Homily 18 — Acts 7, verse 54, to 8, verse 25

“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they ground their teeth at him.” [a]

Look: once again it is the wrongdoers who are in trouble. Just as the Jews were at a loss and said, “What are we to do with these men?” (Acts 4, verse 16), so these men too are “cut to the heart.” And yet it was Stephen who had every right to be angry. He had done no wrong, yet he was treated like a criminal and spitefully slandered. But in the end it was the slanderers who came off worst. So true is the saying I am always repeating: “Whoever does harm comes to harm.” And Stephen used no slander in his charges against them; he proved what he said. That is how sure it is that when we are shamefully run down over something in which our conscience is clear, we are none the worse for it.

“If they wanted to kill him,” you say, “why didn’t they seize on something he said as their excuse for killing him?” They wanted a respectable-looking pretext to cover their outrage. “Well then, wasn’t his insulting them a respectable pretext?” If they were insulted, it was not his doing; the accusation was the prophet’s. Besides, they did not want it to look as though they were killing him for what he had said against them — just as they had acted in Christ’s case. No, they wanted it to be for impiety; and yet this saying of his was the very expression of piety. So, since they were trying not only to kill him but to damage his reputation as well, “they were cut to the heart.” For they were afraid that he would instead become an object of even greater reverence.

And so they do here exactly what they did in Christ’s case. He said, “You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God” (Matthew 26, verse 64), and they called it blasphemy and “rushed at him.” It was just the same here. There they “tore their clothes”; here they “stopped their ears.” “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, ‘Look, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, rushed at him all together, threw him out of the city, and stoned him” (verses 55 to 58).

And yet, if he was lying, they should have thought him out of his mind and let him go. But he wanted to win them over, “and said, ‘Look,’” and the rest. He had spoken of Christ’s death but had said nothing of his resurrection, and he wanted to add this teaching as well. “Standing at the right hand of God.” And Christ appeared to him in this way so that, on these terms at least, the Jews might receive him. For since the thought of his sitting at God’s right hand offended them, for the present Stephen brings forward only what concerns his resurrection. This is also why his face was made glorious. For God in his mercy wanted to make their schemes the very means of calling them back to himself.

And see how many signs are worked! “And they threw him out of the city and stoned him.” Here again it is “outside the city” (Hebrews 13, verse 12), and even in death there is confession and preaching. “And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he called on God and said, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’” (verse 59). This is meant to show them that he is not perishing, and to teach them. “And he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (verse 60). To clear himself, and to show that his earlier words had not come from anger either, he says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” wanting even in this way to win them over. For to show that he forgave their fury and rage in murdering him, and that his own soul was free of all passion, was the way to make his words welcome.

“And Saul was consenting to his death.” Then a persecution breaks out, and a great one. “And at that time a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8, verse 1). Notice how once more God allows trials to arise. Notice it, and mark well how events are arranged by God’s providence. They were admired because of the signs; when they were flogged, they were none the worse for it; some were appointed to see to the widows; the word grew. Then once more God allows a great obstacle to arise. [f]

And it was no ordinary persecution: “they were all scattered.” For they were afraid of their enemies, who had now grown bolder. At the same time it is shown that these people, who were afraid and who fled, were only human. So that you cannot say after all this that they accomplished what they did by grace alone, they were persecuted too, and they themselves grew more fearful while their opponents grew bolder. “And they were all scattered,” it says, “except the apostles.” But this was arranged by God, so that they would no longer all sit there in Jerusalem.

“And devout men,” it says, “carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him” (verse 2). If they were “devout,” why did they “make great lamentation over him”? They had not yet reached full maturity. The man was gracious and lovable. This too shows that they were human — not only their fear, but their grief and lamentation. Who would not have wept to see that mild, lamblike man stoned and lying dead? The evangelist has recorded a fitting eulogy to be spoken over his grave in this one saying: “Do not hold this sin against them.” “And they made,” he says, “great lamentation over him.” [g]

But let us go back over what has been said. He tells us the cause of Stephen’s angel-like appearance: “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” And when he said, “I see the heavens opened,” “they stopped their ears and rushed at him all together” (verses 56 and 57). And yet what is there in these words that deserves a charge? “At him” — the man who had worked such miracles, the man who had overcome everyone in argument, the man who could speak as he did! As if they had got the very thing they wanted, they immediately give their rage free rein.

