And Saul approved of his (Stephen’s) execution.
Acts 8:1-3
Luke introduces readers to Saul who would become Paul, the Apostle. Saul’s introduction is dark and foreboding for the church in Jerusalem. Though Luke only writes that “Saul approved…” we learn from Paul himself how vile a man he was though he believed he was doing God’s work when he was leading the persecution of the church in Jerusalem and other parts of the territory. When Luke writes, “there arose…a great persecution of the church in Jerusalem,” Saul was at the center of all the persecution of the early church. Saul was a scholar in Jewish religion and law, having been educated by Gamaliel, a noted Jew, who was a leader among leaders of the Jews. Luke wrote of Gamaliel’s warning to the other religious leaders of their desire to harm the Disciples who were preaching/teaching Jesus of Nazareth in the Temple after Jesus’ resurrection. Gamaliel told the religious leaders that if this preaching/teaching by Jesus’ Disciples is “of God,” they would be unable to stop God. The religious leaders followed Gamaliel’s advice but, the church in Jerusalem grew by the Holy Spirit and became a sect that was a thorn in the side of the religious leaders until they had had enough and Saul entered the picture as the force to eradicate this new sect. But God (as one 20th century theologian put it, “thank God for the “buts” in the Bible) had other plans for Jesus had told His Disciples, in the Great Commission of Acts 1:8, to witness for Christ in Judea, Samaria and, to the ends of the earth. The persecution of the church in Jerusalem forced those Christians to flee to other Judean cities, Samaritan towns and, throughout the Roman Empire in that day. Though the converted Saul had not yet written the book of Romans, Romans 8:28 was being done by the hand of God, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Saul will go on the be the Apostle Paul who brings the Gospel and salvation, through our faith alone in the perfect works of Christ alone, to our ancestors. Without Paul’s missionary endeavors, non-Jewish Christians may not have been so blessed. Let Christians everywhere pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are experiencing persecution for the spread of the Gospel in this world today.
Source: S C Ball June 12, 2023
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