The Standing Jesus

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.
–Psalm 116:15

In our culture, standing is a sign of respect. Think about a wedding: When the doors open and the bride is about to walk down the aisle, what happens? Everybody stands. Or think about a sporting event: Before the national anthem is sung, the announcer will ask the crowd to stand out of respect for our country. Or picture a courtroom: When the judge comes in, the bailiff says, “All rise,” and everybody stands out of respect for the law.

In Acts 7:55, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, saw something interesting before he was stoned: “He gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

Stephen saw the Lord standing at the right hand of the Father. Why does this matter? Because every other time the Bible describes Jesus in heaven, He is seated at the right hand of God. There is a reason for this. Hebrews 10:11 says, “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” There were no seats in the Jewish temple because the priests’ work was never finished. The sacrifices they offered day after day, year after year, were incapable of taking away sins for good. Their duties were perpetual. Now look at verse 12: “But [Jesus], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” The fact that Jesus sat down meant His redeeming work was done. As He said on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

So why was Jesus standing when Stephen gazed into heaven? I think He stood out of respect. He stood to honor the first Christian to give his life for the sake of the gospel. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.”

Just as Jesus Christ stood to welcome Stephen, is it possible for us to live a life so pleasing to God that when our time comes, we will see the Lord Jesus Christ standing to welcome us home? Isn’t that a goal worth pursuing? May you and I live in such a way that one day we will hear Jesus say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The First Christian Martyr,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.