Acts 8: 1-11

(Acts 8: 1-11)

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.


From the day Stephen was martyred, great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Fleeing persecution, all those who believed in Jesus were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. The church was in crisis, and the persecution of the church continued. After that, the history of persecution continued for about 300 years until the Roman emperor Constantine recognized Christianity. Although persecution was certainly a crisis for the church, church history testifies that persecution has always been an opportunity to spread the gospel.

The first example is shown by the church in Jerusalem. The persecution in Jerusalem left only the apostles and scattered the congregation throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. But it did not mean the collapse or destruction of the church in Jerusalem. Rather, it was the opposite. Those who were scattered in Judea and Samaria did not live in hiding because they were scared, but went around to preach the word of the gospel.

Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ to the people there. Like Stephen, Philip also spoke well and had the power to act with signs. He made filthy ghosts shout out loud from many people, and healed many paralyzed and unable to walk. Those who saw Philip's signs and heard him preach about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ all believed in what he was saying, and were baptized and followed. Great joy came to Samaria. The persecution in Jerusalem was an opportunity for the Gospel to spread out of Jerusalem.

 

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