“And the witnesses,” he says, “laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul” (verse 58). Notice how carefully he relates what concerns Paul, to show you that the power at work in him was from God. But after all this, not only did he not believe; he even aimed at him with a thousand hands. That is why it says, “And Saul was consenting to his death.” And this blessed man does not simply pray; he prays earnestly, “kneeling down.” See how holy his death was! Only so long did the Lord let the soul remain in him.

“And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (verse 60). “And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8, verse 1). And now they mixed freely with Samaria, though they had been told, “Do not go the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans” (Matthew 10, verse 5). “Except the apostles,” it says. In this way too they wanted to win the Jews, and not to leave the city, and to be the means of giving others courage. [j]

“As for Saul, he was ravaging the church, going into house after house; dragging off men and women, he committed them to prison” (verse 3). His frenzy was great: he was one man alone, and yet he even went into houses, for he was ready to give his life for the law. “Dragging off,” it says, “men and women”: notice the confidence, the violence, the frenzy. Everyone who fell into his hands he treated with every kind of cruelty, for after the recent murder he had grown bolder.

“So those who had been scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miracles that he did. For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed by them, crying out with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man named Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the same city and bewitched the people of Samaria” (verses 4 to 9). Notice another trial: this business of Simon.

“Claiming,” it says, “that he himself was someone great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’ And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had bewitched them with his sorceries. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself also believed, and after he was baptized he stayed close to Philip, and he was amazed as he watched the miracles and signs that were done. Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they had come down, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit” (verses 10 to 15).

And yet great signs had been done. How, then, had they not received the Spirit? They had received the Spirit — that is, the Spirit of the forgiveness of sins — but the Spirit of miracles they had not received. “For he had not yet fallen on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (verses 16 and 17). To show that this was so, and that it was the Spirit of miracles they had not received, notice how Simon, seeing the result, came and asked for this. “And when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power too, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’” (verses 18 and 19).

“The persecution,” you say, “grew stronger.” True. But at that very time it brought deliverance to people who had been possessed. For it planted the miracles like a fortress in the heart of the enemy’s country. Not even Stephen’s death quenched their rage; if anything, it increased it. But it scattered the teachers far and wide, so that the number of disciples grew all the greater. [k]

“And there was joy.” And yet there had been “great lamentation.” True; but notice the good once more: the deliverance was from a thing of “a long time.” And how did Philip come to baptize Simon too? In the same way that Christ chose Judas. And as for Simon “watching the signs” that Philip did: since the others had not received the power to work signs, he did not dare ask for it.

How was it, then, that they did not strike him dead, as they did Ananias and Sapphira? Because in the old times too, the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was put to death as a warning to others (Numbers 15, verse 32), and in no other case did anyone suffer the same fate. So too on this occasion, “Peter said to him, ‘May your money perish, because you thought that the gift of God could be bought with money’” (verse 20).

Why had these people not received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized? Either because Philip was keeping this honor for the apostles; or because he did not have this gift to give; or because he was one of the Seven — and this is rather what we should say. From this, I take it, this Philip was one of the Seven. But notice: the apostles did not go out. It was arranged by providence that these men should go out and the apostles be absent, because of the Holy Spirit. For these men had received power to work miracles, but not also to give the Spirit to others; that was the apostles’ privilege. And notice whom they sent: the chief ones, no others, but Peter and John. “And when Simon,” it says, “saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands…” He would … “Then they laid their hands on them,” and the rest — just as Paul also did, when they spoke in tongues (Acts 19, verse 6).

Notice Simon’s detestable conduct. “He offered money” — for what purpose? And yet he had not seen Peter doing this for money. And he did not act this way out of ignorance. He did it because he meant to test them, because he wanted to find grounds for accusing them. That is why Peter says, “You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God,” “because you thought,” and so on (verse 21). Once more he brings to light what was in the man’s thoughts, since Simon thought he would escape detection. “So repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see the bond of wrongdoing. Then Simon answered and said, ‘Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things you have spoken may come upon me’” (verses 22 to 24).

Even this he did only as a formality, as a matter of course, when he ought to have wept and mourned as a man repenting. “If perhaps it may be forgiven you.” Not that it would not have been forgiven if he had wept; but this is the prophet’s way too — to pronounce the sentence outright, and not to say, “But if you do this, your sin will be forgiven,” but that the punishment will come in any case.

