible is a magnificent, harmonious whole, an artistic, progressive revelation of everything that God is.
But with that said, there is no doubt that a lot changed when God revealed his Son to the world. When Jesus was born two thousand years ago, grace replaced mercy, freedom replaced sacrifice, forgiveness replaced vengeance, and Love has been the lifeblood of all.
As a microcosm of this great shift in the destiny of the human race, I would like to look at two men of the Bible: Zechariah of the Book of 2 Chronicles, and Stephen of the Book of Acts.
Zechariah was an Old Testament prophet, the son of the high priest. Stephen was a disciple of Christ, who performed signs and wonders in His name. Born centuries apart, these two men share one sad thing in common: they died strikingly similar deaths for their faith in God.
In 2 Chronicles 24, the evil king Joash is desecrating Israel with pagan worship and sacrifice. Zechariah the prophet publicly decries this apostasy, saying,
'This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!'
2 Chronicles 24:20
Enraged, Joash and his advisors have Zechariah stoned to death on the spot. Zechariah's last words in verse 22 are May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death!
Now let's look at Stephen. As I have said, his tragic end is very similar. In Acts chapter 6, he is wrongfully accused of blasphemy, and brought before the Pharisee high council. He gives a powerful summation of the Old Testament, and fearlessly defies the Pharisees, calling them heathens and pronouncing them as betrayers and murderers of the Messiah.
Enraged, the Pharisees have Stephen stoned to death on the spot.
But here, things take a stunning turn.
Stephen's last words in verses 59 and 60 are Lord Jesus, receive my spirit…Lord, don't charge them with this sin!
Zechariah and Stephen are quite literally textbook examples of the inherent mortal danger of standing up for what is good and True and Godly. They both died in agony for defying evil in service to God.
But their last words! So very different!
With his dying breath, Zechariah begged God for vengeance. He cried God's wrath upon the men who had engineered his unjust death. This is perfectly natural, a legitimate example of the human longing for justice.
Stephen's twofold statement at the end of his days needs to be examined more closely if we are to grasp the enormity of what he was expressing.
When Stephen said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, he was expressing his utter peacefulness. He was okay. A call for vengeance like Zechariah's is, by definition, a cry of pain and wrath, of unfinished business. But Stephen was complete, serene, utterly unconcerned with the criminal injustice being perpetrated against him. He was going to be with Jesus, and this final moment of agony and persecution was merely the doorway to eternal Joy. He couldn't be bothered to lament over the circumstances.
And then he said something even more shocking.
Lord, don't charge them with this sin!
Even as he was slaughtered like an animal for his faith in Christ, he forgave the men throwing the stones, and begged his Lord to do the same.
With all his heart, Stephen hoped that his murderers would one day join him in the presence of his Saviour.
Zechariah prayed for vengeance upon his enemies; Stephen prayed for their salvation.
And the difference, quite simply, was Jesus.
I find it very likely that Stephen was present for Christ's Sermon on the Mount. And when he heard Jesus proclaim love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44) those words struck him to his deepest core. He lived them to their most heavenly extent on that blessed day when he defied all the logic of the world in praying for the very best for the men inflicting his painful death.
This is not an easy concept to grasp, let alone live by. It runs contrary to every human instinct; many skeptics find it outrageous, not virtuous. Please do not get the idea that I am any better than anyone else.
And yet we follow the God who commanded it, and then lived it beyond comparison as he hung in agony on the cross. Stephen could not have given us his example without the work of Christ's Holy Spirit in his heart.
The more we allow that work to be done, the less we fear our enemies. You cannot love an enemy and fear them at the same time.
That honour is reserved for God alone.
