7:59

he made this appeal: “Lord Jesus”: As mentioned in verses 55 and 56, Stephen had a vision in which he saw “the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.” So Stephen clearly distinguished Jesus from Jehovah. Stephen was aware that Jehovah had given Jesus the power to resurrect the dead. It would therefore have been natural for Stephen to speak directly to Jesus, whom he had seen in the vision, and to ask Jesus to safeguard his spirit, or life force. (Joh 5:27-29) Stephen addressed Jesus by using the expression “Lord Jesus [Greek, Kyʹri·e I·e·souʹ].” In the Christian Greek Scriptures, Kyʹri·os can refer to Jehovah God or to Jesus Christ, but here the context clarifies that Kyʹri·os refers to Jesus. The Greek word here rendered “he made this appeal” is not the usual word for “praying” in the Christian Greek Scriptures, but it is rendered “prayed” in many Bible translations, giving the impression that Stephen prayed directly to Jesus. However, reliable reference works state that the Greek word used here (e·pi·ka·leʹo) means “to call on; to invoke; to appeal to an authority,” and it is often rendered that way. (Ac 2:21; 9:14; Ro 10:13; 2Ti 2:22) The same word is used in rendering Paul’s words: “I appeal to Caesar!” (Ac 25:11) Therefore, there is no reason for concluding that Stephen was praying directly to Jesus. Rather, because of this vision, Stephen felt free to make this plea to him.​—See study note on Ac 7:60.