⁵⁸ . . . they began stoning [Stephen]; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul . . . ¹Saul 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. ²Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. ³But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. ⁴Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

Master storyteller that he is, Luke lays out the pertinent back story of the apostle Paul, who enters the scene not as an apostle of the faith but as a major detractor, if not the most ardent persecutor of the Christian movement. The great irony is that his pre-conversion “ravaging” of the church actually served God’s purposes, spreading Christianity into all the world! This is just like the way the Jewish leaders’ actions in crucifying Jesus fulfilled God’s purposes to bring salvation to the world. So also, we see that Saul’s efforts to destroy Christianity resulted in the Christians being spread outside of the confines of Jerusalem. God was making sure Acts 1:8 would be fulfilled: “[Y]ou shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Saul, never one to do things halfheartedly, was instrumental, not just in the “great persecution” against the church, but also in its explosive expansion.

We learn a number of subtle lessons in this part of the story. First, the apostles were apparently the only ones left in Jerusalem, although by the time of Acts 15, there was a sizeable congregation led by the apostles and elders (Acts 15:2). The last count was five thousand (Acts 4:4), but certainly the numbers had greatly dwindled because of the persecution. But their concern was not a numbers game; the message was going out widely.

Despite our idolized view of Stephen’s martyrdom, for the people who knew him, there was “loud lamentation” over his death. It was hard to bury him. Further, the pristine view of the early Christians’ sacrifice is shattered upon a sober reflection of the description here: their homes were invaded; they were dragged off to prison. One needs little imagination to read between the lines; their treatment was terrible and their suffering was great. Yet despite all this, the triumphal conclusion is succinctly and clearly stated: “Those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.” Their suffering did not stop their witness. They were a people on a mission!

Lord, help me keep focused on the mission, to be Your witness in this world.