And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Acts 6:12-15
The story of Stephen is an inspiring one for us today. Stephen was not an apostle. He had not literally walked with Jesus. He had not been one of the “inner circle” of disciples. He was not a pastor. He was simply a deacon. He was just a man in the church who loved the Lord.
In these verses, the priests and scribes and elders started stirring things up against him. They hated him for his testimony and they hated the fact that he was always talking about Jesus, which tortured their consciences. They bribed some people to lie about him and to say that he had been blaspheming just about everything. So, on these trumped up charges, they brought him before the council and started questioning him.
But the people questioning him saw in him something interesting. As they looked at him, they “saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” That is an incredible statement. Even in the midst of being lied about and falsely accused of terrible things, his face was like “the face of an angel.” His heart was at peace with God and it showed on his face. The glory of God on the inside was showing through to the outside.
Could people say that about us today? Could people look at us and see the countenance of an angel? What’s on the inside will come out.
Justified Freely 