Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

Jesus was a puzzle to many of the common Jews who watched His mighty works and listened to Him speak. At first they were ready to make Him king (John 6:15) and after He did not allow Himself to become that physical king on earth much grumbling and division arose among the multitudes (John 7:12 & 40-43). Meanwhile, the Jews in power rejected Him as Jesus grew up in Nazareth and few would even question Him (John 7:47-52) and those leaders that did believe in Him were afraid to publicly say it for fear of being put out of the synagogue (John 9:22 & 12:47). The chief priests and Pharisees convened a council saying they felt threatened for their place as well as their nation and planned together in council to kill Him (John 11:47-53). When Jesus began to speak openly that "The Son of Man must be lifted up." (John 12:34) the people wondered who the "Son of Man" was as they said "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is the Son of Man?" (John 12:34) That turned many of the people to disbelief. "But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him." (John 12:37).

And so to find our answer to our question, "Stephen's executioner's robes laid at whose feet?", we begin our search by turning to Acts chapter six after Jesus has been both crucified and raised from the dead and the New Testament church has been established when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles with power and the first gospel sermon was preached by Peter and men and women repented of helping crucify the Son of God and were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and were added to the church those that were being saved (Mark 9:1 & Acts 2:1-47). As the Apostles began working miracles upon the people (Acts 1:1:1-11) and they were indeed amazed but the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees were very disturbed and put them in jail (Acts 4:1-4). After Peter gave defense that the man who was lame from his birth was healed by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene to show them that salvation comes through Him alone (Acts 4:8-12). After some threatening the apostles were let go after being commanded that they should speak no more in His name even though Peter said they cannot stop preaching Jesus (Acts 4:18-21).

Soon the apostles were again speaking Christ publicly and after being jailed because of jealously but an angel of the Lord released them and again they boldly proclaimed the truth and were again brought before the council and demanded not to speak any more in His name and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:17-29) and with some coaxing by Gamaliel who warned them they "…may even be found fighting against God." (Acts 5:39). Then we find Stephen, after the apostles had laid their hands on him by the Holy Spirit he received powers which he worked with signs and great wonders among the people (Acts 6:5-8). Soon he was challenged by men of the Synagogue of the Freedmen who were unable to cope with the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke so they induced men to bring false charges against him and he was brought before the Council (Acts 9-15).

Stephen gives a defense before them by reminding them of the history of their forefathers and how they persecuted the prophets before,

Acts 7:51-53 You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears always resisting the

Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not

persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose

betrayers and murderers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by

angels, and yet did not keep it.

The Council was cut to the quick when they heard these words, and when Stephen said, "Behold I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56), they cried out with one impulse and rushed upon him and drove him outside the city and as they prepared to stone him, they laid their robes at the feet of a young man,

Acts 7:58-60 And when they had driven him outside of the city, they began stoning him, and the

witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they went on stoning Stephen as

he called upon the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit!" And falling on his knees, he cried out

with a loud voice, "Lord do not hold this sin against them!" And having said this, he fell asleep.

So there we have the answer to our question, the young man's name is "Saul", who we probably know better as "Paul" (Acts 13:9).

Saul, the man who persecuted the church with strong conviction (Acts 8:1-3), and went to Damascus with letters to bring any "…belonging to the Way" to be jailed in Jerusalem. On the way, Saul hears a voice in a bright light and Jesus tells him that it is He who was speaking and that he should go into Damascus to do what he "must do" (Acts 9:1-9), and indeed he did heed the vision as he saw Ananias who asked him to raise up and be baptized to wash away his sins (Acts 22:16). As we know, Saul not only proved obedient to the Lord's words but he became a courageous worker of the Lord before the Jews as well as the Gentiles and Kings! Paul said, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day." (Acts 23:1) which shows that a clear conscience will not save us as he persecuted the Christians to death, but he also says about his former life, "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given , to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ," (Ephesians 3:8) which shows his humility as well as his thankfulness that he should be counted worthy to be chosen by the Lord as an apostle after the things he had done to the saints. May we be as humble and as courageous as Paul in our lives and may we be able to say as Paul did say,

2 Timothy 7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the

future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will

award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.