Acts: Part 3 - Ch. 8-10
The Main Man
Moving on to our next part of Acts, we will now be tackling a major part of this book as we cover our next three chapters. What makes these next few chapters so major, is that we are officially introduced to one of the biggest characters, not just in this book, but throughout all of scripture! That character of course is Saul. Saul was a man who started off persecuting the church and went on to be used by God in mighty ways. But before we even get into that, it’s important to know where we came from. Stephen just became the first martyr after Christ has come and delivered His message. Many would assume that this action would shut down the Church and strike fear into the hearts of Christ-followers, but God had a bigger and better purpose for His Church and for these sacrifices. As John Piper so greatly points out “What Stephen meant when he said that Jesus "will destroy" the temple, is that, just as Jesus took away the basis of the old system, so now he will go on to dismantle its practices until it is no more. Stephen and Jesus are in perfect harmony on this great issue.” Stephen died for the cause that Christ made known. That Christ is the one who offers salvation to us and not the Temple. As this story now feeds into Saul persecuting the Church, it’s easy to think that the Church is done for. However, dying for the truth only spurs the Church on as God continues to use His people for His glory. Let’s move on and see exactly how God does this.
Intro To Saul
To start, chapter eight picks right up where seven left off and discusses Saul’s relation to the execution of Stephen. Acts 8:1-3 says “Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.” Now imagine yourself as a follower of Christ in this moment. This might be one of the most terrifying things that you can think of happening to the Church once Christ ascended. However, what’s so fascinating about about this passage is the verse that follows this. Look at what Acts 8:4 says “Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places preaching the word.” How crazy is that? Those who were scattered from this event continued on preaching the word. Notice how this passage begins with ‘therefore’ as well. This verse isn’t meant to be read separately from the first three that come before it. It completely relies on what is mentioned beforehand. Saul went out persecuting Christians and attempted to destroy family after family…and it encouraged Christ’s disciples to continue spreading the word. This is what is so amazing about the Chruch enduring persecution. For starters, God uses evil for good, which is always amazing to watch take place. But even beyond this, the persecution of fellow believers just goes to show how strongly they believe the things that they are willing to die for. So while on the one hand, you may be afraid of persecution, on the other you are greatly encouraged because you know many others are willing to go to the grave for believing in the same things you do. God’s plan throughout all of this is truly amazing. As chapter eight continues, we see Philip preach in Samaria about the good news of the gospel and an Ethiopian even comes to believe in Christ after this good news begins to spread. All of this though leads us right back to the man of the hour, Saul.
Saul’s Conversion & Gentiles Saved
Chapter nine kicks off by telling us of how God changes Saul and leads him to his conversion. Acts 9:3-6 tells us, “Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.” Jesus appears to Saul in the middle of his traveling to persecute more followers of Christ, and he is radically changed. God takes away Saul’s sight and leads him to a man’s house named Ananias, who prays for him, and his sight is restored. This takes us right to Acts 9:19-21: “Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, 'He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” This is again the amazing work of God. Only God could take a man being killed for his faith and a persecutor of Christians and turn them for His glory. When people see that Saul’s life has been changed by Christ, it is an amazing testimony of how great and true the saving grace of the gospel really is.
All of this takes us to the last section of scripture that we will overlook today, chapter ten. Chapter ten is a very linear story that begins with a man named Cornelius receiving a vision to go and request for Peter to come to him. Meanwhile, at the same time, Peter receives a vision where he is essentially breaking the Old Testament Law and then is told to follow the men who came to bring him to Cornelius. All of this adds up when we realize that Peter is coming to preach the good news to the Gentiles. The OT Law no longer was a barrier to those who were not Israelites. Anyone who heard and responded to the good news of the gospel could be saved, and that’s exactly what happens here. While Peter is explaining his mission of preaching the gospel to Cornelius, Acts 10:44 tells us “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.” God’s plan to save all those whom He wills is being fulfilled, despite whatever boundaries the old covenant may have seemed to present. Christ came to fulfill the Law on our behalf, therefore, we need only the sacrifice of Christ to inherit eternal salvation, which is great news for the Gentiles. All three of these chapters may seem harsh and heavy at many points, but what is amazing here is the hand of God at work in every single situation. I hope and pray that as we continue to study this amazing book, the persecution of fellow believers will only strengthen you as did the Church in Acts, and that it will widen your evangelism the more you look to the sovereignty of God.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] https://www.facebook.com/JohnPiper. “Stephen’s Crime: “Jesus Will Destroy the Temple.”” Desiring God, 24 Mar. 1991, www.desiringgod.org/messages/stephens-crime-jesus-will-destroy-the-temple. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
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