In Acts 7, Stephen was not afraid to tell the Jews exactly what they needed to hear, even if they didn’t want to hear it. The Jews, who “were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (Acts 6:10), had “set up false witnesses” against him (6:13). Does that remind you of Jesus? That’s not the only thing “like Jesus” in this account. Stephen preached like Jesus (7:1-50), was forthright like Jesus (7:51-53), was accused of blasphemy like Jesus (6:13-14) and was murdered like Jesus (7:54-60).
It should be no wonder then, with such strong conviction in and likeness to Jesus, that in Stephen’s last moments of life his attention was on Jesus. Look at the last three things we are told he did before he died: he looked to Jesus (7:55-56), he talked to Jesus (7:59) and he forgave like Jesus (7:60). Wow! What a lesson for us!
How strong is your conviction in Jesus? How pronounced is your likeness to Him?