Acts 8:1-4

The Church Persecuted by Saul

Luke told Theophilus that Saul, by holding the coats of those who stoned Stephen, had given consent to his death. Immediately following this violent act, an intense period of persecution followed. The apostles remained in Jerusalem, but other disciples were driven to every corner of Judea and Samaria. God's providence can be seen in the safety of the apostles, who would have been the most visible leaders in the church. He can also be seen as working through the terrible acts of wicked men, who were persecuting the church, to spread the gospel over a broader territory.

Luke observed that "earnestly religious," or devout, men buried Stephen and greatly mourned his death. A couple of observations arise out of Luke's simple record. First, the brethren, or some God fearing men among the Jews, still had enough faith in God to openly bury a Christian who had died such a violent death for preaching the gospel. Second, the Sanhedrin must have recognized how wrong their actions were since their custom would not allow an individual grave and lamentation for one who had been judicially stoned.

Saul operated as the agent of an angry Sanhedrin which was intent upon wiping the church off the face of the globe. Boles thinks it probable that these events took place in A.D. 37.

,,,this was the year in which Tiberius died and Caligula succeeded him. There was a time when there was no Roman governor in Judea, and the Jewish factions reigned supreme. Hence, the opponents of Christianity visited Christian homes and thrust Christian men and women into vile prisons and then brought them before the elders in the synagogue, who tried to force them to deny Jesus; on their refusal some of them were put to death (Acts 22:4; Acts 26:10), others were beaten (Acts 26:11), and all suffered many outrages (1 Timothy 1:13).

The church's response to the death of Stephen and the persecution which followed is both understandable and puzzling. The fact that Christians fled the area of Jerusalem and Judea is not surprising. However, that they preached the gospel wherever they went despite the trouble such preaching had given rise to is remarkable (Acts 8:1-4).