1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Commentary
Vs. 1 “Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
The young man named Saul, who was first mentioned as the one whom those who were about to stone Stephen to death laid their clothes at his feet (Acts 7:58), is now mentioned again, except this time it is clear that he was not an innocent observer of these things, but was consenting to Stephens death. Now with Stephens death the Jews became greatly emboldened, and so a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, scattering all believers throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, with only the apostles remaining there (vs. 1). At this point it likely seemed to be priests and the Jews leadership and such that they were now succeeding in destroying this faith founded upon the very Man Jesus Christ whom they had Crucified.
Vs. 2 “And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.”
Even though there was this great persecution taking place against the church, and believers were being scattered everywhere, there were still devout men who carried Stephen to his burial and who made great lamentation over him.
Vs. 3 “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.”
Having consented to, and been an eye witness of the murderous stoning death of Stephen, the once young man Saul now comes into his own. And so, he now becomes a principal agent of the Sanhedrin council for wreaking havoc on the church in Jerusalem, “entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” Thus, it was through Saul’s own great zeal against the church that there was soon no safe place for Christians to dwell in Jerusalem. Saul then had learned well from his masters; from those he was seeking to emulate.
On another note, it seems quite clear that Rome at this time also made a calculated decision not to intervene, or try to quell the Jews great zeal in persecuting the church. Rather they probably thought to do so would likely only upset the Jews and make for upheaval against them, and so they let them do as they pleased, as long as they did not defy Rome’s rule over them.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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