“So those who had been scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” But I want you to admire how, even in a time of disaster, they did not neglect the preaching. “As they heard and saw the miracles that he did.” Just as in the case of Moses, set against the magicians, the miracles were plainly miracles, so it was here too. There was magic, and so these signs stood out clearly. “For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed by them” (verse 7). This was a plain miracle, not like what the magicians did; for the other man, Simon, probably bound people with spells. “And many,” it says, “who were paralyzed or lame were healed.” There was no deceit here, for all that was needed was that they should walk and work.

“And they all paid attention to him, saying, ‘This man is the power of God’” (verse 10). And what Christ had said was fulfilled: “False Christs and false prophets will come in my name” (Matthew 24, verse 24). “And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries” (verse 11). And yet there ought not to have been a single demon-possessed person left there, since he had been bewitching them with sorceries for so long. But if there were many possessed by demons and many paralyzed, his claims were not true. But Philip won them over by his word as well, speaking about the kingdom of Christ (verse 12). “And Simon,” it says, “after he was baptized, stayed close to Philip” (verse 13) — not for faith’s sake, but so that he might become like him.

But why did they not correct him at once? They were content with his condemning himself. For this too was part of their work of teaching. But when he did not have the power to resist, he plays the hypocrite, just as the magicians did who said, “This is the finger of God.” And indeed, so that he would not be driven away again, he “stayed close to Philip” and did not leave him. “And when the apostles in Jerusalem,” and the rest (verses 13 and 14). See how many things God’s providence brings about through the death of Stephen!

“But when they had come down,” it says, “they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (verses 15 to 17). Do you see that this was not to be done in any ordinary way, but that it took great power to give the Holy Spirit? For it is not the same thing to obtain forgiveness of sins and to receive such a power. It is by degrees that these people receive the gift. It was a twofold sign: the giving to them, and the not giving to this man. So, when this man ought instead to have asked to receive the Holy Spirit, he does not care about that, and asks for the power to give it to others. And yet those people had not received this power to give; but this man wanted to be more illustrious than Philip — he, one of the disciples!

“He offered them money” (verses 18 and 19). What? Had he seen the others doing this? Had he seen Philip? Did he imagine they did not know with what intention he had come to them? “Your money go to destruction with you” (verse 20), since you have not used it as it should be used. These are not words of cursing but of correction. “With you,” he says: let it go with you, since you are such a man. It is as if someone were to say, “Let it perish together with your intention.” Do you have so low an idea of the gift of God that you imagined it to be entirely a human thing? It is not that.

That is why Peter rightly calls the matter a gift: “You thought that the gift of God could be bought with money.” Do you notice how on every occasion they keep themselves clean of money? “For your heart is not right in the sight of God” (verse 21). Do you see how he does everything out of malice? Yet simplicity was what was needed. For if he had done it in simplicity, Peter would even have welcomed his willingness. Do you see that to think meanly of great things is to sin twice over? Accordingly, he tells him to do two things:

“Repent and pray, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you” (verse 22). Do you see that it was a wicked thought he had entertained? That is why he says, “if perhaps it may be forgiven you”: because he knew him to be beyond correction. “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of wrongdoing” (verse 23). Words of great anger! But otherwise Peter did not punish him: so that faith would not from then on be a matter of force; so that the thing would not seem to be done without mercy; so that he might bring in the subject of repentance; or else because it was enough, for correction, to have exposed him, to have told him what was in his heart, to have brought him to admit that he had been caught. For when he says, “Pray for me,” that is an admission that he has done wrong. [r]

Look at him, what a scoundrel he is! When he was exposed, then he believed; when he was exposed again, then he became humble. “Watching the miracles,” he was amazed and came over. He thought he could escape detection; he thought the thing was a craft. But when he did not have the power to get the better of the apostles … Again, he fears the crowd and is afraid to deny it. And yet he could have said, “I didn’t know. I did it in all simplicity.” But he was struck with dismay, first by the earlier thing — that he had been overcome by the miracles — and second by this, that his thoughts had been laid bare. So he now takes himself a long way off, to Rome, thinking the apostle would not soon come there.

