Saul
was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen, and lamented greatly over him. But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house, and dragged both men and women off to prison. Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. There was great joy in that city.
Acts 8:1-8
Acts 7 [57.] But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord. They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 8 [1.] Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen, and lamented greatly over him. But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house, and dragged both men and women off to prison. Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. There was great joy in that city.
Acts 8 [9.] But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that great power of God.” They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed.
Meaning:
Stephen has just been stoned outside Jerusalem, praying for his killers as he died (Acts 7:57-60). These verses show what followed. A wave of persecution drove the believers out of the city, and instead of silencing the Good News it carried the message into new regions. Jesus had said, “You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
- “Saul was consenting to his death”
Luke has already mentioned “a young man named Saul,” at whose feet the witnesses placed their garments. Now he adds that Saul approved of the killing. Years later Paul admitted it openly: “When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting to his death” (Acts 22:20).
- “They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria”
The believers fled, “except for the apostles,” who stayed in Jerusalem. Luke later picks up the thread again: “They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch” (Acts 11:19).
- “Devout men buried Stephen, and lamented greatly over him”
Burying the body of a man executed as a blasphemer, and mourning him openly, took courage. Later Jewish tradition discouraged public lament for someone put to death by a court. These “devout men” honoured a righteous man, as Joseph of Arimathea had honoured Jesus (Luke 23:50-53).
- “But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house”
The church met in homes, so Saul went from house to house, arresting “both men and women.” Paul never forgot this: “I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9).
- “Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ”
Philip was one of the seven chosen to care for the widows, alongside Stephen (Acts 6:5). Now he becomes an evangelist. Samaritans descended partly from Israelites and partly from peoples the king of Assyria settled in the land (2 Kings 17:24). John explains, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4:9). Yet they too awaited the Messiah, as the Samaritan woman said: “I know that Messiah comes, he who is called Christ” (John 4:25). Philip announced that the Christ had come.
- “There was great joy in that city”
Unclean spirits came out, and the paralyzed and lame were healed. These were the same signs Jesus pointed to when he answered John the Baptist: “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk” (Luke 7:22). The risen Lord was continuing his work through his people. The result was the joy the angel had announced at Jesus’ birth: “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10).
The Significance of Acts 8:1-8
- God works through hardship
The persecution meant to destroy the church scattered its seed. Paul later saw the same pattern in his own imprisonment: “the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News” (Philippians 1:12).
- Every believer a witness
It was not the apostles but ordinary scattered believers who “went around preaching the word.” Every follower of Jesus can speak of him wherever life takes them.
Cross-References:
Acts 1:8: “You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” Jesus’ plan for the spread of the Good News.
John 4:9: “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” The divide Philip crossed.
Galatians 1:13: “I persecuted the assembly of God, and ravaged it.” Paul remembers his past.
Acts 11:19: “They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.” The scattering continues.
Conclusion: After Stephen’s death a great persecution, led by Saul, scattered the believers from Jerusalem, but they preached the word wherever they went. Philip proclaimed the Christ in Samaria, where signs of healing and deliverance brought great joy. God turned persecution into the means of fulfilling Jesus’ command to be his witnesses in Judea and Samaria.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible