Acts 8 - Pressure, Persecution, Prosperity

A shocking opening verse today in Acts 8. Saul approved of their killing him. Yesterday, reading in chapter 7, we first saw Saul as the coat boy, but we really didn’t get the full picture of this young man's authority and power. Today, that perspective changed. We will get more into Saul later as the book progresses, but what we saw here is an essential reminder that just reading a verse, series of verses or even a chapter can often leave out the necessary context and critical details. Chapter 7, without this verse in chapter 8, wasn’t a complete picture of the situation Stephen faced. 

Ok, onto Samaria and this new disciple Philip. Back in chapter 6, where Stephen was introduced, we also met Philip. He was another one of the so-called bread boys that got called out and called up to assist with the racism going on in the church. This shows us that Philip was a stand-up guy, full of the Holy Spirit, and a leader of leaders. It also shows us that Philip was a sacrificial leader, who was willing to be led and open to the calling that God put on his life. 

Great persecution came to the Jesus movement in these times as we read about Stephen and his stoning. The persecution, torture, and destruction to the church at this time were horrific. Take a moment and just imagine this:

“But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I read this and imagine the movie scene of a mafia movie, where the mob boss is calling out orders for the destruction of the community who won’t come on board. Watching city blocks destroyed, businesses burned down, people murdered, and pure evil unleashed. This is the scene I see when I read this. Saul was the mob boss. 

This caused the disciples to scatter and get out of town. I did find an interesting discovery about the word scatter. Scattered: According to Boice, there are two different words in the ancient Greek language for the idea of “scattered.” One has the idea of scattering in the sense of making something disappear, like scattering someone’s ashes. The other word has the idea of scattering in the sense of planting or sowing seeds. This is the ancient Greek word used here. 

Why is this interesting to me? Well, think about it. The torture and persecution caused the disciples to scatter. I read this, and my guess is you do as well, and this seems like a forced and bad situation. It appears to me, and real Biblical scholars that the disciples didn’t want to get out of Jerusalem and go into all the other areas, so how did it happen? The way the scattering happened, the way the planting or sowing of the seeds of the Gospel happens was through the torture and devastation Saul and his cronies were doing. The horrific acts were the way and the path to the spreading of the Gospel. Without the persecution, it’s fairly likely the message of Jesus would not have spread. I am not inferring or saying God caused the persecution, but it is relatively clear to me that God used it in a powerful way to get the message of Jesus through the lands...a horrible situation and circumstance that produced the most significant movement of God. Perspective.

The last thing I want to share about is the powerful opening mission of Philip. This can and is missed a lot when we are reading, and I believe that translates into our lives of missing opportunities because they don’t look like we envisioned. 

“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A simple sentence that says a lot. Take a moment and think about the place or location that you just would not want to be sent to. That prayer, God I’m here, use me send me, I will go...but God, just don't send me to ___________. Maybe your calling stops at a poverty-stricken African community. Perhaps you will do just about anything, but don’t send me to a homeless community under a city bridge. Whatever that place is to you, this was Samaria. This is how a commentary describes it:

The city of Samaria: 600 years before this, the Assyrians conquered this area of northern Israel and deported all the wealthy and middle-class Jews from the area. Then they moved in a pagan population from afar. These pagans intermarried with the lowest classes of remaining Jews in northern Israel, and from these people came the Samaritans.

i. Generally speaking, the Jews of that day hated the Samaritans. They considered them compromising half-breeds who corrupted the worship of the true God. “There was deep-seated prejudice, amounting almost to hatred, standing between the Jews and the Samaritans.” (LaSor)

ii. James and John (and the other disciples as well) once thought that the Samaritans were only good for being burned by God’s judgment (Luke 9:51-56).

iii. Jesus’ experience with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and His story about the kindness of a Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) illustrate the natural tension between the Jews and Samaritans of that time.

iv. Yet, Philip preached Christ to them. Because Jesus had worked in him there was no room for this kind of prejudice in his heart or mind. He wasn’t a racist towards the Samaritans.

Philip stepped in, and stepped up to a mission that nobody wanted. Philip preached the Gospel; crowds heard him and saw signs and wonders. Here are the results. 

“For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We read this, we rejoice and celebrate the results, but it fairly easy to just across the part of the story that this was Samaria. This was the place nobody wanted to go to. We can often desire the prosperity we read about, but are not willing to step into the pain and persecution that is needed to produce it. The easy way hardly ever leads to the greatest results. 

The chapter goes on, and Philip’s ministry is incredible and powerful. Read Acts 8, and you can not help but be encouraged by this man's actions and his living out his purpose. Lord, I pray that we are not seeking the easy way out. Father gives us the wisdom, discernment, and tenacity to step into the challenges before us and experience the prosperity you have in store for us. We desire great joy in our cities, great joy in the hearts of those around us. Lord, use us today to bring great joy.