Julia Allan walks through Acts 6:8-15 (NIV), the story of Stephen on trial before the Sanhedrin. The Jewish religious leaders enlist people in bearing false witness against Stephen who, in his conversation with the Sanhedrin pokes at some of the people’s religious idols: the temple and the law. Luke ends the passage by saying of the Sanhedrin, “…they saw that his [Stephen’s] face was like the face of an angel.”
Stephen becomes a follower of Jesus, faces opposition and rejection from his own people, is put on trial and falsely accused, and yet in the face of this turmoil and tension he looks like Jesus. What if we, as followers of Jesus, could courageously follow after Jesus, name the idols of our people, and when we face opposition, we still resemble Jesus? The world needs people who look like Jesus.