Acts 8:1

And Saul approved of his murder. He did not throw a stone, but he agreed in spirit with what they did. See the description of Saul in notes on Acts 9:1. That very day. Murdering Stephen was not enough! These men, including Saul, wanted "blood" of the entire messianic community. All the believers. The GROUP had become very large, some think as large as one hundred thousand members. Persecution caused an explosion as it forced the disciples to run for their lives! Acts 8:4 tells the results. Except the apostles. An old tradition says Christ ordered the apostles to stay in Jerusalem for twelve years, so that no one there could say he had not heard the Good News. The apostles were shielded in some way.