“Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.”
Acts 8:1 (NLT)
After Stephen is stoned, Luke shows us a small detail that turns out to be massive: Saul wasn’t just “guarding coats.” Chapter 8 clarifies he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. He was an accomplice to the murder, the same as doing it himself. And right behind that moment, a great wave—like a tsunami of persecution—hits the church in Jerusalem.
As a result, the believers (except the apostles) are scattered through Judea and Samaria. Then verse 3 says Saul was going house to house, dragging Christians off to prison. That tension is real: did the believers scatter, or were they taken? It’s probably somewhere in the middle. But either way, the pressure is heavy—and the scattering is not accidental.
Here’s what moves me: Saul later becomes Paul, the greatest missionary we know, and the man who wrote much of the New Testament. Yet right here he’s trying to squash the message of Jesus. And still, God is working all things together for good. Saul’s persecution doesn’t kill the church—it spreads it. It pushes the gospel exactly where Jesus promised in Acts 1:8: Judea, Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.
And the proof is in verse 4: the scattered believers preached the good news wherever they went. There were no apostles with them—so who are the preachers? All the believers. It’s also interesting the apostles stayed while the believers spread. Something about that feels like David in 1 Samuel 30—some went out to fight, and some stayed with the supplies, and David said both mattered. The ones without a title are the warriors of spreading the good news in Acts 8. We should begin affirming, encouraging, and training all disciples to preach the good news again.
If the good news is truly good, we’ll share it. I think it’s time we scatter like the early church—into grocery stores, schools, workplaces, homes, restaurants—and preach everywhere we go.