Acts 7:55-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14, Psalm 31:1-5,15,16

Who is your hero?
Why?
What makes a hero? Special power? Heroic deeds? A hero is someone who does something extra special, good, excellent, helpful, exemplary and costly to his or her self. A hero is an ordinary person who overcomes insuperable hurdles. Heroes are people we look up to and they are often those in dangerous jobs and/or who have done something bold and risky. You could be a hero – maybe you already are.

When we think of heroes we often think of people in dangerous jobs – like fire-fighters, police, surf lifesavers, paramedics, etc. Why do people sign up for this kind of work when they know they might be injured or killed? For some it the thrill of risk or sense of adventure. For many it is because they care, or they are giving back with gratitude for help they’ve received.

We’re not talking about superheroes. None of us have super powers that we can use – not that we need it; we have God with us and all his power. To be a hero requires that we give everything we do have, even if it doesn’t seem much and even to the extent of giving our own life.

In Acts 7 we read about a hero named Stephen. What happened to him? He got stoned. That doesn’t mean he got high on marijuana; it means people threw rocks at him until he died.

In Acts 6:3,5,8,10,15 we can see what kind of person Stephen was. His hero powers include ‘full of the Holy Spirit’, ‘wise’, ‘full of faith’, ‘full of God’s grace and power’, ‘able to work miracles’ and ‘a convincing speaker’. Stephen had these things but he wasn’t the only one. God did a number of miracles through Peter and the other Apostles as well. In fact all Jesus’ followers were full of the Holy Spirit who was working in them and through them.

The background
From Pentecost onwards God added to the community of Jesus’ followers every day. A wonderful community developed, as we saw last week. They enjoyed one another’s company. They were generous with one another. Before very long there were thousands of them worshiping together. They were a cross section of society. All manner of people, including a number of priests, came to Christ. The followers of Jesus were held in high regard by the people of Jerusalem but it wasn’t long before some of the leaders of the Jews found that they disagreed with this new teaching and wanted it to stop.

Opposition first came from the Sadducees. These Jews did not believe that dead people could ever come to life again. According to them that just doesn’t happen. The Apostles insisted that God had raised Jesus from death – after all they had seen Jesus alive – but this meant the Sadducees were wrong. They didn’t like being wrong and, since the Sadducees had political control, they tried to silence the Apostles. But the Apostles kept right on teaching and more and more people chose to follow Jesus.

Then Stephen annoyed some other Jews. These men hated Stephen because when they argued with him Stephen always won. They hated him so much they told lies about him, saying that Stephen had said bad things about God and about Moses. Moses was everyone’s hero in those days so this got lots of people stirred up and they took Sephen to court. In court Stephen told the truth about God and the people but the truth he told was so unpopular that they stoned him.

Stephen was the first person to be killed for being a follower of Jesus, but many more followed, right through to today. The stoning of Stephen triggered a wave of persecution against the church. Good will turned to ill will. The leaders and the people turned against those who followed Jesus, hauling them before the courts, imprisoning and killing a number of them. Nothing has changed. It is estimated that about 10% of the Christians in the world today live in potentially life-threatening situations.

At first opposition was aimed at the leaders only, but after Stephen died it was aimed at all of Jesus’ followers, most of whom promptly became refugees. So the lovely community was broken up. Jesus’ followers travelled out of reach of their persecutors and settled in various places around about. There I believe they regrouped and each small, relocated piece of the original group became a new Jesus community which then grew as they shared the gospel. We see that the spread of the church didn’t depend on the leaders. The Apostles were the only ones who didn’t leave town – they travelled later. Every follower of Jesus was involved in spreading the Good News. They made Jesus known in many more places and to many more people than before. This is how the gospel spread as Jesus had said it would – from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Surprise attack
For Christians in Jerusalem the extent and intensity of the persecution was likely much worse than anyone anticipated. There are people today in the same situation. For example, people in the north and east of Kenya have lived peaceably with their neighbours for a very long time but, recently, Christians have come under attack. In Syria, Christians lived at peace with their neighbours until about 3 years ago when the current war began. Many people have left the country but the anti-government forces are trying to wipe out Christianity in Syria in much the same way that the Sadducees tried to wipe out Christianity when it first started. The church survived then as it is surviving now and will always survive because God makes sure it does. In fact the church then and now grows in the face of opposition and persecution. For example: It is risky to be a Christian in Iran today but the church in Iran is growing. It’s like that in a number of countries.

Why do Christians stick it out and others join them when they know to do so is difficult and dangerous? We discussed earlier why people sign up for dangerous jobs. Now the question is, “Why do people sign up to follow Jesus?” Our readings – Acts 7:55-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10, Psalm 31:1-5,15,16 and John 14:1-14 – contain some answers. Some people revolt against the emptiness and others against the violence of their own religions especially as they come to an appreciation of the fulfillment and peace that is in Christ. They become convinced that following Jesus is the way to go and that conviction is unshakable. Jesus loves his followers like no one else and he protects them. Jesus reveals himself to his followers and they know him. Meeting Jesus makes all the difference.

A hero for Jesus
How many of those early followers were heroes? Maybe all of them. It does appear that some gave their lives. Many gave up their livelihoods, their homes, their friends, left familiar places and lived somewhere else. But there were benefits. God went with them. Friends travelled together and settled together. More people heard about Jesus and got to know him.

The situation of Christians today is the same as it was then. The difference is only that we know to expect opposition. Keeping things in perspective, I said that about 10% of the Christians in the world today are in potentially life-threatening situations. But it is only 10%; the rest of us have it pretty easy by comparison.

We are all heroes
Signing up to follow Jesus does bring blessings and benefits, but it also brings many challenges, sometimes life-threatening ones. But if we trust God, he has plans to use us in very special ways. He gives us the power and strength to achieve his purposes. It may be tough, it may hurt, it may lead even to death. But that’s how to be a real hero – be a follower of Jesus.