Question: Who saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at His right hand just before his death?
Answer: Stephen. (Acts 7:55)
Comments: Stephen was the first Christian martyr. As he was dying, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
"But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;" (Acts 7:55, NASB)
Though Jesus is always presented at God's right hand, he is typically sitting, having accomplished the work of our redemption (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; 16:19; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). In fact, Acts 7:55 & 7:56 record the only Biblical account of Jesus standing (histemi) at God's side.
David J. Williams speculates, "The thought may be that he had risen to receive Stephen into heaven or to plead his case in the heavenly court, as though two trials were in progress: this one, conducted by the Sanhedrin, and another, which alone would determine Stephen’s fate [Luke 12:8]." (Williams, New International Bible Commentary: Acts, p. 146.)
F.F. Bruce (1910-1990) adds, "Stephen had been confessing Christ before men, and now he sees Christ confessing His servant before God. The proper posture for a witness is the standing posture. Stephen, condemned by an earthly court, appeals for vindication to a heavenly court, and his vindicator in that supreme court is Jesus, who stands at God's right hand as Stephen's advocate." (Commentary on the Book of Acts, p. 168.)
The change in Jesus' posture may also indicate the earnestness with which he watched the events unfold.
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