Stephen -- First Recorded Martyr in Early Church Quiz

Answer: Full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.

The correct answer is Stephen was "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." There is no disputing the fact he was the acknowledged leader among the Grecian Jews. For example, his name appears first when the names of seven Grecian disciples are listed. What's more, a major part of chapters 6 and 7 of Acts is devoted to Stephen. Out of the Grecian disciples, Philip is the only other one to be mentioned after the list of names is given in Acts.

After Stephen's death, Philip rose to the forefront of the Group of Seven.

Answer: The seven men were presented to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The correct answer is the seven Grecian disciples were presented to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. At this point in time the early church consisted almost entirely of Jewish believers. The Grecian believers were those who were born in lands other than Palestine and spoke the Greek language, according to notes in the NIV Study Bible.

Answer: True

True. Scripture reports Stephen did "great wonders and miraculous signs" among the people. This on top of him being described in verse 5 as "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." No details are given about the "great wonders and miraculous signs".

However, considering Peter and Paul raised people from the dead, Stephen's accomplishments must have been every bit as great to rate such accolades by Luke, the writer of Acts. When it comes to raising people from the dead, Peter of course revived Dorcas (Acts 9:36-43) and Paul did the same for sleepy Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12).

Answer: They could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

The correct answer is "they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke." Notes in the NIV Study Bible state the Freedmen were people who had been freed from slavery. And here's an extremely interesting observation in the same study notes.

It is possible Saul, who later became known as Paul, was one of those who was unable to stand up to the wisdom or the Spirit by which Stephen spoke. The notes explain things this way: "Since Saul was from Tarsus, this may have been the synagogue he attended, and he may have been among those who argued with Stephen." The statement is based on the fact the Freedmen came from various places, including Asia, and Paul was from Tarsus which was in Asia.

The place called Asia in Biblical times is known as present-day Turkey.

Answer: They secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

Yes, the opponents to Stephen and the early church persuaded some men to say they had heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God. Acts 6: 12-14, in the NIV Bible, go on to state: "So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law.

They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, 'This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us'." It all brings to mind the false charges against Jesus, as per Matthew 26:59. Scripture says the chief priests and the "whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put him to death."

Answer: They saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

According to Scripture, when members of the Sanhedrin looked "intently" at Stephen's face, "they saw that his face was like the face of an angel." They may have seen the face of an angel, but before long those same people would be committing devil-like acts against Stephen and by the end of Acts 7, he was executed.

When it comes to mortals, perhaps no other man in the New Testament commands as many praiseworthy statements as Stephen.

Answer: They were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

Make no mistake about it. The people who heard Stephen talk were extremely angry. And when he followed this statement up with more claims, they became livid, until they reached an uncontrolled boiling point. The term gnashing of teeth appears a number of times in the Old Testament and in different places in the Psalms (Psalm 35:16, 37:12, 112:10) it refers to the wicked attacking the just.

However, in Matthew 13:42 and 13:50, Jesus refers to a "fiery furnace" where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Answer: They covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

With that statement, Stephen basically signed his own death warrant. The people in the Sanhedrin had heard enough. They could no longer control their boiling anger. There is significance in Stephen using the term "Son of Man" to describe Jesus. The term Son of Man was Jesus' favorite expression to describe himself as he used it 81 times. Notes in the NIV Study Bible state "in Daniel 7:13-14, the Son of Man is pictured as a heavenly figure who in the end times is entrusted by God with authority, glory and sovereign power."

Answer: Saul

Yes, the correct answer is Saul, who would later become known as Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles. In Acts 22:20, Paul recalls the death of Stephen when he states "And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him." Paul, of course, would make a dramatic conversion to Christianity, when, according to Scripture, he encountered the Lord Jesus Christ while traveling on the road to Damascus.

Answer: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

Acts 7:59-60, in the NIV Bible, states "while they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep." The statement "do not hold this sin against them" echoes closely what Jesus said when he was being crucified. Luke 23:34 quotes Jesus as saying "'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'"