Atos 8

Atos 8

Chart from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission THE EXPANDING WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT-EMPOWERED CHURCH Acts 8:1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him 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. (NASB: Lockman) KJV Acts 8:1 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 Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. Saul - Acts 7:58; 22:20 a great persecution began Acts 5:33,40; 7:54; Mt 10:25-28; 22:6; 23:34; Luke 11:49,50; John 15:20; 16:2 the church Acts 2:47; 7:38; 11:22; 13:1 and they were all scattered Acts 8:4; 11:19-21; Mt 5:13; Php 1:12 Samaria Acts 8:14; 1:8; John 4:39-42 except Acts 5:18,20,33,40; Ex 10:28,29; Neh 6:3; Da 3:16-18; 6:10,23; Heb 11:27 Acts 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE FIRST GENERAL PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH See Irving Jensen's Timeline of Acts above and in that diagram you will notice that Acts 8:1 is a hinge verse that flings open the door for the Gospel to spread eventually to the uttermost part of the world! While the versification of the Scripture is not inspired, it is nevertheless intriguing to observe that Acts 8:1 is the mirror image of Acts 1:8 and begins to answer Jesus' commission in 1:8. The upshot is that if the church would not obey 1:8 then God would allow 8:1 to force them to obey 1:8! Are you resisting God's clear guidance, direction or commandment in some area of your life? If so you might ponder the possibility that God might bring about an "1:8 to 8:1 reversal" -- God has not changed. I am reminded of God's famous words to godly King Asa... “For (EXPLAINS 2 Chr 16:8) the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”(2 Chr 16:9) Saul - More literally this is "And Saul" as the NAS does not translate the Greek word for "and" (de). For example the ESV has "And Saul approved of his execution." You may be asking why is this important? And (de) is a coordinating conjunction and in this context clearly denotes continuation and further thought development of the topic begun at the end of Acts 7. Here are the last verses from Acts 7 When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:58-60) Clearly Saul in Acts 7:58 is the same person identified in Acts 8. As an aside remember that the chapter divisions are not inspired and this division is to put it plainly "horrible" as it breaks the continuity of Acts 7:58-60. Paul (Saul) later confesses his sin of essentially being an "accomplice" in Stephen's murder and martyrdom ‘And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving (suneudokeo in the present tense), and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying (anaireo of Jesus' murder in Acts 2:23+) him.’ (Acts 22:20). Comment - The construction of this sentence in Acts 22:20 and the parallel passage in Acts 8:1 suggests that Saul himself was not throwing stones but obviously was in agreement with the stoning. Saul was in hearty agreement (was consenting) with putting him to death - This is a key juncture in the book of Acts as it marks a decisive change in direction for the Church of Jesus Christ. While the previous 7 chapters have focused on the birth and expansion of the Church based in Jerusalem, this passage marks a permutation of the plan to expansion of the Church beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Saul of Taurus was to the early church what the architect of the holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, was to the Jews who lived in Nazi Germany in the 1930's. Even as Eichmann was zealous to exterminate the Jewish race, so too Saul was just as zealous to exterminate the Church of Jesus Christ. Saul (Paul) himself later testified that he was "as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church." (Php 3:6). Zeal is the noun zelos which is derived from the verb zeo which means to be hot, to boil, to be fervent. What an apt picture of Saul's deep devil-inspired, devotion to eradicate the Church! David