Who is Stephen in Christianity?

Answer 1

A:

St. Stephen was an otherwise unknown martyr mentioned only in Acts of the Apostles. Acts 6:5 says that the disciples chose seven deacons: Stephen, Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch. He was later arrested, tried and stoned for blasphemy.

Some scholars consider the scene involving Stephen's trial and death as significant, not only because Stephen is the first Christian martyr, but also because the death of Stephen in Acts matches so closely the death of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, by the same author. Both accounts speak of the Son of Man at the right hand of God (Luke 22:69; Acts 7:56); both have a prayer for the forgiveness of those who are effecting this execution ( Luke 23:34a; Acts 7:60); both have the dying figure commend his spirit heavenward (Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). In some ways, the most important difference in the trial stories is that the Jews said they could not sentence Jesus to death and therefore had to bring him to trial before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, whereas in the story of Stephen, the priests saw no reason to involve the Roman governor and were willing to have Stephen stoned to death on their own account.

Doubts have been raised about the historicity of Stephen, who is only known from Acts of the Apostles, and Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says that we can never verify the martyrdom or even existence of Stephen.

Answer 2

Acts of the Apostles tells the story of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, whose trial and subsequent stoning are used to introduce Saul of Tarsus to the readers.

Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says that the scene involving Stephen's trial and death is truly significant, not only because Stephen is the first Christian martyr, but also because the death of Stephen in Acts matches so closely the death of Jesus in Luke. Both accounts speak of the Son of Man at the right hand of God (Luke 22:69; Acts 7:56); both have a prayer for the forgiveness of those who are effecting this execution ( Luke 23:34a; Acts 7:60); both have the dying figure commend his spirit heavenward (Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). He says that we can never actually verify the existence and martyrdom of Stephen.

Answer 3

Stephen was a disciple of Jesus who was stoned to death for preaching the message of Christ in the synagogue.