Forgive Like Jesus Did

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026

Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 is a crash course in the entire Old Testament: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the wilderness, the prophets. His point sharpens with every example: God has always been present outside the temple walls, and His people have a long and sad habit of resisting the very deliverers He sends. Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize their rescuer, not at first. Moses was rejected before he became Israel’s liberator. Stephen names this pattern so the council can see it repeating in front of them, this time against the Messiah.

Then something remarkable happens. As the stones fly, Stephen looks up and sees “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God”. Notice Jesus is not seated, as we’d expect, but standing, as if Christ Himself rises to welcome the first martyr home. Stephen’s final words mirror Jesus’ words on the cross: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Stephen extends grace in the middle of his execution. That’s the profound effect of the Gospel once it has settled into the human heart.

Psalm 55 gives voice to Stephen’s ordeal: “my heart is in anguish within me… fear and trembling come upon me”. The psalmist is longing for wings to simply fly away from violence and betrayal. Stephen surely felt that pull. But instead of fleeing, he stayed present to both his persecutors and his Lord. Watching nearby, holding coats, stood a young man named Saul; soon to become the apostle whose letters would carry Stephen’s Gospel example to the ends of the earth. Nothing in the Kingdom is ever wasted, not even the stoning of an innocent.

Devotional Prompts:

How does Stephen’s grace toward his executioners challenge the way you handle personal offense?
Where do you see the pattern of “rejecting the deliverer” repeating in Scripture, history, or your own life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, who stood to welcome Stephen home, give us grace to forgive as we’ve been forgiven, even when it costs us everything. Use our worst moments for purposes we cannot yet see. Amen.