A New Enemy

As the story of Jesus was spreading throughout Jerusalem, the number of believers was growing as well. The family of believers became so big that the twelve enlisted men to help them care for the needs of the people. One of these men, Stephen, preached daily in the synagogues. His teaching angered the Pharisees so they brought him to the Sanhedrin to be tried. As Stephen was giving his address to the men, he was beaten and stoned. But just like his Lord, while they were killing him, he prayed for their forgiveness.

In our last episode, we heard how the religious leaders felt threatened by the apostles’ teaching, so they put them in jail. God sent an angel to open the prison gates and send them into the temple to continue preaching. Their opponents could find no real reason to keep them in prison, and at the counsel of one of their own they released the apostles, but only after beating them and warning them to stop speaking in Jesus’ name. Of course, the apostles were not about to stop, and their preaching continued to win more souls for Christ. Today we’ll hear how about Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who spoke boldly of Christ and paid the ultimate price. We’ll also meet a new enemy to the Gospel, a zealous young man named Saul who will lead the hunt for any who would proclaim the name of Jesus.