Dying the Death of the Righteous and its Silent Influences

From the passage before us, we see that Stephen didn't know that that would be the day he would die, because the coming of death is a secret that only God knows. Two things are noted from the passage.


1. The righteous are courageous even in death.

This is so because the righteous know who to fear, which is God. They know that it is He who sets the standard of life and where eternity will lead them. This gives courage in proclaiming truth and standing for who we believe in – God. Stephen died because the council thought what he was saying was blasphemy, so they stoned him. On the other hand, all Stephen did was to stand up for the Truth and share the gospel. Bringing it to us, there is need to recognise that whenever we share the gospel we will be persecuted to a point where it leads to our death. We can only take courage to speak and stand for the truth when and if we know the truth – Jesus Christ.

2. The righteous die calmly and peacefully

The death of the righteous is characterized by a calmness and peace. This stems from the truth that they know from the gospel – an inward peace it presents. Even in death Stephen had courage and boldness because of the calmness the gospel presents. He was able to pray for the killers that God may have mercy on them.