During the both trials, of Jesus and Stephen, “false witnesses” testified against them. When you look at the Bible, however, the testimony doesn’t seem false at all. For example, at the trial of Stephen the witnesses said, “this Jesus the Nazorean will change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” That sounds about right. But as we have to admit, change is hard. After almost 60 years the changes proposed by Vatican II still provoke a reaction. It is not surprising that there was such strong resistance to the message of Jesus, preached by Stephen. The biggest change the gospel calls for is to get the focus off of ourselves and what we’re going to get and onto seeking first the kingdom of God.
