And there was much rejoicing

Acts 8:1-8 - Celebrate Life: And there was much rejoicing Doug Partin - The Christian Church - 11/15/2020 While some of us might enjoy a good murder mystery trying to solve the case before the solution is revealed at the end of the show, or have our hearts pound and minds race trying to figure out if the bad guys will kill the good guys or end up being killed in an action-packed thriller; Luke reported that Saul actually took pleasure in Stephen's murder. The word describing how Saul felt literally meant "with others, thinking good about it." Of course, he didn't see it as murder, but as a justified capital punishment for a crime committed. The problem was that what Jesus' disciples claimed to be the "Word of God" was spreading like a contagious virus, and as a result, the number of disciples, that is, people believing what was being said about Jesus, in Jerusalem was increasing by leaps and bounds. Even a large number of the priests were, according to Luke, becoming obedient to the faith. And Stephen, who Luke described as a man full of grace and power, had been performing great wonders and signs in and around Jerusalem which was convincing a lot of people to accept his plea that they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It was exciting times for the emerging church. In hopes of silencing Stephen, a contingent of men from the Synagogue of Freedmen engaged him in a debate. They tried to argue against what he proclaimed; but, according to Luke, they were unable to cope with the "wisdom and spirit" with which Stephen was speaking. The "debate" only resulted in more people accepting Stephen's version of "God's Word." So, these Synagogue leaders took a different tact. They "induced" some men to report to the Sanhedrin that they had heard Stephen speak blasphemy against Moses and God. They then took it upon themselves to stir up the people, the elders, and the scribes in response to these "reports," which resulted in Stephen being arrested and dragged before the Sanhedrin, which was, if you didn't know, their civil as well as spiritual ruling counsel. False witnesses were introduced at Stephen's trial, but when the members of the Sanhedrin looked at Stephen during their "testimony," trying to gauge his response to their claims, all they saw, according to Luke, was the face of an angel. The High Priest, seeing that things were not going well for the prosecution, finally asked Stephen, "Are these things true?" And that is when Stephen confronted the leaders of Jerusalem with the truth. What he said is recorded in the 7th chapter of Acts. It was an inspired response, and well worth the time it would take you to read it; but it was his conclusion that I want to bring to your attention; spoiler alert, it was not well received by the Sanhedrin. Stephen told these leaders of Israel, "You stiff-necked men, whose hearts are uncircumcised, and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit, you are doing exactly as your forefathers did. Which one of the prophets did they not persecute? They killed those who announced the coming of the Righteous One, and now, you have betrayed and murdered Him yourselves. You embrace the law as ordained by angels, yet you did not keep it." You might feel that what Stephen said, or at least the tone of how he probably said it, was inappropriate, a bit too harsh, spoken with too much passion, and certainly wasn't an expression of respect for his elders. You might be thinking that Stephen should have softened his message before he hit the send button. And in some ways, you'd be right. But, Stephen never took a course on how to be politically correct. You know, a good politician would have been able to tell those Jewish leaders that they were wrong in a way in which they would have agreed with the criticism, but that's not what Stephen did. What Stephen said only infuriated them. Luke says that they gnashed their teeth at him while he was talking. But, Luke also said that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, so what he said was the right thing to say, and the right way to say it. At the end of his response, Steven gazed intently into heaven and then described, out loud, what he saw: "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." This revelation was more than what some of the members of the Sanhedrin could stand. They rushed Stephen, overpowered him, and drug him outside. They threw off their outer robes, and began picking up and throwing stones at Stephen. And as they did, Stephen lifted his voice, calling on the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit, and he also asked Jesus that He not hold this sin against them." Can you imagine asking God not to hold the sins of those who are attacking you against them? We usually want God to intervene, saving us from our enemies, and to do something that allows us to triumph over them. But that's not what Stephen did. We're told that some devout men retrieved Stephen's body and buried it. Luke said that these men loudly lamented over Stephen's death while doing so. There is something deep within us that wells up to be verbally expressed when we've lost someone dear to us. It is the way that God made us. It is the opposite of rejoicing, even when we grieve as those who have hope. There are some things over which we do not rejoice, even if we celebrate a life lived well, and look forward to meeting again. But Saul, who had stood where the men flung their outer robes in order to pick up the stones to hurl at Stephen, was in full agreement with what they had done. He also knew that there were more like Stephen out there, somewhere, and they needed to be silenced too. Saul was deeply pleased with the commission to round up and arrest more of these criminals. But from Luke's perspective, Saul was "ravaging" the church by entering their houses and dragging them off to prison. If you have ever read some of the stories shared by voice of the martyrs, then you are well aware that this sort of thing still goes on today. If you haven't, then look up that ministry and read some of those stories. It will make you thankful that you live in a country that grants religious freedom. Or turn the pages of a world magazine, it is a Christian news source, sort of like Newsweek or Time, but from a Christian perspective. It is online, and it is there that I read the story of a believer in South Sudan who has suffered much over the years of his life for being a Christian, but he has also established churches where there were none before as he faithfully proclaimed the word of God in a region where doing so is not appreciated. But let's get back to the Bible. Saul felt that he was carrying out God's will as he violated the rights of those who had become "disciples" of Christ. He believed that these actions against them were pleasing to the Lord. And there was much rejoicing among those who applauded Saul's efforts to get rid of this menace in their society. The church has, from the very beginning, been persecuted. The term Luke used literally meant "to follow after." It was not a discipleship term, but one that described those who followed Jesus around looking for an opportunity to accuse Him. But with the murder of Stephen, things had ramped up. The opposition had moved from filing reports, to making arrests, with the intention of carrying out the same capital punishment for the crime of accepting Jesus' claim that He was God's one and only Son and that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. It is interesting that the apostles were left alone, while