“And when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem” (verse 25). “Testified” — probably because of Simon, so that the people would not be deceived, and would be safe from then on. “When they had preached the word of the Lord,” it says, “they returned to Jerusalem.” Why do they go back there, where the wicked held tyrannical power, where the men most bent on killing them were? They do just what generals do in war: they take up their position in the part of the field that is under the heaviest pressure. [t]

“And they preached the good news in many villages of the Samaritans.” Notice again how they do not come to Samaria on purpose, but driven by the pressure of persecution, just as it was in Christ’s case; and how, when the apostles go there, it is to people who are now believers, no longer Samaritans. “But when the apostles in Jerusalem heard this,” it says, “they sent Peter and John to them.” They “sent” them, again, to rid them of magic. Besides, the Lord had given them a pattern at the time when the Samaritans believed (John 4, verse 39). “And in many villages of the Samaritans,” it says, “they preached the good news.” Notice how busy even their journeys were, how they do nothing without a purpose.

We too should make journeys like these. And why do I speak of journeys? Many people own villages and lands, and give no thought to this and take no account of it. To have baths built, their revenues increased, courtyards and buildings put up — for this they take plenty of trouble; but for the farming of souls, not so. Answer me: when you see thorns, you cut them down, you burn them, you root them out completely, to rid your land of the harm they do. And when you see the laborers themselves overrun with thorns, do you not cut those down? Are you not afraid of the Owner who will call you to account? [u]

For ought not every believer to build a church, to get a teacher, to work alongside him, and to make this his aim above all, that everyone may be Christians? Tell me, how likely is it that your laborer will be a Christian, when he sees you so careless of his salvation? You cannot work miracles and win him over that way. Then win him over by the means you do have: by kindness, by good turns, by gentleness, by warm attention, by every other means. Most people provide marketplaces and baths, but no churches — anything sooner than this! So I beg and implore you, I ask it as a favor, indeed I lay it down as a law, that no estate be seen without a church.

Do not tell me, “There is one close by; there is one on the neighboring estates; the expense is great and the income is small.” If you have something to spend on the poor, spend it there — better there than here. Support a teacher, support a deacon, and a complete body of clergy. Treat the church as you would a bride, whether a wife you are taking or a daughter you are giving in marriage: give her a dowry. So your estate will be filled with blessing. For what good thing will not be there?

Tell me, is it a small thing that your winepress should be blessed? A small thing, tell me, that God is the first to taste your fruits, and that the firstfruits are there with him? Then too, this is good for the peace of the working people. The presbyter will be there among them as someone they must respect, and this will help keep the estate secure. There will be constant prayers there because of you, hymns and communion because of you, the offering every Lord’s Day. Just think what praise it will be — when others have built splendid tombs — to have it said of you afterward:

“So-and-so built this.” You have raised up churches! Consider that right up to the coming of Christ you will have your reward, you who have raised up altars to God. [v]

Suppose an emperor had ordered you to build a house for him to stay in. Would you not have done everything to please him? And here it is the palace of Christ, the church, that you are building. Do not look at the cost; count up the profit. Your people out there farm your land; you farm their souls. They bring you your crops; you lift them up to heaven. The one who makes the beginning is the cause of all the rest, and you will be the reason that people are brought under Christian teaching, both there and on the neighboring estates. The baths you build only make the country people soft, and your taverns give them a taste for luxury, and yet you provide these to be well thought of. Your markets and fairs, for their part, breed greed.

But think what a sight it would be: a presbyter, a living picture of Abraham, gray-headed, his clothes tucked up for work, digging and laboring with his own hands! What could be more pleasant than a field like that? The people’s virtue thrives there. There is no lack of self-control there — it is driven out; no drunkenness and no loose living — they are thrown out; no vanity — it is put out. Every kindly disposition shines all the brighter for the simplicity of their way of life. How pleasant for a man to go out and enter the house of God, and to know that he built it himself; to stretch out on his back in his litter and, after the refreshment his body gets from a pleasant ride in the open air, to be present at both the evening and the morning hymns; to have the priest as a guest at his table and enjoy his blessing as he spends time with him; to see others coming there too! This is a wall around his field; this is its safety. This is the field of which it is said, “the smell of a full field which the Lord has blessed” (Genesis 27, verse 27).

