Stephen is one of the first deacons — chosen by the early church to serve widows so the apostles could focus on prayer and preaching. But he is also full of the Spirit, and wherever he speaks, miracles happen. Religious leaders argue with him and lose every argument. So they put him on trial with false witnesses. Stephen stands before the Sanhedrin and gives one of the longest speeches in the New Testament — a tour through Israel''s history that ends with a pointed challenge. They drag him outside the city to stone him. As he dies, he sees heaven open and Jesus standing to welcome him home. His last words, like Jesus'', are a prayer for his killers: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Watching from the crowd is a young Pharisee named Saul. This comic captures the first martyr of the church — and the seed of Paul''s eventual transformation.