Stephen was arrested and brought before the council to explain why he was teaching what he was teaching. And he told them. Going all the way back to Abraham, He explained Christ through the Old Testament fathers. He showed them how the Hebrews rejected Moses, God, and His prophets. Then he turns it on the Jewish leaders. “As your fathers did, so do you.” He is accusing the religious leaders of opposing God!
They refused to hear Stephen, especially when he said he saw Jesus at the right hand of God. Their response: they took him out of the city to stone him. His response while being stoned, much like Jesus while he was being crucified. “Receive my spirit” and “don’t hold this against them.”
May we speak with the boldness of Stephen, and may we reflect Christ’s attitude just as Stephen did.