Have you ever seen an angel mugshot? Would we recognize an angel if we saw one? The writer of Hebrews says some have entertained angels without knowing. Angels are messengers. So was Stephen. Luke tells us he had the face of an angel when he was put on trial.
Good things often emerge from difficult challenges. After the early church faced persecution from without, they faced internal challenges as well. Ananias and Sapphira lied about their offering to God and died. Greek-speaking widows felt neglected in the daily distribution of food. The Apostles refused to give up preaching and praying to solve the problem. So they appointed seven men to help out.
Stephen was first among these equals. What made him unique was his fullness. A preacher of another generation said, “You have to fill a person with something.” Stephen was full of God. He was full of the Spirit, full of wisdom, and full of faith. People who are full of God cannot be full of themselves. After Stephen and the other six men solved the food distribution crisis, they went on to their own ministries. Stephen was an apologist for the faith. He countered the religious leaders of the day with irrefutable logic. As a result, they put him on trial, treating him the same way they had treated Jesus.
When they looked at Stephen they saw the face of an angel. Stephen was a messenger from God to them. Like their forefathers, these religious leaders wanted to kill the messenger. Stephen was put on trial in the same city by the same people as Jesus. Like Jesus, he also forgave those who condemned him and killed him. Years before, Jacob, the ancestor of these accusers, said to his brother Esau, “to see your face is like seeing the face of God.” The face of God is the face of forgiveness. Or as the Psalmist put it, “Those who look to the Lord are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame” (Psalm 34:5). What do people see when they see our faces? Let them see Jesus.
