NOTES for Act 8:1-8
How astonishing and frightening it is to find oneself in Jerusalem during the persecution, to feel the people’s agitation, fear, and trembling, and at the same time their ever-growing faith and joy in following Christ. Before us is something very much like the events of the Gospel: persecution, confusion, and mourning for the one who was killed. Only this time it is Christ’s disciples who are involved, and Stephen has been killed. As before, “devout men” are found to bury the martyr. The mourning for Stephen subsides, but an echo can already be heard: people grieve because Saul is putting their relatives in prison. Yet at the same time we see Philip proclaiming the good news of Christ, the Messiah who has come. We see miracles and healings, people attentive to the word, and “great joy” (Acts 8:8). So it is in our own time as well: difficulties can become fertile ground for sensing God’s presence, for deep prayer, and for joy. This is precisely why the Lord asks us to accept without resistance everything He gives, since “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord” (Rom 8:28). Every kind of difficulty is meant to strengthen us on the path of following Him.