Saul's Persecution of the Church
Notes
Transcript
Acts 8:1-4
Acts 8:1-4
1. Saul’s approval of Stephen’s death
1. Saul’s approval of Stephen’s death
The man known as Saul was first introduced to the readers of Scripture in Acts 7:58
58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Saul was an ethnic Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin, but also Greek-speaking, being from Tarsus in southeast Turkey. His family was probably prominent, considering he was able to learn under Gamaliel in Jerusalem as a youth (Acts 22:3).
At first glance, we know that he is an important figure, either in the past, present, or the future. Otherwise, naming him as an observing bystander seems a bit pointless. So who was he? Was he a formerly important person, such as a retired politician or other public figure?
We can rule that out as being likely because it says he was a “young man.” It is believed Saul was in his early 20s at this point. Few men in that age bracket could reach a status of importance and then be recognizable as such. For that reason we would also be justified in speculating that he was not an important figure in the present time when this stoning took place. He was, however, trusted by those who were taking a part in the stoning. They laid their cloaks at his feet.
Sometimes we wear our cheaper, less “dignified” clothing when we are working or even in public if we are wearing a nicer outer garment such as a coat or suit. However, if the time came to shed that garment in order to perform some manual labor or exercise, we might take off the jacket or heavy clothes, and rather than just leave them laying around, might entrust them to someone who we know will take care of them until we come back for them. This is what Saul was doing for them.
The purpose of Luke mentioning this could be to show that Saul was present and trusted by the mob of religious Hellenistic Jews, but he did not actively participate in the murder of Stephen. This may be Luke’s way of exonerating Saul from accusations of murdering the first martyr.
However, Luke does not treat Saul lightly 3 verses later when he interjects, “Saul was consenting (approving) of [Stephen’s] death.” Saul may not have thrown a stone, but he was there, he was approving, and he may have even encouraged others to throw harder. Nonetheless, this introduction to Saul indicates he was respected and trusted by the Sanhedrin, which makes the hate he later experiences at the hands of the Jews even more tragic.
2. The Persecution Begins
2. The Persecution Begins
up to this time, the apostles had experienced some persecution from the temple leaders, but nothing more than questioning, overnight incarceration, and a beating
now the persecution ramps up suddenly average Christians were being targeted by the enemies of Christ
they were all scattered
they fled the city of Jerusalem and went out into the greater Judea area and even into Samaria
persecution, while difficult, frightening, even dangerous, is often part of God’s plan to grow His church and kingdom
didn’t the Lord tell them to do this in Acts 1:8 when He said “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
they had already been witnesses in Jerusalem
now it was time to take the Gospel to the rest of Israel
The apostles stayed in Jerusalem
the church was an infant, and in need of the guidance and instruction of the apostles
rather than flee, they stayed at the headquarters, so to speak
knowing they had a target on them, they decided to stay behind, perhaps to draw the attention of the enemy in hopes the church could disperse if and until things quieted down
or perhaps they felt they could serve the church best by remaining in Jerusalem
whatever the reason for staying, they were facing a formidable foe in Saul
3. Devout Men Buried Stephen
3. Devout Men Buried Stephen
There were still many devout Christians who stayed in Jerusalem with the apostles
unashamed and undeterred, they buried Stephen with a public funeral
they were not ashamed of the Gospel nor were they afraid to publicly identify with a martyr, who had remained faithful to their Lord until his death
4. Saul Scattered the Church
4. Saul Scattered the Church
We see here the whole reason for the scattering: Saul
this seemingly inconspicuous young man was anything but quiet and innocent
his motive may have been a true unrighteous indignation; an attempt to squash who he believed were blasphemers
or he may have been trying to make a name for himself with the authorities; to establish himself in their eyes as an ally and leader in order to gain political points
inwardly, he was seething at the audacity of Jesus and His followers
he had not only approved of Stephen’s death, but he may have also secretly (or openly) regretted not taking part in it
somehow, he convinced the authorities that these rabble-rousing followers of the Way needed to be rounded up and silenced before any more time was wasted, and that he was just the man for the job
so in order to slake his thirst for violence against Jesus, he “made havock” of the church
he raided homes, invaded church services, and hauled off men and women alike to prison for the crime of believing Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and thus the saviour of man
in later passages, Saul admits some of those he imprisoned were murdered for their faith
4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,
in this way, he still remained a conspirator and accomplice to their deaths, just as he was with Stephen
he also admits his motive was to destroy the church
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
it was for this he later calls himself the chiefest of sinners
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
He is saying he was a greater sinner than Caligula, Herod, or Judas Iscariot!
