“Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;”
Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them' - Stephen's final petition is for forgiveness of his killers: 'Do not hold this sin against them' (mē stēsēs autois tautēn tēn hamartian). This directly parallels Jesus's crucifixion prayer (Luke 23:34), 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' Stephen becomes a living icon of Christ's mercy and forgiveness, even as he is martyred for witnessing to Christ. His forgiveness speech may well have planted seeds in the watching Saul.
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