Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭28‬
A false witness will perish, but a careful listener will testify successfully.

Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬
A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

Evil men are crafty in trying to gain their ambitions. These Jews from the Synagogue of the Freedmen wanted to be right and have the people believe them. When they were not followed, they turned to craftiness and deceit instead.

Motives matter in God’s kingdom and here we see motives of pride and power for the Freedmen Jews vs. Stephen’s motives to proclaim the truth and save lives.

When we see people resort to giving false witness and vicious slander, they will get their due in the end. We don’t have to worry about it. We can just trust God and follow his plans for us which are good. He will deal with the evil doers in the end.

I really resonate with one of Stephen’s attributes that I would like to follow after: he was so full of God’s Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) that his face shown like that of an angel in front of his accusers.

This means he was not angry, bitter, vengeful, indignant, or even callous towards them. Instead, like Christ loved his persecutors, so did Stephen.

Lord, help me to have the spiritual depth of love for others who wrongly accuse me, to shine for you in the midst of hostility. Teach me to learn to focus on the grace given me by you, instead of the wrong done to me by others. Help me to see the potential in sinners for your saving grace to transform them!