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1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. ~ Acts 8:1-8
Today, we transition into Acts 8 where one would think the death of Stephen whose name means "crown" would detour the advancement of the church. Humanly speaking this makes sense but since when have we served a God who is measured by the ways of fallen man? The book of Acts is the story of how all that took place, happened according to the program that the Lord Jesus had outlined in Acts 1:8 where He said His followers would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them; and that they would be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him."
Since the religious leaders of Israel had found Stephen guilty of blasphemy, the persecution of all other believers in the Lord Jesus was ratcheted up. But we mustn't miss a very important point amid all of the chaos at that time in Jerusalem. It was through Stephen's prayer that the Lord gave us the Apostle Paul. Since Stephen prayed with his last breath for his enemies, God answered that prayer by saving Saul. Without Stephen's heart of forgiveness we would have not been given the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
Then there were the other believers in the Lord Jesus who were guilty by their association with Stephen. The religious leaders had been so cut to their core by the truth that Stephen delivered that day that they had no idea what to do with their guilt. The unforgiven know nothing of the freedom the soul experiences when it no longer has to live under the burden of trying to appease the judgment of God. Stephen died based upon the truth he spoke to the religious leaders of Israel. After they killed Stephen, the Jewish religious leaders felt they had to do something to the other believers there in Jerusalem in order to control them. They felt Stephen's words could not be allowed to motivate the other followers of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the persecution immediately of the believers began swiftly.
Interestingly, the persecution brought into fruition the words of the Lord Jesus in Acts 1:8 which reads, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
As those first century believers were being treated so badly, the church grew exponentially. What may seem like a catastrophe may be just the opportunity needed to get things going in a new direction. This was certainly the case with the church in Jerusalem. The persecution of the church was the spark that lit the fire of the growth in numbers and in spirituality among the believers.
In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word."
Saul chose to aid the religious leaders of Israel by dragging believers off to prison. With the persecution, the church grew dramatically because the followers of the Lord Jesus were authentically sharing the gospel with all who would listen everywhere they went. Their boldness was rooted in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, their persecution caused them to focus on what is really real. And, when we share with others what is really real we will be more authentic. With the boldness of Stephen, the early church was further emboldened. The world tells us in a thousand different ways that the bigger we become, the freer we will be. The richer, the more beautiful, and the more powerful we grow, the more security, liberty, and happiness we will experience. And yet, the gospel tells us just the opposite. The gospel always reminds us that the smaller we become, the freer we will be, the smaller we become the more impact God will deliver in and through us in this world.
In v.5-8 of today's passage we read, "5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city."
Philip, also mentioned in Acts 6:5 as one of the seven chosen as deacons shows up again in today's passage. He went down to Samaria, the area where the Lord Jesus met the woman at the well, and he preached the gospel with conviction. It is undeniable that once we enter into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, the joy of the Lord welled up in us to the point that we share with others the good news we have discovered. This is the case because the Lord Jesus is the ultimate game changer. He did more than hit a single to tie up the game in the ninth, He hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth, sealing our eternity for sure.
Many believed on the Lord Jesus as a result of hearing Philip that day in Samaria. The people not only heard the message, they also saw the miracles that accompanied the message. This means there was an abrupt change when they saw the people delivered from their former state. There is no wonder they believed when they heard the gospel proclaimed. Their physical healing was a sign that the Lord Jesus had the power to forgive their sin. As a result the city was in a state of joy because of what had happened.
It was Thomas Aquinas who once said, "Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures." Once we have experienced the life the Lord Jesus died to give us and we discover that it is far superior than the best this world can offer, we will be excited about sharing the Gospel with others. Once we were born again, the fruit of the Spirit became present in our lives because we received the touch of the Eternal One. This is eternal life, to know the lover of our souls and the utter joy from knowing Him for ourselves.
As it says in Isaiah 61:10, "I will rejoice greatly in the Lord. My soul will exalt in my God, for He has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. I will rejoice greatly."
