Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-03-03


their teeth like an unrestrained rab-
BILE. Imagine the flower of the aris-
tocracy of the Hebrew nation becom-
ing a bowling mob, crying with
loud voice, stopping theirs ears and
rushing upon saintly-faced Stephen,
and hustling him outside the city
walls, where they began to stone
him to death.
BY the way, there is gate in the
present city of Jerusalem called st.
Stephens Gate" and there are hosts
of great churches over the world
bearing st. Stephens name; the most
notable of them being the cathedral
at Vienna. But l do not recall any
gates or churches or pillars or ruins
named after these members of the
Sanhedrin, who thought themselves
so great. They had power, but it
was only for a day. Alas, that the
falls into the hands of the local po
tentate with the power to slay.
Luke, who was an artist and knew
how to bring out his contrasts,
pauses in his description of the fury
of the Sanhedrin to show again the
! serene lSuTS OIL ol6Dnen WHO, DBlIS
full of the Holy Spirit, looked up
steadfastl yinto heaven, and saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing on
the right hand of God, and said, Be
hold, / see the heavens opened, and
the Son of man standing on the right
hand of Cod"
A Glimpse of Glory
I once heard Moody say, in a SER
| Stnnhnn
Jesus standing on the right hand of
God, because the Lord of glory could
not remain seated on His throne
while a beloved disciple was going
forward to martyrdom in His name.
Our imagination is stirred by the
consideration of what stephen be-
held through the opened windows of
heaven. Various archaeological ques-
tions arise, but we brush them aside
to recall chiefly that it was Jesus
Himself whom Stephen saw. The in
effable glory of the eternal kingdom
seemed not worth speaking about
when he could hold in full view his
risen Lord, for whose sake he was re-
joicing to die.
THE bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of grace;
]
But on his pierced hand:
The Lamb is all the glory
OF Emmanuers land"
Some of the commentators suggest
that Stephen doubtless knew Jesus
on earth; that he must have been
one of the seventy sent out by the
Master, and so he recognized Him in
heaven. The point counts for little.
There is not a disciple of Christ in
all the millions since who has not
instantly recognized his Lord when
the gates of glory open to him.
There will be no need for introduce
| tions to the Lover of our souls.
l know it is out of fashion in
these days to talk too much about
heaven, but the comfort that came
to Stephen as the rocks of hate
pounded against his flesh and crash
| ed into the shining face was the
comfort of real heaven and a liv-
ing Christ. This was his encourage
ment to pray in the Spirit of Christ
he saw, and so long as there was
q Vestige of his features left be-
meath that storm of stones, there was
still the shining of the reflected
light of the soul of him who was
true unto death.
Victory by Defeat.
Great as was Stephens sermon,
his martyrdom was greater. The pic
ture is one that the world would not
lose from it's memory; for Christ's S
man died in Christ's way. At the
very last, even as when he had walk
ed in ministry among the poor and
his Master. His last words were like
those of his Lord,-"Lord Jesus, re-
ceive my spirit" and Lord, lay not
this sin to their charge" - an echo
of Calvary's Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they dc"
This parallel in the two death
scenes must have set all Jerusalem
Christians die" was on many a lip,
and even the stern implacability of
the Sanhedrin must have been sha-
ken as they saw a faith that martyr
dom could not blot out; the Light
shone the brighter for the wind that
blew upon 1T.
There are strange links in history.
Stephens was not the only apparent
defeat that led to real victory.
Most Jealous among the mob OF the
murderers was young man named
Saur an aristocratic Pharisee OF the
stricter sect. 1t is not recorded of
him that he lost control of himself
as some of the elders did, and shout
ed and frothed and fumed, but he
kept watch over the coats of those
who stoned Stephen. lie thoroughly
approved of the deed. While his
philosophic mind must have been
sorely puzzled, yet his religious
training taught him that this pes
tiferous Christian sect must be wiped
out by force.
saul. Saul! how little you knew
that the torch that stephen dropped
from his bruised and broken hand
was to be picked up by you and car
ried as blazing beacon across the
then known world and throughout
] Ihe agest As dramatic as the death