Why do people attack the messenger? In Acts 7, Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr — stoned to death for telling the truth. Dr. Toby Holt shows that God's people are often attacked not for what they do, but for what they say. Dragged before the council on false charges, Stephen walked them through Israel's history, showing how God's messengers were rejected again and again — and now they had done the same to Jesus. As they raged, he saw heaven opened and Jesus standing at God's right hand. Even as the stones fell, he prayed for his killers. Watching, and approving, was a young man named Saul.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why was Stephen killed? Not for any crime, but for boldly telling the truth about Jesus. Like the prophets before him, he was attacked for his message, not his behavior.

2. What did Stephen see as he died? Heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, as if rising to welcome him home — God's assurance in his final moment.

3. How does Stephen's death echo Jesus' own? Like Jesus, he entrusted his spirit to God and prayed for those killing him. His death also scattered the believers and spread the gospel further.

"Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" — Acts 7:56 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.