Have you ever noticed that, as Stephen was dying, he sounded a lot like Jesus? Here’s the point I want to demonstrate: Luke’s account of Stephen’s martyrdom is meant to recall the death of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel.
A validation for noticing parallels in the deaths of Jesus and Stephen is that Luke is the author who writes about both. Luke records Jesus’s death in Luke 23, and he records Stephen’s death in Acts 7. So when I say that we’re meant to recall the death of Jesus when we read about the death of Stephen, I’m saying that the biblical author means for us to read Stephen’s dying words and think, “I’ve heard those kind of words before!”
Stephen’s Dying Words
Here’s what happened. In Acts 7, a mob raged against Stephen after he gave a speech indicting his listeners. They decided Stephen should die. As they were stoning Stephen, he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Then, falling on his knees, he cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:60).
Those two statements are Stephen’s dying words. And both statements appear in Luke’s first volume. They resemble what Jesus spoke from the cross. Let’s compare some verses.
Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)
Stephen said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59)
In Luke 23:46 and Acts 7:59, both dying men offer a prayer, in this prayer they offer themselves, and in this prayer they refer to themselves with the word “spirit.”
Another comparison:
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)
Stephen said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60)
Both statements were prayers, and the content of these prayers was about forgiveness. Jesus’s words were regarding the soldiers who had crucified him. He prayed to the Father that these Roman soldiers would be forgiven. Stephen’s words were regarding those who stoned him. He prayed that the Lord would “not hold this sin” against the mob members. To “not hold this sin against” someone means to forgive them.
Additional Parallels
The particular parallels between the dying words of Stephen and Jesus are sufficient to establish that Luke intends us to connect them. But other parallels exist as well.
First, both men are led outside the city of Jerusalem.
In Luke 23:26, “And as they led him away…”
In Acts 7:58, “Then they cast him out of the city…”
Second, both men speak to their accusers about the Son of Man.
In Luke 22:69, “But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
In Acts 7:56, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Third, the scenes of execution involve garments in some way.
In Luke 23:34, the narrator reports, “And they cast lots to divide his garments.”
In Acts 7:58, the narrator reports, “And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
Fourth, after the deaths of these men, the narrator draws immediate attention to an individual’s evaluation of what happened.
In Luke 23:47, the narrator reports, “Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’”
In Acts 8:1, the narrator reports, “And Saul approved of his execution.”
Fifth, after the deaths of these men, people arrive to care for the bodies.
In Luke 23:52–53, the narrator reports that Joseph of Arimathea “went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.”
In Acts 8:2, the narrator reports, “Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.”
Conclusion
The various textual and literary parallels in the previous sections establish that Luke intends for us to see the martyrdom of Stephen in light of the suffering and death of Jesus. Stephen is walking the way of the cross, willing to undergo suffering and death like our Lord. Stephen dies like Jesus, in the sense that he is praying forgiveness for his enemies and entrusting his spirit to the Lord.
Thank you for this teaching.