The Persecuted Church: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God Acts 8:1-4

The Persecuted Church: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

Acts 8:1b-4

Introduction: One of the great mysteries that face philosophers and theologians is the question of the origin of evil. We have the testimony of Scripture concerning the fall and its consequences: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). So at one level we know that death and sin and suffering entered this world through the rebellion of our first parents. What remains a mystery, is how and why sinless humans, placed in a perfect setting, could choose willfully to rebel against a good God.  The “why” seems unanswerable but the “what now” is evident all around us. We see it in the suffering, sickness and tragedies that invade our world daily.  We also sense it in the constant temptation and the struggle against sin that is ongoing in our own hearts.  Perhaps most astounding of all is that our God is so awesome, so majestic and powerful, so omniscient and so absolutely sovereign, that He can overrule the sinful actions of humans to accomplish His good purpose. The killing of the five missionaries by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956 was a tragedy that God used to spur a generation of interest in missions. It was a horrendous and tragic act of violence. Elizabeth Eliot, who’s husband was one of the five men killed wrote,

To the world at large this was a sad waste of five young lives. But God has His plan and purpose in all things. There were those whose lives were changed by what happened on Palm Beach. In Brazil, a group of Indians at a mission station deep in the Mato Grosso, upon hearing the news, dropped to their knees and cried out to God for forgiveness for their own lack of concern for fellow Indians who did not know of Jesus Christ. From Rome, an American official wrote to one of the widows, “I knew your husband. He was to me the ideal of what a Christian should be.” An Air Force Major stationed in England, with many hours of jet flying, immediately began making plans to join the Missionary Aviation Fellowship. A missionary in Africa wrote: “Our work will never be the same. We knew two of the men. Their lives have left their mark on ours.”    Off the coast of Italy, an American naval officer was involved in an accident at sea. As he floated alone on a raft, he recalled Jim Elliot’s words (which he had read in a news report): “When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.” He prayed that he might be saved, knowing that he had more to do than die. He was not ready. God answered his prayer, and he was rescued. In Des Moines, Iowa, an eighteen-year-old boy prayed for a week in his room, then announced to his parents: “I’m turning my life over completely to the Lord. I want to try to take the place of one of those five.” (Elisabeth Eliot, Through Gates of Splendor, p. 253)

A human tragedy, but story after story is told of how the death of those men inspired many others to move out and take their place. Eventually the very tribe that killed those missionaries had a great turning to the Lord. 

The Big Idea: God’s sovereignty is such that He will overrule even the sinful acts of humans to accomplish His good purpose.

I. Persecution of the Faithful: Faithfulness does not guarantee “success” from a human perspective (8:1). “And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” From a “this worldly perspective” there is nothing “safe” about choosing to follow Jesus!

            “…And Saul approved of his execution…” The first part of v.1 refers back to chapter 7 and reminds us that Saul was there¸ and in some sense participated in the execution of Stephen. “Approved,” has the sense of “decide together with someone else that something is good.” Saul was with those who put Stephen to death, he agreed with what they were doing. In modern language we might say he was an “accomplice after the fact.”  That underscores the doctrine of grace. Whatever we have done, whatever the sins of our past, if we repent and come to God on His terms, we will be forgiven.

            “…And there arose that day a great persecution…” The execution of Stephen was a “trigger” which seemed to precipitate a wider spread, intense, persecution of the believers in Jerusalem. There had been a definite escalation of the opposition against the Christ-followers. Up until now the persecution was more specifically targeting the apostles. First they were threatened (4), then they were beaten (5), one of them was put to death, and now a wide spread “great persecution” had begun.  This was the first wide spread, generalized, persecution of the church.  Since the death penalty had been used, without apparent reprisals from Rome, the lives of the Christ followers were in jeopardy.

            We don’t see “persecution” in this sense against believers in our country. It may be that the rising tide of negativity against those who believe the Bible and affirm the idea that God’s Word is absolutely true is a harbinger of things to come. In the media it does seem at times that evangelical Christians are the one group, the one minority, that it is politically acceptable to ridicule. The early centuries of the church saw far worse, and the believers in the Islamic countries of Asia and the mid-east have it much worse today. Notice what happens however in Acts 8…

            “…and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…” The mention of Judea and Samaria together like this might recall the prediction of Jesus in Acts 1:8. He had said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses to me, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.” The concentrated ministry of the Gospel of Jesus in Jerusalem was bound to expand to all of Judea and Samaria, and eventually outward from there. Could it be that persecution would be the means that God would use to get that plan into motion? 

            “…except the apostles…” One of the things we noted in the story of Stephen is that he was not one of the twelve. Jesus commissioned his apostles in Acts 1:8 and there may have been initially some question in the mind of the reader of Acts as to who the great commission really applied. Was this for the apostles only? Was the church a result of the mission or a part of the mission? But the story of Stephen makes it clear that God filled him with the Holy Spirit, he worked through him, God empowered Stephen’s witness.  And we’ll see as the story unfolds that the entire church is to have a part in reaching the world for Christ. It couldn’t be clearer here, they were all scattered, like seeds, except the apostles, and those who were scattered preached the message of Jesus. How is that for church mobilization?

