Nobody Said It'd Feel Good

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." (Acts 6:8)

In my view, this is once of the most glossed-over verses in the Bible, right up there with the "beget" verses. Stephen only lasts a chapter and a half, but clearly he's a righteous man. How many of us have performed great wonders and miraculous signs? Only the true heroes of the Bible are described this way.

Then Stephen gives them a nice history of their people. It actually follows a popular method of persuasion: the first ninety percent of the speech, the audience was surely nodding their heads in agreement. Typically, once people start agreeing with you they will keep on agreeing with you. Well, no such luck for Stephen.

"At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him." (Acts 7:57-58)

Nice. Stephen was a righteous man, obeying God fully. He delivers a powerful message from God, and in response they stone him. Sometimes obedience hurts.