Sermons
Echoes Of The Christ
ECHOES OF THE CHRIST
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / May 20, 2018
My thanks to Vic Rossi for filling in for me on short notice last Sunday.
I showered early last Sunday morning and had every intention of teaching and preaching.
But after my shower I felt wiped out. I had been up and down all night long.
I had a brief episode of hematuria (blood in a place it doesn’t belong).
It happened last Saturday and was a one-day event. All seems well now. I feel fine.
Initial diagnostics showed no infection. I will be consulting with a specialist later this month.
A few weeks ago Vic Rossi preached on the seven sayings on the cross.
Unwittingly, Vic’s sermon served as a springboard for a sermon series on “Last Words” that I’ve been mulling around
in my mind for some time. While Vic and I didn’t consult in advance, his message provided a good intro to this series.
We are truly humbled and amazed by the last words spoken by Jesus on the cross.
When we study the Gospels, we engage in reading a biography or sorts, a narrative about the life of Jesus.
The gospels are full of facts, but these truths are more than just a history lesson.
We would be sorely amiss if we did not explore the ramifications of His life for our own.
In his first epistle, the apostle Peter makes this very point (1Pet.2:21) - - For you have been called for this purpose,
since Christ also suffered for you, LEAVING YOU AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS.
As we read of the death of Jesus on the cross, we must not fail to read the narrative as INSTRUCTIONAL.
As we have noted often, when it comes to Jesus, in many, many ways, HIS-STORY becomes our story.
Thus, Peter writes: He has left us an example to follow in His steps.
This is big! And it is bigger yet when we think of Jesus’ words (Lk.23:24) - -
Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.
It’s easy to assign these words to “God in the Flesh” and rationalize that we humans are not capable of the same.
However, Peter’s admonition doesn’t allow such as easy escape.
Peter elaborates on Jesus’ example (1Pet.2:22-23) - - (Jesus) committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in
His mouth; And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats,
But kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.
To answer the question as to whether the acts of Jesus are a template for us to follow,
all we have to do is continue reading, going from Matthew, Mark, Luke & John to the book of Acts.
} Open your Bibles to Acts 6-7 |
The story of Stephen, recorded in Acts 6-7, happens just five or so years after the cross (c. AD 36).
Stephen was chosen by the church in Jerusalem to be one of seven “deacons”.
These men were appointed to minister to the needy Grecian widows in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-3).
They and their families were hungry and needed assistance in being fed.
This ministry proved to be a blessing to the church as a whole - - the disciples increased greatly (Acts 6:7).
Acts 6:8ff, segues to another chapter in Stephen’s abbreviated life.
Acts 4:31 tells how the Holy Spirit filled the early saints and caused them to speak with boldness.
Acts 6:8 states, Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
Some rose up to argue against Stephen. Being unable to cope with his God-given wisdom,
they secretly induced men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God’ (vs.11).
Vs 12 states, They stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and
dragged him away, and brought him before the Council (i.e. the Jewish Sanhedrin/supreme court).
Vss.13-14 continues saying, They put forward false witnesses who said, ‘This man incessantly speaks
against this holy place, and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus,
will destroy this place and alter the custom which Moses has handed down to us’.
Chapter six concludes by noting (vs.15) - - And fixing their gaze on him,
all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel.
Stephen’s speech in chapter seven if an illustration of Jesus’ promise in Mt.10:19 - -
When they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you shall speak;
For it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.
Stephen’s speech is a masterpiece of historical summary. He concludes with a stinging rebuke to the Jews.
Acts 7:53 - - You received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you did not keep it.
Stephen’s audience lacked the necessary humility to receive this rebuke.
Read from Acts 7:54-60
When we read the end of the story we can’t help but ask, “WHY WERE THE JEWS SO OFFENDED”.
First, they were not at all happy with the idea of Jerusalem being destroyed and upsetting their power base (Acts 6:14).
Secondly, they were beside themselves at the thought of Stephen actually speaking for God.
Note again, Acts 7:55-56 - - Being full of the Holy Spirit, (Stephen) gazed intently into heaven
and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said,
‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’
These words they simply could not countenance. How could Stephen claim to see God Almighty?
