The persecution against the church is not a recent phenomenon. As early as the 1st century, the church faced diverse forms of persecution from the religious leaders and the rulers. In a previous post, we considered the persecution of the apostles and how they were arrested for performing a miracle. The angel of the Lord miraculously released them from the jail. At another time, Stephen was stoned to death because the word of God he spoke pierced the hearts of the religious leaders. The day Stephen was killed, an open door for persecution was opened against the church. After Stephen was killed, Godly men buried him and mourned deeply for him (Acts 8:2). Even the death of Stephen could not cause the religious leaders to give the church a breathing space to mourn. Let’s see what happened afterwards.
And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. (Acts 8:1)
Some important points to consider are these: Stephen’s death was seen as a means to rid the city of the wrong teachings of the disciples; Stephen’s death was orchestrated by the religious leaders who should have known better; Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee consented to the death of Stephen. After Stephen had been killed, on that same day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). All the new converts, the disciples, those who became part of the church during the time of Jesus and after the resurrection of Jesus all scattered. Throughout Judea and Samaria, they found a solace to share with others their new faith. Thus, what was meant to crush the church rather led to church expansion. This is because even though the persecuted members were scared for their lives, they also shared the message of the gospel as they moved along.
In other words, what was meant by the religious leaders to crush the church rather moved the church from Jerusalem to other places. Remember, in Acts 1:8, Jesus had promised the disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them; and you will be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. However, until the persecution, the church was just centered in Jerusalem. Even though church persecution is evil and should not be encouraged in any way, for the disciples, the persecution became an instrument of expansion. Today, churches are still persecuted all over the world. In some places, churches are burnt, vandalized, destroyed and church members are not spared either. Let’s take time to pray for the persecuted churches around the world. Let’s pray for the church members living in fear to encounter the love of God. Most importantly, let’s pray that what the enemy plans for evil against the church will be turned around for our good
Come blog with me 