“And Saul was consenting unto his (Stephen's) death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.”
“That day” referred to here is the stoning of Stephen. After Stephen’s death, the persecution of Christians really picked up. But something good came out of this persecution. People, who had been converted on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2-3, and after, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Until that point all of the action of the church had taken place in Jerusalem, but now the action was spreading. This fulfilled what Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8: “But you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth.” I’m sure that when Jesus gave them that charge that they did not know how it would be carried out. Here is what I really want us to see in this text: Persecution did not kill the church, rather it scattered the church and it began a movement that would be worldwide in a few short years. Let’s go back and look at something that happened as Stephen was stoned: "They laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." Then we are told that Saul was “consenting unto (Stephen’s) death.” Who would have thought that in a short time this persecutor of the church would be a part of it and be one of the main characters in carrying out Acts 1:8. God does, indeed, work in mysterious ways. If we had planned it, it would not have been like this. We would have appointed committees and discussed being “witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth” to death. We would ask, “Exactly what did Jesus mean and how can we plan this thing out to everybody’s satisfaction?" This is not how God did it. He used the stoning of Stephen as the catalyst for scattering His church beyond Jerusalem; then, on the Damascus Road, converted Saul and turned him into “the Apostle Paul.” In order for the gospel to reach “the uttermost part of the earth” Gentiles would have to be converted. Again, if we had planned it out, we would have appointed committees, asked for resumes of good Gentile Christians, discussed it to death and come up with someone to witness to the Gentiles. This is not what God did. He found the meanest Jew that He could find, converted him on the Damascus Road, and sent him to witness to the Gentiles. Paul’s witness and the witness of Peter and other apostles enabled the gospel message to reach all the way to Rome and beyond, and as a result, carried out Jesus’ command. What lessons can we derive from this? First, we can understand that bad things that happen to us can turn out to be used of God for great purposes. Who knows but what some suffering that you have encountered has blessed someone else’s life in ways that you could not have planned out. Second, we can understand that when the Lord gives a command He means it, and He will see that it is carried out. If we didn’t send missionaries into the world, God would see that some were sent anyway. Perhaps, until the stoning of Stephen and the ensuing persecution, converted Jews were reluctant to leave Jerusalem. God had different plans and scattered them to other places. Third, God might want you to “scatter” from where you are in your life today and go and do what He wants you to do. (I’m not necessarily referring to location as much as I am referring to lifestyle.) At least give it some consideration. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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