RE Verse reading–Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-60 (day three) “Yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.” (7:57) He is the first martyr. He will not be the last. Stephen’s death at the hands of an angry mob reminds us of the terrible and deep opposition toward Christ that squats in the heart of people on this planet. It is not us they resent. It is Him. Luke 19:14 gives words to their fury. “We do not want this man to rule over us!” Check Stephen’s sermon for evidence that he understood this defiant opposition. Even people who say they love God still often resist His will. We make excuses. We refuse to follow. Mark Twain said, “There is nothing as irritating as a good example” Presented with the implied rebuke of a godly life, the world predicatably reacts. It was true for Jesus. It will be true for us.
