“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”
Acts 7:55 (NLT)
Right after Stephen rebukes the high council, they become enraged by the truth. They shake their fists, grind their teeth, and choose anger instead of surrender. It’s wild to watch the Jewish leaders prove, again, how far their hearts are from the law they claim to love. They missed an opportunity to let the Holy Spirit speak and change them.
But Stephen is experiencing something completely different. He’s full of the Holy Spirit, and that fullness gives him a steady gaze when everyone else is losing their minds. In the middle of accusation and pressure, he’s allowed to look into heaven and see the glory of God. The fullness of the Holy Spirit Stephen carries here was already evident in the heavenly authority of his preaching.
And Stephen sees something unique in Scripture: Jesus standing at the place of honor at God’s right hand. Every other picture I can think of shows Jesus seated—at rest, reigning, interceding. But here, he’s standing. I believe Jesus is honoring Stephen’s faith, celebrating a servant who’s willing to speak the whole truth and risk everything for Jesus’ name.
Stephen’s story doesn’t end with rage—it ends with love. As stones are flying, he asks the Lord not to charge his persecutors with this sin, mirroring his Savior’s response on the cross to persecution. Holy Spirit in us makes that kind of forgiveness possible. So today I’m praying we’d live full of the Holy Spirit—truthful, steady, heaven-focused, and willing to forgive—until we see Jesus standing in the place of honor, like Stephen did.