Among the scriptural allusions was one man's application of the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60) to the theme of forgiveness. The man's particular contribution was to link the resting of Stephen's spirit to his act of forgiving his murderers. Thus we read that, during his stoning, Stephen first prays, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit (7:59)." Not having yet died, however, Stephen further cries out, "Lord do not hold this sin against them (7:60a)." Only then, after having given up the desire for vengeance in pronouncing forgiveness for his enemies, does Stephen die (7:60b). In other words, it is only in Stephen's forgiving of his enemies that his own spirit is received or returns to its origin in God. His first prayer--a plea for his own ultimate salvation--is answered in his second prayer--a word of forgiveness to others.
Whether or not the man's reading of the death of Stephen was the author's intended meaning, I regarded it when I heard it as an interesting and powerful testament to forgiveness. Upon further study, however, I regard his comments as likely indicative of the author's intended meaning as well. Indeed, the stoning of Stephen in Acts bears striking resemblance to the crucifixion of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, both the telling of a single author (Luke). Just as Jesus forgave his enemies with "Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Lk 23:34)," so Stephen said, "Do not hold this sin against them." Likewise, each man, first Jesus and then Stephen, prays that his spirit might be received. Such comparisons of Acts with the gospel narratives of Matthew, Mark, and John are not available; it is only in Luke that the crucifixion of Jesus includes the words of explicit forgiveness and the personal plea for rest. Jesus' first and last word from the cross in Matthew and Mark is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", whereas in John his last word is "It is finished (Mk 15:34//Mt 27:46; Jn 19:30)." If the reader should thus view the account of Stephen's stoning and the crucifixion of Jesus in Luke together, the point at which the respective narratives diverge then becomes significant in terms of meaning. What was Luke trying to say about the deaths of Jesus and Stephen?
For Luke, Jesus as Israel's Messiah sets the standard for the church which lives by his Spirit. The spirit of Jesus' suffering is paradigmatic for his followers. It is interesting to note, then, that the order of Jesus' twofold plea of forgiveness and rest is reversed in Stephen's twofold prayer of the same. Whereas Jesus first pronounces forgiveness and then finds rest, Stephen first pronounces rest but only later finds forgiveness. It is only in coming to forgiveness--as had Jesus before him--that Stephen finds rest. It is only when Stephen forgives his enemies that his spirit returns to God. It is only when Stephen's "order" of suffering truly follows that of Jesus that his spirit becomes one with his Lord. Just as Jesus' progression from the pronouncement of forgiveness to the request for rest ended in his death, so Stephen's request for rest was finally granted in his pronouncement of forgiveness. "When he had said this," that is, when Stephen had forgiven his enemies, "he died" (Luke 7:60).
Finally, a couple of caveats:
1. Though the above interpretation is an affirmation of the Christian necessity to forgive, also the very heart of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray, it should be taken as an affirmation of the graciousness of the forgiving spirit rather than as a condemnation of the spirit that cannot yet forgive. It should be taken as a clear affirmation of the goal to which the Christian aspires rather than as a compulsion to forgive before the time is right. In fact, the story of Stephen itself implies this process, albeit in a short space of time. Stephen himself did not find the rest that comes with forgiveness without a struggle. If Jesus' graciousness in suffering is paradigmatic for the believer, Stephen's is perhaps more representative. Victims of violence should expect, and be afforded time by others, to go through a process toward ultimate rest.
2. Jesus' suffering is a model for Christians at the point of showing love for (forgiving) others, not for suffering's sake alone. The stories of the crucifixion of Jesus and the stoning of Stephen have to do with suffering in order to redeem others ("do not hold this sin against them").
-Joe
