The circle widens

Let's take a look at our passage ~ Acts 8.1-8 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him [Stephen] to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation, over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. So there was much rejoicing in the city. (NASB)


Greetings, Friends.
Ah, and so we see Saul is at the scene of Stephen's stoning; some have suggested it was done at his bidding. . . Saul or Paul? Who is this man? Well, Saul is his Hebrew name, but it seems that after the events recorded in Acts 9, he goes by the name of Paul. [Paul was born Saul, in the Roman colony of Tarsus, and was educated under Rabbi Gamaliel. Both his Roman citizenry, and Pharisaical education under this highly-respected rabbi gave Saul reason to boast. As he said of himself, he was a "Hebrew of the Hebrews." For the rest of Acts, it is Paul who will be the predominate figure.]

With Stephen being martyred, we turn the page to a new chapter in the church--one of great persecution and trial. (Reading through all of this, I can palpably feel the shift inside myself, the painful change that is taking place--things will never be the same... but then, they weren't mean to be.) Stephen is not even in the grave yet, and the young Christians in Jerusalem are in danger. Men and women are dragged out of their homes, beaten and imprisoned, (which meant their property also would have been confiscated). We mentioned at the start of our study of Acts that the book can be broken down as such: Chapters 1-7 record Jesus' work by the Holy Spirit through the apostles in Jerusalem; chapters 8 - 11 cover the believers going out to Judea and Samaria. . . Picture the concentric rings of the circle expanding from the center. . . the Gospel is going out from its original site in Jerusalem. . . Indeed, we must never lose sight of the Great Commission--Acts 1.8--And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you wlll be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and. . .

We find ourselves at this intense time, with Saul's position, personality and behavior looming large. He is intent in destroying the Christian church, convinced that the followers of Jesus are in the wrong. None of this catches the God off-guard, though; He uses what the devil meant for evil, (the church suffering at the hand of Saul), for good. While most of the apostles stayed in Jerusalem, the new converts went out from there--but they did not go alone, they went armed with the Holy Spirit, their hearts and minds full of the events they had seen and participated in, and ready to be His witnesses. And thus, the Gospel spread, as they shared the Word.

We noted in yesterday's Morning Briefing about Stephen that he was described as "full of God's grace and power", remember? And then, we have this little-known apostle, Philip, stopping in Samaria, preaching about Christ. Evidently, when the apostles had earlier prayed that God would give them boldness in their witness, extend His hand to heal, and perform signs and wonders, Philip was listening! (Acts 4.30) Luke tells us that the crowds were listening and responding, people were being healed, evil spirits were being cast out--it was another amazing time of the Gospel being preached + miracles being done = many souls being saved. Oh, yeah--the prayer is still a good one: "God, fill us with your grace and power, help us to be bold in our witness for you, and come and do the miraculous as your people pray." Amen Christine