Who was the first follower of Jesus to be put to death for his faith?

The Answer

Stephen, one of seven men chosen to serve the early church, was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. After delivering a powerful speech tracing Israel's history and testifying about Jesus, he was dragged outside Jerusalem and stoned. As he died, he prayed for his executioners — while a young man named Saul, the future apostle Paul, stood watching and approving.

Stephen's final words echoed his Savior's: he entrusted his spirit to Jesus and prayed that this sin not be held against his killers. He had so absorbed the character of Christ that it poured out of him even under a hail of stones.

And notice who was watching: Saul of Tarsus. The church's fiercest persecutor witnessed the church's first martyr die with forgiveness on his lips. We cannot prove what seeds were planted that day, but soon after, Saul met Jesus on the Damascus road and became Paul.

You never know who is watching how you handle adversity. Grace under pressure preaches a sermon no words can match. Live today in a way that plants seeds — even in the hardest soil.