Friday Acts 8:1-3

Saul persecutes the church.

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Stephen was killed by the angry mod which was led by the Sanhedrin. We say that they left their coats with Saul while they killed Stephen. That was the introduction to Saul.

Now in chapter 8, the focus shifts to Saul who we later know as Paul. What do we know about him? We know from the rest of the New Testament that Saul was from Tarsus which was in modern day Turkey. So, Saul would have been a Hellenistic Jew. We know he was from the tribe of Benjamin and that he was a Pharisee. He was a student of Gamliel who we saw earlier in Acts. He was very zealous about the Law. Saul approved of stoning Stephen.

With the murder of Stephen, there began a persecution against the followers of Christ. Everybody who followed Christ was now considered a traitor to Judaism. Christians were arrested and put in prison. Saul took up the cause of destroying the church.

Because of the persecution, the Christians fled from Jerusalem. A few, most notably the apostles, stayed in Jerusalem. Some went to other areas of Judea outside of Jerusalem, but some went to Samaria.

How could God allow this persecution? Remember the mission of the church. Jesus said that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. God did not cause the persecution, but he can even use the evil actions of people to advance His plan. The persecution is taking the gospel to Judea and Samaria.

When we find ourselves in unpleasant circumstances, we often blame God. Or we ask why did God allow this? What we should do is ask God what He would have us do in light of our circumstances. The answer is always: get closer to God and get serious about the mission.