Kelly - Acts 7

So Stephen appears to be about as politically naive as can be ("stupid" is a word I'm trying to get out of my children's vocabulary, but it seems to apply here). When accused of blasphemy against Moses and the law, he launches into a diatribe proving his knowledge and grounding in that history....so far, so good. But then he ends that speech by with vv. 51-53 "You stiff-necked people....you always resist the Holy Spirit."

Jesus may have been politically unwise in repeatedly answering "you say that I am" when accused. But at least he didn't make direct accusations at the high priest and accuse him of murder. Is it any wonder this group decided to have Stephen stoned? He may have argued his case so that he could be seen not to be blaspheming Moses....but some people should learn to stop when they're ahead.

I believe it is in Matthew where we are called to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves." We are called to spread the faith in a complex world filled with complex motivations. And doing so requires some level of political and social maturity. Stephen may have been the first of the martyrs - but it seems a silly martyrdom to me. Others would die for their faith for good reason, due to the evil and jealousy and fear of the leaders of the land. Stephen died primarily because he didn't know when to stop. And I think this speech goes pretty far in establishing centuries of anti-semitism that we're still fighting today. Here is the first man to say explicitly that the Jews killed Christ.