Saul wholeheartedly approved of Stephen’s death. And on that day a great and relentless persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem; and the believers were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and [a]mourned greatly over him [expressing a personal sense of loss]. 3 But Saul began ravaging the church [and assaulting believers]; entering house after house and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison (Acts 8:1-3 AMP).
Prior to this moment, the only ones persecuted by the Jewish leaders were the apostles. Yet the priestly council within the Jerusalem temple had determined to not make them martyrs. Instead, they would beat them, warn them, put them in prison, from which they would escape. But, for fear of the people, they in some ways tolerated them. Gamaliel, a well-respected Pharisee is recorded saying, “Give them some space. If this is not of God, it will die. However, if God be in it, no one can stop it” (paraphrase of Acts 6:34,39).
Then, Stephen began to reach out to the temples of the Jewish people visiting Jerusalem from far and wide. He was so well versed in Old Testament doctrine and an extraordinary speaker. A truly gifted apologetic speaker, the greatest scholars including Saul could not “resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.” (Acts 6:10). In other words, they could not win the debate. Therefore, they killed him. Satan launched a relentless persecution of the church using Saul. He must have believed in doing so he would squelch the church.
Relentless Persecution
So, foolish is Satan as to believe he can squelch any of God’s ultimate plans. Yet, it doesn’t stop him from trying. Ego and pride do that. Always believing one can win somehow regardless of how wrong one is. Then the desire for self-exaltation, driven by pride allows one to consider that the worst of evil is justified. That was the case with Saul. He could not intellectually win the debate with Stephen. Indeed, deep within there must have been the question, “Could Stephen be right about this Jesus?” His own questions drove Saul to be zealous in his attempts to destroy this church before it could grow any further. Their preaching tore at the fabric of his own faith. He would not allow this!
Therefore, Saul with the full endorsement of the Sanhedrin, launched a crusade bent on destroying this early church. Going door to door, he pulled these so called “Christians” from every home to place them in prisons. They would be tortured and even killed. Because of this, they scattered into “Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world”, precisely where Jesus had said they were to go. Saul would then spread out in hot pursuit of these Christians, hell bent on destroying them—only to come face to face with Jesus. The persecutor became the persecuted, as Saul became Paul the preacher to the Gentiles.
All that Satan relentlessly persecuted, the church and all its followers, were not destroyed. Persecution became the very thing God allowed and then used to grow the church. Miraculously, the same happens both with the church today and within our own lives. “All things work together for good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
What Satan Means for Evil, God means for Good
Even today, those who stand firm upon the truth of the gospel face relentless persecution. Sometimes this is by the crowds surrounding them or the confused politicians marching to destroy our faith. At other times, it is deeply personal, and the attacks come from within. We may face hardship, trials, ridicule; but, keep heart because God has a perfect plan for each of His children. Satan wants to destroy your testimony. But keep looking up, gazing into the face of Jesus as did Stephen. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
[bctt tweet=”When engulfed in relentless persecution, look up into the face of Jesus and know, God turns tragedies into victories, tears into joy” username=”effiedarlene”]
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