8And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (ESV)

Stephen’s ”wisdom”, ”grace”, ”power” (and ”faith” v.5) came from ”the Spirit”. He was, we might say, an anointed man, and the sense of God’s presence about him gave him a supernatural glow. It inevitably makes one think of Moses, and how he shone on his return from the mountain where he had met with God, but he didn’t realise it. (Interestingly, Moses is mentioned in verses 11 and 14, and there will be several more references to him in the next chapter).

However, being a man of the Spirit – one who walks with God – will put you out of step with the world. Like Jesus Himself, Stephen was treated falsely and unjustly. His enemies deliberately lied about him. Instead of graciously bowing to the obvious truth of Stephen’s words, they set out to eradicate that truth. They really did not want to hear. They set themselves against it.

PRAYER: Lord, I do not ask for popularity, but I do ask that my light will shine for you in this dark world.