The text I would like to call your attention to this morning is Acts 8:1-8. We will be looking at the persecution that arose right after the murder of Stephen as well as the expansion that it caused. I’ve very creatively entitled today’s sermon “Persecution & Expansion”. Let’s read our main text, pray, and examine/apply it together.

Verse

1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Commentary

In Acts 7:58 we learned that Saul was present at Stephen’s execution. The witnesses that stoned Stephen to death laid their garments at his feet. Now we see that Saul approved of Stephen’s execution. I like the way the NASB puts it. It says, “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.” Saul gave the executioners the equivalent of a Roger Ebert “two thumbs up” and hisapproval assured the witnesses that they were on the right path.

It would also appear that the stoning of Stephen really inspired Saul to take things to the next level. On the very day of Stephen’s murder it says a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem. I suspect that the execution site became the launch point for this persecution. Stephen’s killers and the Sanhedrin were still filled with rage and quickly put together a plan to go Christian hunting. Verse 3 tells us that Saul spearheaded the operation. The church then fled from Jerusalem and scattered throughout Judea and Samaria while the apostles remained in Jerusalem. Things certainly appeared to be out of control at this point. The Sanhedrin attacked the church causing it scatter and lose its strength in numbers. The Sanhedrin expelled the church from her normal meeting place, Solomon’s Portico.

May I submit to you that the persecution and scattering was more God’s plan than the Sanhedrin’s? May I submit to you that God very intentionally used the ferocity and hatred of His Son’s enemies to achieve His purposes for the church at this juncture in history? Some of you may be saying to yourself, “God would never treat His Son’s bride this way. God would never willfully orchestrate, support, or use tactics like this because He is a God of love!” Let me ask you this: Which of these is a greater example of love?

-Limiting the gospel to one location and to one people group?

-Or spreading the gospel throughout the entire region, beyond, and amongst all people groups?

Check this out:

-The Bible says that God has willed to save folks from every tongue and tribe through the person and work of Jesus Christ (Rev 5:9). People of every color, background, and language, not just Jerusalem and Hellenistic Jews.

-The Bible says that God’s elect are vast in number, not 10,000’s of thousands, not a 144,000, but too numerous to count (Rev 7:9).

-The Bible says that God uses “ALL THINGS” to achieve His purposes (Prov 16:4).

-The Bible says that God is sovereign over “ALL THINGS” (Eph 1:11; Psalm 115:3; Job 42:2; Daniel 4:35).

-The Bibles says that “All THINGS” will redound for God’s glory (2 Cor 4:15).

If all of these things are true of God then God must have ordained for the great persecution to happen so that He could use it to achieve His purposes. Now listen this is very true of God. God will often use calamity to conquer complacency. This means that at times He may bring trouble into the lives of people, more particularly into the lives of His own people, to stir them to action. Let me give you example.

When the Israelites were in Egypt during the time of Joseph they became very comfortable. They made lives for themselves and built families and so on. But God’s plan and command was for them to take possession of the Promised Land. The Promised Land was God’s true home for them, Egypt was only temporary. While living in comfort and complacency God installed another Pharaoh in Egypt who did not like the Israelites. He was paranoid seeing them as a threat. He sought to control them by means of slavery. Over time God used that Pharaoh to change the Israelites opinion of Egypt.

They went from loving it to wanting to leave. They began to cry out for someone to get them out of there and hence God sent Moses. Moses brought them out and then many years later Joshua led them to the place where they were supposed to be. From this story we can see how God used calamity, i.e. the slavery and oppression of pharaoh, to conquer the Israelites complacency and to get them to go where they were supposed to go. I believe the same is true of the early church. The Christians had become very comfortable in Jerusalem while ministering to Jews and that lead to complacency.

Keep in mind that the individual members of the church did not experience any persecution until after Stephen’s death. Before his death only the Apostles and Stephen experienced any trouble. You might say that gospel ministry was pretty easy for the congregation.

We learned earlier that church folks enjoyed the favor of all the people. The ease of ministry and the favor of the community lead to complacency towards the global ministry of God. Jesus commanded (paraphrased), “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations beginning in Jerusalem and moving out from there.”

