Stephen’s vision of an open heaven is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. For the high council, Jesus standing at the right hand of God was blasphemy.

Jesus was rejected because he claimed to be one with God and thus made himself equal to God. For them, Jesus was in league with the devil (Matthew 12:24) and, in their view, could not stand next to God.

That is why they dragged Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death. He says: “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Jesus stands up to receive Stephen. When we die, someone is waiting for us.

Stephen prays: “ Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” and “ Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:59.

This is one of the few known prayers to Jesus in the Bible. The second is found in Revelation 22:20. It is a characteristic of the first followers of Jesus to pray to Jesus (Acts 9:21 and first Corinthians 1:2 / 12:3).

The certainty that not everything ends with death was one reason why the Jesus movement grew so quickly in the first centuries. People went to their deaths for their faith without hating their tormentors. This brought other people into question.

more from Acts: https://jesus-news-israel.net/tag/acts/