Why did God let Stephen be martyred?

Q. Why did God let Stephen be martyred? It looks like he could have been a great asset to the church.

A. God’s ways are not our ways; and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Isaiah 55:8. Yes, it looks as if Stephen could have had a great ministry and a great future. Acts 6:8.

But how do you know that he would have remained faithful if he had lived another 60 years? And if he was ready to be in the Bride of Christ, God did him no disservice by taking him when he was young, strong and healthy.

His message, in Acts 7, actually judged Israel, and brought the 70^th week of Daniel to a close. See Daniel 9:24. The same high priest and council that threatened Peter and the apostles (Acts 5:41) and that condemned Jesus to death (Matthew 26:57), now heard a young man summarize the entire history of Jewish failure – culminating in the rejection of the Messiah. They couldn’t take it, and rose up and stoned Stephen to death.

Saul of Tarsus was there. Acts 8:1; 7:58. He may have been a member of the Sanhedrin. See Acts 26:10. If so, he could have been there when that council tried to stop the apostles from preaching. Seeing Stephen’s martyrdom had an effect on Saul. When he was converted later, he was already “kicking against the pricks.” Acts 9:5. He had seen Stephen forgive. He had seen the Jews moved with anger and hatred, and Stephen responded in love. Stephen had a better spirit than the Jewish religious leaders. Did that cause Saul to question who was really right with God?

Stephen’s martyrdom may have led directly to the conversion of the man who would become the great apostle to the Gentiles, and the author of most of our New Testament epistles. If so, Stephen would likely say it was worth it all.