How could the Lord’s people make disciples in all nations while at the same time being camped out in comfort with their Jewish compadres in Jerusalem? They could not. I would bet my life on this. I believe that if God had not ordained and brought forth that great persecution the church would still be camped out in Jerusalem today. You think, that’s a risky bet! I don’t think so. I know human nature. I know me. I know that I will always error on the side of comfort. I know that I am completely prone to complacency. Especially when it comes to the things of God. All of us love comfort and are prone complacency and the easier things are the more susceptible we become.

Let’s take this deeper. What ignited the persecution? It didn’t begin on its own right? What ignited it? Was it the death of Stephen? Not entirely. It was Stephen’s preaching. Stephen’s preaching rocked synagogues and the Sanhedrin. It brought the religious leaders to the point of being enraged, out of control, and murderous. If God is sovereign over all things as the Bible says then that means that He planned to use Stephen’s preaching and death for His purposes. Here’s how it all comes together. This order will help to explain why Stephen is so important to the history of the church and to God’s global plan. In a way this is like Stephen’s eulogy minus the little details and pleasantries. In eternity past God planned for the following things to happen:

God planned for Stephen to be born. God planned for Stephen to be saved.God planned for Stephen to be a deacon and preacher.God planned for Stephen to be brought before the Sanhedrin.God planned for Stephen to be martyred. God planned to use Stephen’s sermon and martyrdom to ignite persecution.God planned to use the persecution to disrupt and scatter the church so that it would begin to reach the rest of the world for Jesus Christ.

In light of these truths we can never say that Stephen’s life was cut short. We can never say what a waste of talent. We can’t ask the question, how much more good could he have done if he were allowed to live a little longer? Friends, hypothetical questions are worthless. They are nothing more than mere entertainment for our finite minds. Our God’s plans are no doubt mysterious, mind boggling, and even challenging but we can all rest assure in knowing that He truly does work all things for the greater good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Stephen’s death helped to spread the gospel throughout the Middle East.

And from the Middle East it spread throughout the rest of the world. Aren’t you glad that the Father predestined to use Stephen this way? Aren’t you glad that the Father ordained that persecution? Dying for the gospel was actually Stephen’s desire. He preached to get himself killed. He wanted his own blood to be the seed of global evangelism. All of us should take great comfort and joy in knowing that things ultimately happen for a reason and that our Sovereign God uses them to achieve His purposes. God uses the good, the bad, and the ugly of life to bring to fruition His plans which are all set to magnify His glory which is what radiates the everlasting joy of His people.

It is also noteworthy to identify the two regions that the scattered Christians went to, Judea and Samaria. I will also touch on how the apostles stayed behind. The Christians fled Jerusalem because it was dangerous. But those who had gone into other parts of Judea were still at risk. Jerusalem was in Judea and so were Bethany, Bethlehem, and Hebron. Christians would not be safe in those places for very long. They would however be safe in Samaria. Pious Jews avoided Samaria like the plague. Let me explain why. Samaria was located about 40 miles north of Jerusalem. It was the ancient capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. After nearly a century and a half of idolatry and rebellion against God, the city fell to the Assyrians under Shalmaneser V in 722BC. Samaria’s downfall marked the end of the Northern Kingdom.

Many of its people were resettled in other lands by the Assyrians, who also located people from other nations in that region. The resulting mix of Jews and Gentile peoples became known as Samaritans. The Samaritans had a bizarre blend of Judaism and pagan religion. They feared the Lord but also worshipped their own gods. Samaritans believed in their hearts that they were true Jews and that is why the Jerusalem Jews hated and avoided them. Interestingly, the Jewish aspects of Samaritan religion led them to await the coming Messiah which made it a great mission field. This is seen so clearly through how the Samaritan woman at the well very quickly repented of her sin and believed in Jesus after He showed her who He was. The bible says that many of her townspeople repented and believed as well. So it was a safe place. No pious Jew would go there. In fact, they carved our roadways to the east and west of Samaria so that they could skirt it while traveling to Galilee.

Why did the apostles remain in Jerusalem after the church fled? Why didn’t the shepherds go with the sheep? The fact is, not all Christians left. Many decided to endure the persecution and remain. The apostles continued to faithfully man their post for as long as they believed God wanted them to. Several chapters forward in Acts we will see them leave Jerusalem.

