Stephen's death following his trial triggered a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem, and the whole Church (save the apostles) were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
This was a direct fulfilment of Jesus' command and prophecy in Acts 1:8, where he stated that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and on to the ends of the earth. But where were the apostles? - still in Jerusalem.
Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. He had, and they were still there. Judea and Samaria appeared to have been largely untouched by the gospel.
But then the apostles never really did get it. The gospels are full of examples where Jesus states - in what appears to us plain language - exactly what would happen to him in Jerusalem, that he would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, be killed and rise again on the third day. When not being met with responses of utter confusion, he was being rebuked by those closest to Him. Even when He had risen from the dead, the apostles came to Him and asked Him whether He was now going to restore the kingdom to Israel.
Perhaps we can't really blame the apostles for this - after all, the Jews were expecting a glorious Messiah-King on a white horse to come and take over the world. They still are. We have the benefit of 2000 years of hindsight and the whole New Testament to reflect on. But although they had fully taken on board Jesus' values and had a zeal for Him the rest of us have probably never come close to experiencing, they never really understood Gods long-term strategy, either for Jesus or for the Church, and so we see them stalling in Jerusalem far longer than they should.
What we see here is one of the first major breakthroughs in the history of the Church, a breakthrough in the culture, and in the Jewish mindset that the apostles would have had.
The Samaritans were a mongrel race, part Jew, part Gentile, wholly despised by pure Jews. Their origins - they were the few left behind when the conquering Babylonians transplanted the whole Jewish population to Babylon, and this remnant intermarried with the local Gentile populations. When the pure-blood Jews came back nigh on 70 years later, the Samaritans were immediately classed as inferior.
Around 500 years later, nothing has changed, and we can perhaps understand the reluctance on the part of the apostles to move out into Judea and Samaria. They may well have thought that Jesus meant the gospel to go to the Jews living in those regions and then beyond.
But, in the persecution, the believers who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. The believers, and in particular Philip, were indiscriminate in who they preached this gospel to. Samaritans were believing, whole cities were being changed.
The apostles (still in Jerusalem) got wind of what was happening and sent Peter & John down to investigate. They may have considered that since the Samaritans were at least part Jew, the gospel might be for them as well. It clearly was, and so they laid hands on them and the Samaritans received the gift of the Holy Spirit as well.
A massive breakthrough for the Church, but this is nothing compared to what is coming up when the Church broaches the JewGentile barrier.
This kind of breakthrough typifies the story in early Acts - a series of suddenly events - as at Pentecost - where God does the totally unexpected and launches the Church in a fresh direction.
But looking back to the persecution that drove the Church out of Jerusalem. Does persecution come from God? I would say not. But does He allow it? Certainly. So why allow this?
The enemy appears to have made several attempts to snuff out the embryonic Church in Jerusalem:-
- Threats and violence from the Sanhedrin.
- Hypocrisy and lies - Ananias & Sapphira.
- Internal wrangling and disputes the Greek widows and their food.
- Persecution.
So why did God provide the means to deal with the other three, but allow this last one? As we have already seen the Church needed to move out of Jerusalem and wasn't moving of its own accord. God will fulfil His plans - unpleasantly if necessary.
Questions for discussion
1. Has God ever done an unexpected or suddenly in your life?
Perhaps God has fulfilled a prophetic word in a completely different way to what you were expecting. Perhaps given you a complete change of direction on an important decision out of the blue.
2. Is there anything that God has told you to do that you aren't doing yet?
This is not a guilt-provoking exercise, but if there are things - no matter how small or how important - that God is prompting you to do and you aren't doing, talk about them be accountable on them. Repent if necessary!
3. Has God ever let you go through tough times to teach you things? Are you going through a tough time right now, and youre not quite sure what the lesson is yet?
The first thing to say is that, just because you are going through a rough time does not necessarily mean that its your fault. It may be, though, so be open to God challenging you on things.
Talk about your own experiences, it may be helpful to others going through the same thing. Most importantly, if there are those in the thick of it, pray for them and support them in what they're going through. Remember God is not capricious or malicious, and so He is not allowing these things for fun, but with a lesson in mind, perhaps to improve your character, and or give us a closer relationship with Him. | 