John MacArthur on The Stoning of Stephen (Acts 7), from Stephen: A Profile in Courage
Acts 7:55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Stephen also saw Jesus standing to the right of the glory of God. Seeing what he wanted to see, he hadn’t looked in vain, for God had given him a glorious revelation. You say, “I thought the book of Hebrews said that after Christ had accomplished redemption, He went to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. What’s He doing standing up?” Well, He sat down in terms of redemption, but He always gets up when His children are in trouble. Somebody said, “He stands up to help the saints and welcome them home.” And it is possible that Jesus was standing up ready to greet Stephen, as well as help him in order to perform His priestly sustaining work. The standing of Jesus conveys the idea of His active interest in His servants, as if He were saying, “Stephen, I’m coming to your rescue!” What a vision!
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