Let’s look at verse 2.

Verse

2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

Commentary

It is doubtful that the men that buried Stephen were brothers in the Lord because the term devout is used to describe pious Jews in the NT rather than Christians. The text says that these devout men made great lamentation over the death of Stephen. This is interesting because according to the Mishna it was unlawful for anyone to lament publically over the death of an executed criminal. But their lamentation was very open because our author Luke was notified about it and later wrote it down.

The text also implies that their lamentation was more like a public protest. The word great is translated mega in Greek which can also mean important. These devout friends of Stephen felt that his death was unjust and they believed it was important for them to make that known and to clear his name. Therefore they went about protesting and informing others. Last week I mentioned how Jesus stood to vindicate Stephen just before his death. In a similar way Stephen’s devout friends went about seeking to vindicate his name in Jerusalem through public lamentation. They put themselves at risk by breaking Mishna ordinances but I don’t think they cared about anything else at that moment. They loved Stephen. Stephen may have been sharing Christ with them. We don’t know. Luke now contrasts Stephen’s friends with Saul in verse 3. Look at it with me:

Verse

3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Commentary

While the devout men were lamenting, another man began a city wide campaign to imprison the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. It says “Saul was ravaging the church”. Ravaging appears only here in the NT and it means to severely injure, destroy, damage, or ruin. In extra biblical writings, it was used to describe the destruction of a city. Saul literally tore the church apart. This was an act that would haunt him for the rest of his life. After being saved several passages in the NT show that he felt utterly unworthy to be called an apostle. Why, because he approved of Stephen’s death and went house to house looking for Christians to put in prison. Notice how Saul did not discriminate. He dragged away both men and women. It was very uncommon for women to be imprisoned especially over religious matters. But Saul was zealous! Look at what happened next. Look at 4-5.

Verse

4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the cityof Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Commentary

When the Christians left Jerusalem and entered new towns they preached the word. And when Philip left he went to Samaria and proclaimed Christ. There is a difference between how the Christians preached the gospel and how Philip did. Preaching in verse 4 means evangelism in Greek. Evangelism essentially means to bring the good news of the gospel to others. Evangelism is typically done through regular conversation and relationship. M.L. Jones wrote that the scattered Christians were, “Gossiping the gospel”. They were bringing up Jesus as they went about their daily lives. Jesus was present in their conversations. So preaching here is a little different from what we’re used to. These believers were not standing in pulpits preaching the gospel like Colby, Cameron and I do each week. They were sharing Jesus during regular conversations.

Philip was doing something vastly different from this. Before I define what he did, who was Philip? To begin with he wasn’t the apostle Philip. That Philip was still in Jerusalem. This Philip was one of the men chosen to serve as a deacon with Stephen. Like Stephen, Philip also had the gifts of preaching and miracles. With that being said, Philip went into Samaria and proclaimed the Christ. Proclaimed means to herald the gospel or to announce it as a public messenger. Jesus proclaimed the gospel this way and so did John the Baptist, the apostles, Stephen, and later the Apostle Paul. Philip would be like one of today’s pulpit preachers or like a pastor of a church who proclaims the gospel each week with the exception that he performed lots of real miracles. Not Benny Hinn garbage. So Philip’s handling of the gospel was distinctly different from the rest of the scattered believers. They were sharing Jesus through daily conversations and Philip was proclaiming Jesus to audiences. Look at 6-7:

Verse

6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.

Commentary

These people were laser locked on Philip. All together they listened and paid close attention to him. The text paints a picture of them hanging on his every word. It was like they were mesmerized. And every miracle he performed affirmed his message about Jesus of Nazareth. Verse 7 says that Philip was an exorcist. He cast unclean spirits out of people and when he did it they cried out with loud voices. Jesus foretold in Mark 16:17 that the miraculous ability to exorcise demons would accompany those who believe. MacArthur agrees but says that gift ended with the apostolic era. He could be right. Now what was the result of Philip’s gospel preaching and legitimate miracle working? Conversions and joy! Look at our last verse, verse 8.