I wonder who among us would be bold enough or willing to say “I am the worst sinner there ever was.”
it’s easy for us to compare our sin against the sin of others and pronounce ourselves not that bad.
but if everyone in the world were guilty of lesser sins than you, would you still measure up to that standard?
less so - MUCH LESS SO - when we measure ourselves against the standard of the Law and Christ.
there is a caricature of Calvinists that pokes fun, saying “Calvinists give their children coal for Christmas because we’re all naughty”
while I appreciate the humor in that kind of remark, there is truth to this in that we are all terrible sinners
the doctrine of “total depravity” is not Calvinist: it is Pauline
there is none righteous (Rom. 3:10)
our righteousness is filthy (Isa. 64:6). Paul, who quoted Isaiah over 25 times, certainly would have believed this
by his own admission, Saul’s own sin was enough to condemn him, yet Christ died for someone even as evil as he was
Your goodness and righteousness pales in comparison to Christ’s
no, it stands out for the putrid filth that it is!
and mine is worse! you don’t know me, you don’t know what I’ve said, thought, or done. And I don’t know the same about you.
but the Holy Spirit does. He knows who you truly are, for as you think in your heart, that’s who you are.
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV 1900)
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
how do you measure up against Jesus?
are you closer to Saul or closer to Jesus?
to quote Paul yet again, in Romans 12:3
Romans 12:3 (ESV)
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think
5. The Scattered Were Preaching
5. The Scattered Were Preaching
undeterred by the threats in Jerusalem, the Christians who fled into the towns, villages, and countrysides nevertheless preached the Word
this is what the Lord commanded and instructed in Matthew 10:23
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
The believers began to preach Christ to the rest of Judea, which included Judea, Samaria, and Idumea (Edom)
the Gospel soon made it’s way to Antioch and Damascus, both in Syria
the next person who is named is another deacon of the Greeks, Philip, whose ministry we will look into more next week.
an interesting observation we make here is that the church did not attempt to fulfill the Great Commission until persecution came
all my life, I’ve heard it said the persecution came because the Apostles had gotten lazy and were unconcerned with the Gentiles
however, we know the latter part is not true, because they listened to the needs of the Greek Christians in chapter 6
the truth is, persecution always purges the church, strengthening the faithful and weeding out the imposters and the weak.
I believe persecution always comes from the hand of the Lord
this is why we can (and should) rejoice in our sufferings
while the trying by fire of the Christian is painful, we will come forth as gold (Job 23:10)
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
From this point on, the church of Jesus Christ begins to grow exponentially, eventually reaching the outskirts of the known world within a generation. In God’s providence, this is due mostly to one man: Saul of Tarsus. As an unbeliever, his hatred of Jesus and his persecution of the church scatters them beyond the borders of Jerusalem and into the greater Judea area. As a believer, his love for Jesus and care for the church takes the Gospel as far as Rome and beyond, and results in the penning of nearly 50% of the New Testament. The eternal scope of Saul’s reach is incalculable, and it all started as we know it with the martyrdom of Stephen. I can only wonder what Stephen is thinking today when he sees what the Lord did through his death.
If that does not make you believe in the sovereignty of God and that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose” then I don’t know what will.
Let us pray for God’s blessing, thank Him for persecution, and trust Him for His purpose.