If the countryside is pleasant even without this, because it is so quiet and so free from the distractions of business, what will it be when this is added to it? A countryside with a church is like the Paradise of God. There is no shouting there, no turmoil, no enemies quarreling, no heresies. There you will see everyone as friends, all holding the same teachings in common. The very quiet will lead you to higher thoughts, and when the presbyter receives you already prepared in this way by philosophy, he will give you the finest healing. For here, whatever we say, the noise of the marketplace drives it all out; but there, whatever you hear you will keep fixed in your mind. Through him you will be quite a different man in the country. And besides, he will be a guide to the people there; he will watch over them both by his presence and by his influence in shaping their character.

And what, I ask you, would it cost? To begin with, build a small house to serve as a temple. The one who comes after you will build a porch, the one after him will add other things, and the whole will be credited to you. You give little, and you receive the reward for the whole. At any rate, make a beginning; lay a foundation. Urge one another on; compete with one another in this. As it is, where straw and grain and the like need storing, you think nothing of building; but for a place where the harvest of souls may be gathered in, we do not give it a thought, and the people are forced to go miles and miles and make long journeys to get to church!

Think how good it is when the priest, in complete quiet, comes into the church to draw near to God and to pray, day by day, for the village and for its owner! Tell me, is it a small thing that at the holy offering itself your name is always included in the prayers, and that prayers are made to God for the village every day? How much this benefits you in everything else! Suppose some great men happen to live in the neighborhood and have overseers there. To you, being poor, not one of them will stoop even to pay a visit; but the presbyter he will probably invite and seat at his table. How much good comes from this! In the first place, the village will be free of every evil suspicion. No one will accuse it of murder or of theft; no one will suspect anything of the kind. The people have another comfort too, if sickness comes, or death. Then again, the friendships people form there, as they walk side by side to and from church, are not struck up at random or with just anyone; and the gatherings there are far more pleasant than those at markets and fairs. The people themselves will also be more respectable because of their presbyter.

Why is it, do you think, that you hear Jerusalem was honored in the old days above all other cities? Why was this? Because of the worship of God that flourished there then. That is why, where God is honored, there is nothing evil, just as, on the other hand, where he is not honored, there is nothing good. It will be a great safeguard, both with God and with people. Only, I beg you, do not be slack; only put your hand to this work. For if the one who brings out “the precious from the worthless” will be “as the mouth of God” (Jeremiah 15, verse 19), then the one who benefits and wins back so many souls — those living now and those yet to come, right up to the coming of Christ — what favor will he not reap from God!

Raise up a garrison against the devil, for that is what the church is. From there, as from headquarters, let the hands go out to work: let the people first lift them up in prayer, and then go their way to work. In this way their bodies will be strong, the tilling of the land will be abundant, and every evil will be kept far away. The pleasure that comes of it cannot be put into words until you experience it. Do not look at the fact that it brings in no income. If you do it in that spirit at all, then do not do it at all. If you do not count the income you get from it as greater than what the whole rest of the estate brings you — if you do not feel that way — then leave it alone; if you do not count this work as serving you better than any other work.

What income could be greater than this: gathering souls into the threshing floor that is in heaven? Alas, that you do not know what a great thing it is to win souls! Hear what Christ says to Peter: “Feed my sheep” (John 21, verses 15 to 17). Suppose you saw the emperor’s sheep, or his herd of horses, exposed to raiders because they had no fold or stable, and you took them in hand, built a fold or stables, and even provided a shepherd or herdsman to look after them. What would the emperor not do for you in return? Now you are gathering Christ’s flock and setting a shepherd over it — and do you think it is no great gain you are earning?

But if a man incurs so great a punishment for causing even one person to stumble, how can the one who saves so many ever be punished? What sin will he have left after that? For even if he has one, does this not wipe it out? From the punishment threatened against the one who causes others to stumble, learn the reward of the one who saves. If the salvation of even one soul were not a matter of great importance, causing one to stumble would not stir God to such great anger.

Knowing these things, then, let us set ourselves at once to this spiritual work. Let each of you invite me, and together we will help to the best of our ability. If there are three joint owners, let them do it with each bearing his share; if there is only one, he will persuade the others nearby as well. Only be eager to get this done, I beg you, so that, pleasing God in every way, we may obtain the everlasting blessings, by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory, dominion, and honor to the Father and the Holy Spirit together, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.