Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter
Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. But some of those who were of the synagogue called "The Libertines", and of the Cyrenians, of the Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia arose, disputing with Stephen. They weren't able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, then brought him in to the council, and set up witnesses who said, "This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us." All who sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face like it was the face of an angel.
Though princes sit and slander me, Your servant will meditate on your statutes. Indeed your statutes are my delight, And my counselors.
I declared my ways, and you answered me. Teach me your statutes. Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works.
Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously! I have chosen the way of truth. I have set your ordinances before me.
On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn't entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone. However, boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn't there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
Jesus answered them, "Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Don't work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him."
They said therefore to him, "What must we do, that we may work the works of God?"
Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
Stephen stands before the council with the face of an angel, accused of blasphemy for speaking truth about Jesus. Meanwhile, crowds chase after Jesus not because they understand his signs, but because he filled their stomachs. Both scenes reveal something profound about human motivation and divine purpose.
The crowds want Jesus to be their meal provider, their problem-solver, their personal genie. There's something uncomfortably familiar in their pursuit. How often do we seek God primarily when we need something? When life gets difficult, when we're worried about money, when relationships strain? Notice how Jesus doesn't condemn their hunger but redirects it toward something deeper—the food that endures to eternal life.
Stephen embodies this redirection. Faced with false accusations and a hostile crowd, he doesn't defend himself with clever arguments or political maneuvering. Instead, his face radiates something otherworldly. The text suggests that his deep communion with God transforms even his physical appearance. This is what it looks like when someone has learned to work for the food that doesn't perish.
The psalm captures this beautifully: "Though princes sit and slander me, your servant will meditate on your statutes." When external circumstances turn hostile, the believer's anchor remains fixed on God's truth rather than human approval or earthly security.
Jesus tells the crowds that believing in him is the work of God. This isn't about earning salvation through effort, but about the fundamental reorientation of our desires. The movement is from seeking God for what he can do for us, to seeking God for who he is.
This shift doesn't happen overnight. It requires daily choices to meditate on God's truth rather than obsess over external pressures, to find our security in divine love rather than human validation.
What are you chasing Jesus for today? When life gets difficult, where does your heart instinctively turn for comfort and security?