Immediate Word

This week’s Acts passage tells of the stoning of Stephen. It’s striking that such a gruesome scene is narrated in the matter-of-fact tone of a wire service story. Nevertheless, the essence of the event comes through loud and clear. The crowd obviously doesn’t want to hear what Stephen has to say, and they viciously turn on him: “[T]hey covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.”