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Martyrdom of Stephen
[Bible]The martyrdom of Stephen was the stoning of Stephen, one of the seven men appointed to serve in the early Jerusalem church, after he preached before the council. It is recorded in Acts 6–7.
Acts 8
[Bible]Acts 8 describes the great persecution that followed the martyrdom of Stephen and the scattered believers who preached the gospel wherever they went. It recounts Philip's preaching in Samaria and on the desert road to Gaza, including the accounts of Simon the sorcerer and the Ethiopian eunuch.
Ethiopian Eunuch
[People]The Ethiopian eunuch is the treasury official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who appears in Acts 8. After Philip the evangelist explained a passage from Isaiah to him and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus, he was baptized.
Antioch
[Bible]Antioch is the name of two cities in the New Testament: Syrian Antioch, where believers were first called "Christians" and from which Paul's missionary journeys set out, and Pisidian Antioch, where Paul preached in the synagogue.
Stoning
[Bible]Stoning is a method of execution in which an offender is put to death by a group of people throwing stones. The Old Testament law prescribed it for a number of grave offenses, and in the New Testament it appears in the account of the woman taken in adultery and in the martyrdom of Stephen.
Cyprus
[Bible]Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean, still known today by the same name. In the Book of Acts it appears as the home of Barnabas and as the first place where the gospel was preached on Paul's first missionary journey.
Simon Magus
[People]Simon Magus is a sorcerer in Samaria who appears in Acts 8. After being baptized, he tried to buy the power to impart the Holy Spirit and was rebuked by Peter. The term "simony," meaning the buying and selling of church offices, is derived from his name.
Phoenicia
[Bible]Phoenicia was the region of port cities, such as Tyre and Sidon, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, in what is now Lebanon. In the Old Testament the region appears mainly under the names of its cities, Tyre and Sidon, while the name Phoenicia itself appears in the Book of Acts.
Phoenicia
[Bible]Phoenicia is a New Testament place name for the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, roughly the coastal region of present-day Lebanon. Its chief cities were Tyre and Sidon, and in Acts it appears as a gateway through which the gospel spread into Gentile lands.
Acts 9
[Bible]Acts 9 recounts how Saul, who had been persecuting the church, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, was converted, and began to preach the gospel. It also tells how Peter healed Aeneas at Lydda and raised Tabitha at Joppa.
Acts 7
[Bible]Acts 7 records Stephen's defense before the council, in which he retraces the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon, followed immediately by his martyrdom by stoning.
Acts 7:60
[Bible Verses]Acts 7:60 records the prayer of Stephen, who, as he was being stoned to death, asked forgiveness for those who were killing him. Because it echoes Jesus' prayer on the cross and because Saul (Paul) was present at the scene, the verse is frequently cited as an example of love for one's enemies and of martyrdom.
Acts 6
[Bible]Acts 6 is the chapter that recounts how the Jerusalem church chose seven men to oversee the daily distribution to the needy after complaints arose over it, and how one of them, Stephen, was accused before the council.
Acts of Peter
[Bible]The Acts of Peter is a New Testament apocryphal work generally dated to the late second century. It recounts how the apostle Peter contended with Simon Magus in Rome and was martyred by being crucified upside down.
Matthew 16:24
[Bible Verses]"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" is a saying of Jesus. Often regarded as a summary of discipleship, the verse is widely cited in discussions of martyrdom, daily devotion, and the meaning of suffering.
James (Son of Zebedee)
[People]James, the son of Zebedee, was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and the brother of the apostle John. According to the Book of Acts, he was killed with the sword by King Herod, and he is the only one of the Twelve whose martyrdom is recorded in Scripture.
Seven Seals
[Bible]The seven seals are the seals that close the scroll held in the hand of God in Revelation 5–8. As the slain Lamb opens them one by one, war, famine, death, martyrdom, and cosmic upheaval follow in succession.
Ignatius of Antioch
[People]Ignatius of Antioch was bishop of the church in Antioch in the early second century. While being taken to Rome for martyrdom, he wrote seven letters. He is counted among the Apostolic Fathers.
Martyrdom
[Christian Life]Martyrdom is being put to death for keeping the faith or for refusing to renounce it. A person who dies in this way is called a martyr, and from its earliest days the church has remembered martyrs as examples of faith.
Mark 10:38–39
[Bible Verses]In this passage, James and John ask for places of glory, and Jesus asks whether they are able to drink the "cup" that he drinks and to be baptized with the "baptism" that he is baptized with. He then tells them that they will indeed receive both. The text is frequently cited in discussions of suffering, martyrdom, and discipleship as service.