Persecution is not a “good thing” by any stretch of the imagination. But as a consequence the believers were “scattered,” like seed sown in the field of the world, and so we see that God’s sovereignty is such that He will over-rule even the sinful acts of humans to accomplish His good purpose.

II. Perspective of Faith: Despite the risk, some will have a willingness to fear God, not men (8:2).  ² Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him...” 

            Burial of someone who had been stoned like this was permitted, it might be viewed as an act of compassion, or even the decent thing to do.  It is somewhat reminiscent of the death of Jesus, when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus went and asked for the body of Jesus and gave him a proper burial. Even this kind of act would carry the possibility of being identified with the Christ followers – guilt by association. They are described as “devout men,” which would seem to imply that they were believers, if not yet converted, they were at least pious Jews who were sympathetic to the message of the Messiah.

            They went further however, and “made great lamentation over him.” This was in violation of Jewish tradition. If someone was stoned, they were considered to be guilty of capital offense, and it was not permitted to mourn publically their death. “Great lamentation” implies the loud and persistent public weeping which characterized funerals in the ANE. It wasn’t hidden, there was no chance that it would go unnoticed.  It seems to indicate genuine affection for Stephen and perhaps agreement, or at least sympathy, with his message and ministry.  Why would they take such risk? It seems they had gained perspective that went beyond this present eil age. It seems they understood that the suffering of this present age is not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. It seems that they had learned to fear God, not men, because God's sovereignty is such that He will overrule even the sinful acts of humans to accomplish His good purpose.

III. Persistence of the Resistance:  Resistance to the Truth will continue and at times will be intense (8:3). “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

            “But Saul was ravaging the church…” The verbal tense describes an ongoing, repeated action in the past. It didn’t happen just once, it was something that was constant and continual. This is the only time this particular word appears in the New Testament. In secular literature it was used to describe violent mauling by a wild animal.  In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, it appears to describe exactly what will not happen in the millennial Kingdom: “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the LORD (Isa 65:25).  Like a wolf ravaging the sheep, Saul was seeking out the Christ followers, seeking to stamp out the church.

“….and entering house after house…” Notice that it was no longer just an attack on the public ministry of the Gospel, but a pursuit of believers that went private, into homes.

            “…he dragged off men and women….” This meant families would be broken up, children left as orphans. Parents separated from children, husbands from wives.  The church has passed through periods like this in its history. It seems long ago and far away to us Americans. But for Christians in Iraq or Syria or Iran, or parts of Africa, it is reality, it is what they live with. Recently the remaining Christians are being told to leave Syria, if they can find a country who will take them, with only the shirts on their backs.

This looked like a desperate and dangerous situation, and it was. But God is bigger than any circumstance that we will face. God’s sovereignty is such that He will over-rule even the sinful acts of humans to accomplish His good purpose.

IV. Promise of His Plan: God will work even through the hard times to accomplish His good purpose (8:4). ⁴ Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

            Persecution and scattering might have initially looked like a defeat. However Jesus is building His church. They were scattered, like seed, and they carried on with the mission. Jesus is Lord, and the Lamb, He defeated death in the resurrection, He ascended to heaven before the eyes of witnesses, He is at the Father’s right hand and sent the Spirit as our comforter. That is too much good news to keep to ourselves!

            Notice who is preaching, those scattered did not include the apostles. The church was mobilized by necessity, and the mission went on and the message went out. We noted last week that the ministry of Stephen left no doubt that the call to witness in the power of the Spirit was not restricted to the apostles.

            The entire church was mobilized, and it was not out of a sense of spontaneous obedience, but rather an evaluation of the circumstances and a response of faith.  I want to make the point that God used a tragic situation and a painful circumstance to accomplish His good purpose. In case we miss the connection, a little later in Acts, 11:19-23, some of those who were scattered made their way to Antioch and planted a church.

¹⁹ Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.  ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.  ²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.  ²² The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  ²³ When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose…

Notice that as Luke is telling the story of the early church he makes an unambiguous allusion back to our context (Acts 8:1-4). He wants us to understand that the ripples are still going outward, and in fact Barnabas will go and recruit that young rabbi who was at the heart of the persecution in Acts 7,8, Saul, to have a part in the leadership of the church in Antioch.  This would become a time of transition as the preaching of the Gospel goes from the Jews only, to including the gentiles.  And a church is founded in Antioch.  In Acts 13ff. that becomes the missionary sending church for Paul and Barnabas and later Silas, sending the Word out to Asia and Europe.

What is God saying to me in this passage? God’s sovereignty is such that He will over-rule even the sinful acts of humans to accomplish His good purpose.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Suffering and the sovereignty of God is one of those subjects we would rather avoid (I know I would!). If things are going well we don’t want to consider that our world could be devastated at any moment. If we are in the midst of a trial, many times it is hard to imagine that God could possibly turn this around and use it for something good. If God is good, and He is also powerful, why is there so much suffering in the world?  If God could take the situation in the Jerusalem church after the death of Stephen and turn it around for good, do you think He may be able to work through the crisis you are going through?  The Lord’s Table is a reminder of the most profound example of what God can do. The torture, humiliation, and murder of the sinless Son of God, the greatest evil imaginable, was used to accomplish the salvation of a people for himself. That is how great our God is! And this is how He showed His love among us, He sent His one and only Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Paul said it this way: “God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).   Think about that as we prepare our hearts to share the Lord’s table.     AMEN.