On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in
Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul
began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men
and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the
word wherever they went. Acts 8:1-4
Now those who had been
scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as
far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of
them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak
to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s
hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the
Lord. Acts 11:19-21
Persecution
is sometimes THE thing the church needs.
It increases the boldness of the people and separates the committed from
the casual. In the case of the early
church in Acts, it pushed the believers out to other areas where they continued
to share the Gospel. Jesus’ persecution
that led to his death brought life to millions and millions. It still works that way today.