Stephen's final words, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God," reveal why Christ stood at the Father's throne when Stephen was stoned. God has repeatedly been disappointed: angels followed Satan, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and Israel broke the covenant. Jesus alone yielded totally to God, and the question remained whether anyone else would give everything, even to death, for the New Covenant. Stephen was the first after Jesus to face that challenge (Luke 14:26). Christ understood the hearts of the Sanhedrin and knew that if Stephen accused them of blaspheming the true Temple and breaking the law, they would kill him. Christ therefore stood to witness Stephen's choice, whether he would shrink back or stand boldly in faith. Empowered by God's Spirit (Ephesians 6:13), Stephen stood firm while the stones struck him, and the host of heaven probably stood cheering. Christ was not disappointed this time but elated, because a human other than the God-man had given his all. Stephen's witness likely impressed Saul, who later wrote of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). Believers need not die as martyrs, but they are to give their all daily in service to God.

At the end of his sermon, knowing what awaited him, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and the resurrected Jesus standing at God's right hand. His face had glowed like an angel's before he spoke, but now he saw Christ Himself, whom the leaders had crucified. Acts 7:56 is the climax of the chapter for three reasons. It repeats the claim Christ made before the high priest, and as that claim brought a charge of blasphemy on Him, so it brought violence on Stephen. "Son of Man" is drawn from Daniel 7 and identifies Jesus as the Messiah; it is the only time in the Gospels and Acts that Jesus is called this by someone other than Himself. The verse also joins Daniel 7:13-14, which shows Christ's universal rule, with Psalm 110:1, which shows the Messiah at God's right hand in power, position, and acceptance. Christ there is Mediator, proving that access to God does not depend on the Temple and its priests. Hebrews 10 says Jesus sat down after His one sacrifice, in contrast to the Temple priests, who always stood. Here He stands, not as judge but as advocate and high priest, interceding for Stephen and watching with intense concern. He probably also strengthened God's Spirit in Stephen, giving him power to endure until he died forgiving his murderers. This vision is evidence that God will not allow trials beyond what believers can bear (I Corinthians 10:13). Christ owns those who are His and pleads their case before the Father.

As Stephen was being martyred after his sermon to the leaders of Judaism, he was full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The right hand is the most important place of honor, representing dignity and majesty. Stephen did not see Christ seated on the throne, as in Revelation 3:21 and Hebrews 8:1 and 12:2, where Christ sits as the High Priest who has brought full forgiveness of sins. Christ was standing, looking on and taking an active part rather than viewing passively, because God and Christ were pleased and excited and the angels rejoiced at Stephen's victory over sin, Satan, the world, and human nature. Stephen had been cleansed, sanctified, and completed in preparation for God's Kingdom. At the appointed time, after the resurrection of the firstfruits, he will bow before God the Father on the Sea of Glass with Christ seated at His right hand. The Father and Christ stand or sit depending on the occasion. Stephen's vision shows that God's throne is in a spiritual universe, closer than most people believe. His martyrdom also sealed the doom of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the young man Saul, who held the witnesses' clothes, became the apostle Paul.

Stephen, a sanctified member of God's church and one of the last profound witnesses to the leaders of Judaism, was full of the Holy Spirit when he gazed into heaven, saw the glory of God, and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Being at the right hand is the most important place of honor, a sign of dignity and majesty. Stephen did not see Christ seated, as in Revelation 3:21, Hebrews 8:1, and Hebrews 12:2, where He sits as High Priest who has brought full forgiveness of sins. Christ was standing because He was not a passive viewer but an active participant in what was happening. The Father and Christ stand or sit depending on the occasion. God and Christ were pleased and excited, and the angels rejoiced at Stephen's victory over sin, Satan, the world, and human nature. Stephen had been cleansed, sanctified, and completed in preparation for God's Kingdom. His martyrdom sealed the doom of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the young man Saul, who held the witnesses' clothes, became the apostle Paul. At the appointed time Stephen will bow before God the Father on the Sea of Glass, with Jesus Christ seated at His right hand, when all the saints appear after the resurrection of the firstfruits.