And he kneeled down , and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
This verse records the final words of Stephen, widely regarded as the first Christian martyr. Stephen was a leader in the early church in Jerusalem — known for his faith and wisdom — who was arrested and brought before the Jewish religious council. He gave a bold speech retelling the story of Israel and accusing the religious leaders of rejecting God's messengers, including Jesus. The crowd became so enraged they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death by hurling large rocks at him. His dying words are a deliberate echo of Jesus's own prayer on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." The phrase "fell asleep" was how early Christians tenderly described death, carrying within it a quiet confidence in resurrection.
God, You know who I haven't let go of yet. I don't have Stephen's courage, but I want to get there. Help me pray the prayer he prayed — not because what happened didn't hurt, but because I have been forgiven far more than I have ever been wronged. Amen.
They are throwing rocks at him. And his last breath — not a scream, not a curse, not even a desperate prayer for his own survival — is spent asking God not to hold this against them. Read that slowly. This is not a natural human response. It is not the thing that rises in any of us when we have been hurt, let alone while we are being killed. What Stephen does in this moment is either the most radical act of love ever witnessed, or the closest unguarded window we have ever been given into what it actually looks like to live like Jesus — all the way to the end, with nothing left to lose. You probably won't be stoned today. But you will be wronged — and maybe you are already carrying something that surfaces uninvited at 3 AM, something you have rehearsed and re-rehearsed without meaning to. Stephen's prayer does not offer you an easy exit. He didn't pray it from a safe distance after time had softened the edges. He prayed it from the ground, mid-stone, while it was still happening. That kind of forgiveness is not a feeling — it is a costly, deliberate choice that costs something real. What would it mean today to ask God not to hold against someone the thing they did to you?
What kind of life do you think produced Stephen's response in that moment — what do you imagine he had been practicing, day by day, that made that prayer possible under that kind of pressure?
Is there someone in your life whose debt you have been quietly keeping — a record of what they owe you that you carry around without quite realizing it?
Forgiving someone doesn't mean calling what they did acceptable or safe. How do you hold those two truths together honestly in practice, without using one to avoid the other?
If you genuinely released someone from the account you've been holding, how might that change the actual texture of your interactions with them — or with others?
What would it look like — specifically and honestly — for you to pray Stephen's prayer for one person in your life this week?
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Luke 23:34
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Job 42:10
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psalms 95:6
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luke 6:27
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Romans 12:14
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:28
Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!" When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].
AMP
And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
ESV
Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them!' Having said this, he fell asleep.
NASB
Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
NIV
Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
NKJV
He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
NLT
Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, "Master, don't blame them for this sin"—his last words. Then he died. Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.
MSG