The stoning of Stephen, described in Acts chapter 7, kicked off a powerful persecution of the church.  In Acts 8through 12, we see a description of what the Church endured, and how it coped.  One of the chief things that stand out when we read these chapters is the sacrificial nature of the Church’s leadership.

Good leadership usually involves sacrifice. Take a look at these quotes of famous leaders:

Sir Winston Churchill
I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.

Nathan Hale
I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.

Vince Lombardi

Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.

Mahatma Gandhi

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.

Jesus of Nazareth

The good shepherd lays down His life for his sheep (John 10:11 NIV).

After the martyrdom of Stephen, the Church was able to go on and triumph, because it persevered in sacrificial leadership.  This leadership manifested itself in several ways.  We’ll look at the first of these this week.

I. The Leadership of the Early Church Sacrificed By Staying In Jerusalem During Persecution. (Acts 8:1-3)

These verses legitimize Stephen.  We are told that, “ Godly men buried Stephen and  mourned deeply for him” (Acts 8:2).  Some Bible expositors see his speech as a venting that brought forth destruction, but this was not merely an irresponsible venting of pent-up emotions.  God had used Stephen in a great and supernatural way to move His plan of salvation further along, by eloquently confronting the leaders of Israel with the truth that the Messiah had come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Godly men mourned deeply for this great man of God.

On top of this, the apostles bear witness to the truth in Stephen’s speech by meeting the persecution head on and staying in Jerusalem.  Acts 8:1 tells us, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered” (NIV).

Suffering is a part of church growth.  Why wouldn’t it be?  The true Church is a body that has turned from the world and from superficial religious traditions.  In breaking these bonds, the church is ostracized by the world and persecuted.

How does the Church manage when in the midst of breaking these bonds?  We have the answer here.   In most organizations, the underlings take the beatings and abuse, but here the leaders do.

By this time all of the apostles had been incarcerated and beaten savagely for their belief that Jesus is the Messiah.  In the near future, James, the brother of John will be martyred (Acts 12:2 – circa 44A.D.).  Also, Peter will be imprisoned and awaiting execution before being supernaturally delivered (Acts 12).

Because of the boldness of the apostles, the church steps out in  boldness and the miraculous.  Spiritual leadership works on the basis of Christ being the head of the body.  Leadership comes closest to being like Jesus, the real head, when it sacrifices itself.

The act of the apostles staying in Jerusalem and meeting the persecution head-on, empowered the church to do mighty acts.  The leaders reflected the headship of Christ, and the church reaped the power of Christ.  Paul later wrote of this principle of the heads of the church suffering while the body receives strength in 1 Corinthians 4:10, where he tells the Corinthian church of the sufferings of his apostolic band, and says, “We are weak, but you are strong!”

Next week we will examine the following:

II. The Leadership of the Early Church Sacrificed by Allowing the Subordinates to Step Into the Limelight

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