Acts: A 14-Day Devotional For MenSample

Stiff-Necked People
Acts 6:8–7:60

Stephen’s martyrdom poignantly illustrates the two kinds of people in Acts: those who are led by the Holy Spirit, and those who resist him. In the first part of chapter 6, Stephen was chosen by the apostles to be a servant in the church precisely because he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. After refuting several Jewish challengers, he was brought before the religious authorities, whereupon he criticized them for their resistance to the same Holy Spirit who was guiding his ministry. 

In his witness to the Jewish leaders, Stephen drew their attention to what the Spirit did in the Old Testament and how their forefathers had continually resisted God’s plan for them. He wanted the leaders to see themselves in the sordid history of God’s people, and to realize that even now they might be wrong about God’s plan for them. But just like their forefathers, these leaders dug in their heels and refused to listen to God’s word. In Acts 7:51, Stephen summarized why this was the case: They behaved this way because they simply would not follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. They were “stiff-necked.” 

Stephen’s listeners, who were from an agrarian economy, would immediately have understood this phrase. If a farm animal was needed to do a task it didn’t want to do, how would that animal respond? It would stiffen its neck. The muscles would tighten in resistance and make the farm work difficult or impossible. Stephen was saying not only that God had given his work to different people but that the Jewish authorities had only themselves to blame for this. 

Stephen’s martyrdom is a sobering warning to all of us. Remember, these men were supposed to be God’s men, and they were fully convinced that they were doing God’s will. If you are wondering at this point, “How can I know that I am being led and filled by the Spirit?” you might start by asking God to empower you to do the opposite of what these men did. Ask to see in your life what Paul described as the fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). This fruit is seen in the person who is willing to repent when confronted with sin. It also is seen in the person who values truth and love more than safety, and who can pray for his enemies even as they kill him for it (Acts 7:60).—Justin S. Holcomb