Confidence in Jesus’ Unstoppable Kingdom: 7 Days in ActsSýnishorn

Unstoppable despite murder and persecution

Read Acts 7:54 – 8:8

Make a list of disasters for the early church in Acts and murder, being hunted house to house and exile would probably be right up there. But God’s plans are not always the same as ours, as we’ll see...

As we get to Acts 7, the church has grown enormously. From a group of just 120 believers in Acts 1:15, it multiplies to 5,000 men plus women and children in 4:4, and numbers are growing rapidly in 6:7. But with that growth comes trouble. By the end of Acts 5, the apostles have been in prison and on trial in front of the top religious leaders. In Acts 6, Stephen, one of the men in charge of the practical side of the church (see Day 2), is arrested and charged.

Stephen’s speech at his trial in Acts 7 is a wonderful defence of the gospel that leaves the religious council (Sanhedrin) furious. In 7:57, they lose control, stoning him to death. Gracious to the end, Stephen is the first person in Acts to die for his faith (7:60).

As Stephen dies, attacks pour out on Christians across Jerusalem. Almost every believer has to leave their home, scattering across Israel and beyond. Only the apostles are left (8:1). Saul, who approves Stephen’s death, goes from house to house to hunt down Christians and throw them into prison (8:3). It looks like a disaster. Stephen is dead and the church is broken up. God’s kingdom seems helpless.

But terrible as the persecution is, it’s not the end of the story. In 8:4, we read that the scattered Christians take the good news about Jesus with them, preaching as they go. Philip goes to Samaria, an area north of Jerusalem, and finds huge crowds ready to listen (8:4-8). It is hatred of the gospel that pushes the good news far beyond Jerusalem, just as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8.

In Jesus’ kingdom, things are often turned upside down in ways that shock and challenge us. The moment of greatest glory is found in the shame of the cross. What seems weak may actually be strong. And a disaster that looks like it will crush the church results in amazing new growth.