Stephen and Barnabas
Lives of Stephen and Barnabas
Stephen was one of the great men of faith in the early Church. He wasn’t an Apostle but was chosen to minister to the widows who were in Jerusalem. He also was the first Christian Martyr. A martyr is a person who holds to a belief so strongly that he/she is willing to die for it. Such was the faith that Stephen had in Jesus Christ. S Stephen ended up dying for his faith. He was able to perform miracles in peoples lives and was able to preach to the Jews, but they would only argue with him about his beliefs. They spoke falsely about Stephen and said he was talking against God and Moses. Because of Stephens miracles and preaching, he was brought before the Sanhedrin, Which are the Jewish rulers. These men were powerful and they had the ability to choose life and death decisions. Stephen, being a martyr, was not afraid to speak the truth to them. He stood up for what he believed in. As he stood before them, they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. The Rulers became very angry with Stephen, because he told the whole history of the Jewish people and he also accused men and their forefathers, of hurting and killing prophets, and Jesus. As Stephen stood before them, he looked up into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He tried to tell them what he was seeing, but they did not want to hear it. They stone Stephen to death.
Barnabas, means son of encouragement. Barnabas is named Son of Encouragement because the Apostles saw the ministry of encouragement in him. His real name was Joseph. He played a vital role in the early church. The first time we see Barnabas in action is in Acts 4:36-7, He sells his property so that the money could be shared with anyone in need. In Acts 9, we meet Barnabas for the 2nd time dealing with Paul. Paul used to be a persecutor of the church, until his conversion experience. Due to Pauls past, church leaders were afraid to meet Paul. They
Stephen was one of the great men of faith in the early Church. He wasn’t an Apostle but was chosen to minister to the widows who were in Jerusalem. He also was the first Christian Martyr. A martyr is a person who holds to a belief so strongly that he/she is willing to die for it. Such was the faith that Stephen had in Jesus Christ. S Stephen ended up dying for his faith. He was able to perform miracles in peoples lives and was able to preach to the Jews, but they would only argue with him about his beliefs. They spoke falsely about Stephen and said he was talking against God and Moses. Because of Stephens miracles and preaching, he was brought before the Sanhedrin, Which are the Jewish rulers. These men were powerful and they had the ability to choose life and death decisions. Stephen, being a martyr, was not afraid to speak the truth to them. He stood up for what he believed in. As he stood before them, they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. The Rulers became very angry with Stephen, because he told the whole history of the Jewish people and he also accused men and their forefathers, of hurting and killing prophets, and Jesus. As Stephen stood before them, he looked up into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He tried to tell them what he was seeing, but they did not want to hear it. They stone Stephen to death.
Barnabas, means son of encouragement. Barnabas is named Son of Encouragement because the Apostles saw the ministry of encouragement in him. His real name was Joseph. He played a vital role in the early church. The first time we see Barnabas in action is in Acts 4:36-7, He sells his property so that the money could be shared with anyone in need. In Acts 9, we meet Barnabas for the 2nd time dealing with Paul. Paul used to be a persecutor of the church, until his conversion experience. Due to Pauls past, church leaders were afraid to meet Paul. They