Why Does Jesus Use Of The Forgiveness Of Stephen In Act 2

In Acts 7:52-60 the line “Lord do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59) is a parallel to the way that Jesus forgave his enemies on the cross at his crucifixion, along with Saul on the Road to Damascus and Peter at Pentecost. In the same light, modern day saint Pope John Paul II forgave his murderer, Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rome in 1981. First, I will examine Jesus’s praise of forgiveness on the cross in Luke 23. Next, I will compare Jesus’s situation on the cross to that of Stephen in Acts 7. Then I will examine Peter’s speech in Acts 2 and Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 to see how each plays a role in expressing mercy in the light of Christ. In transitioning towards how Pope John Paul II exemplified the forgiveness of
Christ, I will examine the Lord’s Prayer in that each day “we ourselves are called to forgive everyone in debt to us” (Luke 11:4), and how it ties into forgiveness. Fi rally I will relate and exemplify the forgiveness Pope John Paul II to that which Stephen and Jesus proclaimed two-thousand years ago. Pope John Paull II was a great modern day example on how to forgive in times which seem unforgiveable. Through these passages, my overall claim is that forgiveness is essential in our search for eternal life, and to restoring peace in the world. The most extraordinary proclamation of forgiveness in the bible is that of Jesus forgiving all those who persecuted him. The way to forgive others is exemplified by the actions of Jesus on the cross. Looking at the underlying story of scripture of our church fathers, Jesus knew that he was to be sent by God to die for our sins. Even in this time of suffering he came to terms with the prophesy, and still had the power to forgive those who wronged him, in order to be raised up to heaven with a clean conscious and soul. He could have died and risen to heaven anyway, but by him showing forgiveness it shows us the way we are to live our lives. Life is too short to hold a grudge, and even Jesus at his time of death wanted to forgive those who wronged him. The key to salvation is repentance, not only for himself but for everyone around him. Jesus wanted to ensure that this sin and all sins were to be forgiven, enabling all to obtain eternal life. Luke’s Gospel is the only one which contains the line “forgive them father for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Why would his gospel be the only one that contains this key point Jesus is trying to make? One of the patterns in Luke is repentance. Luke wanted to emphasize that Jesus had compassion towards those who put him death, even death on a cross. In order for them to have eternal life, they must repent and show faith in Christ. Another pattern in Luke is an emphasis on Jesus praying. In this passage, Jesus is praying to God to forgive those people who have put him to death. These seem to be two reasons why Luke is the only one to keep this line in his Gospel. In Acts 7 Stephen is faced with a similar situation to that of Jesus on the cross.
He is being questioned about his sayings that Jesus will destroy the temple. Stephen then gave his speech detailing the history of the Jews from Abraham through the prophets, and concluded that the Sanhedrin had murdered the prophesied Messiah; Jesus of Nazareth. In the same way as Jesus, both he and Stephen upset a crowd by a teaching that eventually lead to their death. Stephen near the end of his life makes a claim paralleling that of Jesus on the cross saying “ Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7: 60). Even at the end of his life, Stephen was able to put his trust in the lord and forgive those who were to persecute him. He had the courage and humility to ask God for forgiveness for those who were to kill him and had the heart to forgive them. Stephen, being the first martyr of the Church, followed the example Jesus set before his death forgiving those who were to persecute him. This passage also exemplifies the Lukan theme of prayer. Just as Jesus prayed to the father, Stephen was praying to Jesus for hope and forgiveness. He knows that according to Jesus, repentance is the key to salvation, not only for himself, but for those around him. Although he is about to die, Stephen wants to ensure that those responsible are forgiven and still have chance to obtain eternal
life. Just at Jesus and Stephen forgave those who brought them persecution; Peter in Acts 2 forgives Jesus’ persecutors. He began by challenging them saying “Jesus the Nazorean was a man condemned to you by God with mighty deeds… this man you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.” Namely, they had salvation right in front of them. All they had to do was believe and follow Christ, but instead they chose to kill him. The crowd then wondered what they were to do to receive eternal life, and how they were to follow Christ. Peter filled with the holy spirit proclaimed: “ repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This, like Stephen, follows the example set out by Jesus on the cross; those who are sinners need to repent for their sins, forgive others and themselves, in order to have a chance at eternal life. Because of the actions, the crowd needed to hear that there was still a chance to have eternal life, because Jesus had already forgiven them on the cross. Namely, they needed to forgive themselves. This again expresses the Lukan themes of repentance and prayer. Peter took this chance to show that if you have trust in God, anything can be forgiven and eternal life is still possible. Finally in Acts 9 Saul on the Road to Damascus comes up against a forgiving sign that will change him forever. Up until Acts 9, Saul was an enemy of the lord, persecuting Christians and “breathing murderous threats against the Lord (Acts 9: 1). Different from the previous passages was, it is ironic that Saul was not being the one persecuted but he was doing the persecuting. Jesus came down and appeared to him saying “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me” (Acts 9:4)? In order for Saul to truly be forgiven he must be baptized and repent for his sins. As mentioned, Jesus had already forgiven all those who persecuted him on the cross. Saul repented and was filled with the Holy Spirit, thus receiving the name Paul, trying to put his past behind him. Paul claimed later in Timothy how grateful he was to the Lord saying; "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly, in unbelief..." (I Timothy 1:12,13). The Lord extended mercy and saved Saul not by ignoring his sins and transgressions but by sending the word to him. Saul still had to respond by faith to be saved and he did. He had "acted ignorantly, in unbelief”, but was not saved until he acted knowingly in belief. We are called to repent for our sins and forgive those who sinned against us just at Jesus forgave Paul and utilized him for part of his mission The key to salvation is not only repenting about your sins, but then following the word of God.