They rushed upon him and seized him and they drove him out of the city and began stoning him.
The ringleader of the opposition group was a young man named Saul (vs.58).
This Saul of Tarsus was soon after transformed by God’s grace into the apostle Paul, a preacher of the gospel of Christ.
Paul reflects on this with apparent heartache, in Acts 22:29 - - When the blood of Thy witness Stephen was
being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the cloaks of those who were slaying him.
Some have argued that this horrible scene was at least part of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”.
My major point in re-telling the story of Stephen is to underscore Stephen’s last words.
We have witnessed how Stephen lived. Although his life was cut short, what a testimony it was.
Let us focus once more on how Stephen died - - in particular, his last words spoken.
I have entitled this sermon, “Echoes Of The Christ”.
In his death we see and hear Stephen walking in the steps of Jesus.
There was no deceit in his mouth; when reviled, he did not revile in return; he uttered no threats.
He kept entrusting himself to Him who judges righteously.
Acts 7:60 is a truly astonishing verse - - He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice,
LORD, DO NOT HOLD THIS SIN AGAINST THEM. After Stephen said this, he died.
Could it have been that Stephen witnessed those ever-so-similar words spoken by Jesus from the cross?
One might be tempted to think that Stephen’s attitude in the midst of a brutal death was an anomaly.
An anomaly is an abnormality - - a rare and somewhat strange (idiopathic) deviation from that which is common.
However, for what it’s worth, there is another instance of this very same Christ-like attitude in the life of James.
This James is not the apostle who was beheaded (Acts 12:2), and was the son of Zebedee and brother of John.
Neither was he James the apostle who was the son of Alphaeus (Mt.10:3).
This is the James of Acts 15, a leader of the Jerusalem church, half-brother to Jesus and author of The Epistle of James.
This James came to faith later in life and his devotion to Christ was extraordinary. He was called James the Just.
The Scriptures do not record the death of James the Just.
However, Eusebius in his early 4th century book, Ecclesiastical History, offers three versions, with noticeable similarities.
1. Clement of Alexandria claimed that he was cast down from a wing of the temple and beaten to death with a club.
2. According to Josephus (a Jewish historian), A-nan-us became the high priest in Jerusalem after the procurator
Festus died. While the new procurator, Albinus, was on the way, Ananus had James stoned to death.
3. The third version, which Eusebius assessed to be the most accurate of the three was that
provided by He-ges-ippus - - a second century Christian about whom little is known.
James was considered a very righteous man. His knees were calloused due to fervent prayer.
James was held in high regard by all seven sects of the Jews.
In trying to get James to discourage the people from believing in Jesus, the Jewish leaders asked James to speak.
In the year 62 AD, on the day of Passover, James was positioned at the pinnacle of the temple to address the Jews.
When they asked him to opine about Jesus (hoping that he would discredit Jesus), James answered,
Why do you ask me about Jesus, the Son of Man? He sits in heaven at the
right hand of The Great Power, and he will soon come on the clouds of heaven.
The Pharisees were horrified, but the common people began shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David.
The Pharisees, realizing the awful mistake they’d made, began crying, The righteous one is also in error.
Since this had little effect on the crowd, they dispatched men to climb the temple wing and cast James down.
They did, but the severe fall didn’t kill him. He rose to his knees and began to pray for them.
I beg of You, Lord God our Father, forgive them! They do not know what they are doing.
The Pharisees on the ground rapidly began to stone him - - even as he prayed,
and those previously on the rooftop rushed down to join in on the execution.
We might encounter many last words of saints and sinners that give us pause for serious contemplation, but
no last words could be more profound (and life-changing) that these words of forgiveness,
spoken first by Jesus, and then also by Stephen and James the Just.
I would like to think that there were thousands of first-century saints who followed Jesus in this regard - -
breathing their last breath while petitioning God for the forgiveness of their offenders.
Truly, truly, there is no better way to go than this.
Can we follow in His steps?
With God being our Helper, indeed we can!