Verse

8 So there was much joy in that city.

Commentary

I know the verse doesn’t say conversions but the joy that filled that city was the joy that can only come from salvation and the Lords presence. It was that great unspeakable joy that the Bible talks about. It is the same joy that the Ethiopian eunuch experienced after he got saved and baptized (Acts 8:39). It is the same joy that the apostles experienced when the Lord returned to them from the cross and grave (John 16:22). This joy was very foreign to the Samaritan people. They had a long history of idolatry, false religion, and spiritual bondage under Satan. And then Philip came with the gospel which is the light of God and that light illuminated the hearts of many people. And those who repented of their sin and placed their faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ were filled unspeakable joy. There were many-many converts because joy reached the level of “much” or as some translations say, joy reached the level of “great ‘. In ending I’d like to read you an excerpt from Spurgeon’s sermons on Acts 8:8. This was preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on January 22, 1888.

“There was joy in Samaria because the Gospel was preached there. If men did but know it, the greatest gift a city can have is to have the Gospel preached in it. Remember the old motto of the city of Glasgow, “Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word.” No city flourishes so well as that which has a clear, powerful Gospel bell ringing in the midst of it! It is a famishing city which has not the Bread of Life, but it is a flourishing city which has the Bread of Life freely dispensed from the pulpit every Sabbath by loving hands.

But there was still more joy in Samaria because there were signs of blessing going with the Gospel. Unclean spirits were driven out of those who had been possessed by them and lame and paralyzed persons were made to walk! We work no such miracles, now, in the physical world, but we work them in the spiritual realm—out of many men have we seen the evil spirits go as the cup of devils has been abandoned! Filthy blasphemy has been given up and their speech has been seasoned with salt! Fornication has been forsaken, uncleanness of life has been hated and left, theft and dishonesty of every kind have become detestable! We have seen these miracles worked again and again. We have some among us at this time to whom we might say, “And such were some of you, but you are washed.” The Gospel has washed, cleansed and changed them—and it is going to do the same for others, for Jesus Christ has come to cast unclean spirits out of those who are possessed by them, and to make some receive Divine strength who have, up to now, been palsied so far as any holy action is concerned—that they may, henceforth, run gladly in the ways of God and give up their whole lives to His service and Glory. Oh, that it might be so with many here, today! If it is so, there will be great joy in this city!

Once more, there was great joy in Samaria because so many believed and were saved. He that believes in Jesus Christ is saved! The moment that he believes, his nature is changed, his sins are forgiven and his heart is renewed. This great work is done in a moment, but it is never undone! The new life commences with the miraculous, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and that miracle is of such a character that it continues to thrill throughout the entire man until, at last, he is brought safely to Heaven, made perfectly like the Lord Jesus Christ.

There was also great joy in Samaria because of the changed lives of those who believed. When a man is converted, he does not doubt the power of the Gospel that converted him. And when men see the changed lives of well-known sinners, they are made to believe that the Gospel that works such transformations must be true or, if they doubt it, they do so in the teeth of the most plain evidence. If our preaching does not turn men from drunkenness to sobriety, from thieving to honesty, from unchastity to purity, then our Gospel is not worth a button! But if it does all this, then this shall be the evidence that it comes from God, seeing that in the world so sorely diseased by sin, it works the wondrous miracle of curing men of these deadly evils! O my dear Friends, what a happy city Samaria was when it was full of men healed, saved, converted and rejoicing in Christ!”

I couldn’t agree more. Spurgeon’s desire and prayer for London is our desire and prayer for Modesto, Ripon, Keyes, Escalon and so on! I’d like to close out our time with a question. Do you have this great unspeakable joy? There is only one way to it, one truth that promises it, and one life that guarantees it. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the world’s only hope for deliverance from the bondages of sin and its hopelessness, agony, despair, and condemnation. If you have yet to repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus I beckon you to do so now. Pray to Him. Throw yourself before His throne of grace and plead for a pardon. He will forgive and save you. He will cast out your demons. He will give you His Spirit so that you may live for Him. He will give you unspeakable joy.

And for those of us that do believe, may our hope and faith be strengthened by what we’ve heard today. May the certainty of God’s sovereignty and great love for us ignite flames of passion for His cause in our communities. May we become emboldened to gossip and proclaim the gospel everywhere we go. May we also continue cry out to the Lord through prayer, “Take this place for yourself Lord Jesus! Save these people from their sins and make them a holy people unto yourself!

Amen.