Luke writes Acts between 80 and 90 CE, documenting events from five decades earlier. Stephen was one of seven deacons appointed in Acts 6:5 to distribute food to Greek-speaking widows in the Jerusalem church. In 33 or 34 CE, during the prefecture of Pontius Pilate and the high priesthood of Caiaphas, Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin on charges of blasphemy. His defense speech in Acts 7:2-53 reviews Israel's history and concludes by calling the council stiff-necked resisters of the Holy Spirit who murdered the Righteous One. The Sanhedrin erupts in rage.
Stephen reports seeing the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. This phrase directly invokes Daniel 7:13-14, where one like a son of man receives everlasting dominion from the Ancient of Days. Jesus himself cited this text at his own trial before the Sanhedrin in Mark 14:62. The crowd covers their ears, rushes at Stephen, drags him outside the city walls, and stones him. The witnesses who cast the first stones, as required by Deuteronomy 17:7, lay their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul, positioning him as supervisor of the execution.