everyone else was considered fair game. But to be fair, the Sanhedrin was keeping their word. They had decided, as recorded back in chapter 5, to leave the apostles alone, following a noted teacher's advice, lest they find themselves fighting against God. But the Sanhedrin had said nothing about how they should treat those who were accepting what the apostle's taught. Jesus was right about them, they were always looking for a loophole in God's Word so they could do as they please. So, as you might expect, the people who comprised "the church," like a covey of quail, scattered for their lives. Solomon said that there is a time for everything, so, we'd have to say that there is a time to stand up against the opposition, and there is a time to run for your lives. Even Saul, who would later go by the name Paul after accepting the truth Stephen had proclaimed, would have to flee from those seeking to silence him. He'd slip off in the middle of the night, be let down in a basket over a wall when no one was looking, and be whisked away by Roman soldiers from an enraged crowd. Of course, there are times when he stood his ground, and as a result he was beaten, stoned, run out of town, and often ended up in prison, but it was from there that he wrote all those letters that now comprise a large portion of the New Testament. God really does cause all things to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. He brought good out of the disciples being run out of Jerusalem, and he'll bring good out of whatever happens to you too for trusting in Jesus. One good thing was how the church spread the good news as they went, not so much of the persecution, but why they were being persecuted. They shared that the charges against them were true. They did believe that Jesus was the Christ. They understood His death on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. They did accept the news of His resurrection, and ascension into heaven. And they had received from Him the promised Holy Spirit. Everywhere they went, this is the message they proclaimed. Luke tells us that one of the "scattered" who ran for his life was Philip. Not the apostle but one of the seven who had been set apart to care for the widows. He would, in time, become known as "the evangelist." On this occasion, Philip had escaped to Samaria, as did others, where he "proclaimed Christ." We know that a great number of Samaritans had already come to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but they were still, as Jesus said, a field that was ready for a worker like Philip to enter into the harvest. Luke said that crowds of Samaritans gathered to hear what Philip had to say, and they were actually paying attention to what he said. They also recognized that what Philip did was a sign that what he said was true: Jesus was the Christ. Luke reports that many of them who had unclean spirits were set free, the spirits leaving them. And many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed, which resulted in "much rejoicing." I was surprised that this is the only place in Scripture where this particular Greek phrase appears. Although there are some other similar expressions, they use different words, like when Isaiah prophesied that when the Messiah came, the people would "rejoice greatly in the Lord, exulting in their God, because He clothed them in the garments of salvation." (Isa. 61:10) Or when the angel announced Jesus' birth to the shepherds saying, "I bring you good news of great joy." It might interest you that when I googled, "and there was much rejoicing," most of the "hits" referenced how this phrase had been used in a Monty Python skit. And those acquainted with this relatively obscure reference, might say, "and there was much rejoicing," after being told of some supposedly good news, and anyone in earshot who is also familiar with the Monty Python skit, appropriately responds by raising their index finger up, waving it like a flag in a circular motion, and offering a very insincere "Yaaaay." Our personal perspectives will determine over what we rejoice, and over what we don't really care that much about, even if someone else cares about it passionately. If you are excited about something and share it with someone who isn't, they won't rejoice with you. The majority of the Jewish leaders back then, who Saul agreed with at the time, were embittered and enraged by those preaching Christ; they cared about the same thing and so they rejoiced together over finally getting to do something to silence them. There was, among them, great rejoicing. But when Philip preached that same message to the Samaritans, they were enthralled by it. The God with whom they long sought to have a relationship with had come to them through the preaching of Christ. His offer of salvation was, to them, good news that caused great joy, and there was among them much rejoicing. Not only because of the signs that Philip displayed among them, but because of the Word of God had been made known to them. No longer would these Samaritans worship on their mountain, or in Jerusalem for that matter, but they would now worship the living Lord, who had, when He had been in their midst, predicted a time when they would worship in spirit and in truth. There was also a time when Jesus said that whenever a sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices. So the whole of heaven joined in the rejoicing in Samaria. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a lot of rejoicing to me. In looking at all these reasons different groups were rejoicing, it makes me wonder, "What about you?" What is it that really brings you pleasure? What is it that stirs your emotions so deeply, that you rejoice? Is it being thanked for something that you have done well? Is it accomplishing some good work that helps others? Is it being entertained, or getting your way? Is it silencing some opposition? Is it having some appetite satisfied? Or is it the result of receiving some gift, or giving one, for that matter. While we find a measure of pleasure in these sorts of things, I hope that it is, ultimately, from hearing the good news that God loves you and has sent His Son, Jesus, the Christ, to save you, that brings you the most joy. And when you hear that God's Word is being preaching in other places, and that those who hear it, are accepting it. I hope that this also brings you pleasure. Personally, I am just as delighted by hearing that these ancient Samaritans were accepting Jesus, as I am about hearing that someone here in town is accepting Jesus. I love to hear people tell their stories of that time when they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I like telling my own story, and I hope that you like to tell your story too; and when we do, we are joining our voice with that of Philip who shared God's Word to the Samaritians. It is my hope that rather than being discouraged by hearing about persecution, or rights violated, that you look forward to hearing how God's people will use it as an opportunity to share their faith with those who might respond by accepting it. I can't wait to hear your story. How you have taken the opportunity that was provided by a situation that seemed bleak, to share your faith. You don't need to go through a training class, you don't need to be part of an official program of the church, you just need to share with others how God loves you, and how He loves them too. And when someone, like those ancient Samaritians, accept it, there will be much rejoicing. Prayer: Lord Jesus, we rejoice in the good news you embody. Amen.