NIKKI STEVENSON | Co-Host, Former Adventist Podcast |
When we were last together in Acts, we had just witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen. Enraged by Stephen’s rebuke, Israel’s leaders had rejected his testimony, dragged him out of the city, and violently stoned him. As Stephen died calling on the Lord Jesus and praying for his persecutors, Luke turned our attention to a young man standing nearby. His name was Saul.
Acts 8 opens by bringing Saul back into view: “And Saul approved of his execution.” Luke now moves us into the next major section of the book. The gospel is about to move beyond Jerusalem through the Lord’s disciples, but not through their own strategy.
From a human perspective, it appeared as though the church was being destroyed. Stephen died at the hands of Israel’s leaders. And on that very day, a great persecution against the church rose up in Jerusalem, scattering believers throughout the region. But as we read what follows we will see Luke’s record display the sovereign hand of God even in the midst of persecution.
Jesus told his apostles, “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In Acts 8–12, Luke shows us how Jesus’ words played out through circumstances no one in the church could have engineered. In this article, we will focus on Acts 8–9, where the gospel moves beyond Jerusalem. In these two chapters we will see it spread through scattered believers fleeing arrest, a divine appointment on a dusty road, the transformation of an unlikely convert, and through miracles done by Jesus through His disciples. In the next article, we will continue this movement as God opens the door to the Gentiles and exposes the limits of earthly power.
In these chapters, Luke shows us that the gospel did not spread because the apostles were checking boxes or inventing church-growth models. And contrary to some skeptical explanations, Christianity was not born out of a chaotic religious explosion fueled by grief, mass hallucinations, or belief perseverance. The growth of the church is neither pragmatic nor irrational. It is sovereignly directed.
The gospel moves beyond Jerusalem because the risen Lord is the one working within His own mission.
The gospel moves beyond Jerusalem because the risen Lord is the one working within His own mission. This does not mean the disciples were passive. As we move through these chapters, we will see different responses of obedience from His servants. But Luke will show us that the disciples’ obedience is a response to situations orchestrated by the sovereign hand of God. It’s He who is directing the spread of the gospel, preparing hearts, arranging divine appointments, speaking directly to His servants, working miracles, and pursuing even His enemies.
Again, I encourage you to read the full chapters on your own or have them open beside you as we move through each section together.
The Gospel Spreads Beyond Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-25)
What looked like the church’s greatest threat became the watershed moment that moved the gospel beyond Jerusalem. The rage that accompanied the persecutors of God’s people was chilling. From the teeth-grinding fury and deafening shouts of those who stoned Stephen, to Saul’s violent pursuit of the church, the atmosphere in Jerusalem was profoundly hostile for Christ-followers. Luke writes, “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” Yet, in the midst of this evil, God was at work.
Even fear of the persecution that pursued believers did not silence their witness. It merely carried it into the regions Jesus had already named in Acts 1:8. Luke tells us that the believers were “scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles,” and “those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” Through an event the church never would have chosen for itself, the disciples carried the gospel into the very regions Jesus declared it would go. Notice the apostles remained in Jerusalem.
Luke then narrows his narrative from the scattering of many faithful believers to one servant in particular. Like Stephen, Philip was among the men enlisted to look after the Hellenist widows in Acts 6. As we read about Philip in this chapter, we see him live out the spirit-filled wisdom and faithfulness required of the men chosen to serve as deacons.
Luke tells us that Philip went “down to the city of Samaria.” While Samaria is north of Jerusalem, it is lower in elevation. When Luke refers to Philip’s journey as “down,” he is not in error; he is giving us a detail that fits the geographical terrain. When I understood this, I saw yet again that Luke writes in a way that can be tested and verified by evidences outside of Scripture—in this case, the land itself.
While in Samaria, Philip proclaimed the gospel and performed signs that drew the attention of all the people. Luke tells us unclean spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. Samaria received Philip’s message with great joy.
The signs done by Philip could only be done by the power of God. In Mark16:19-20 we read, “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” The writers of Scripture are clear; Jesus’ ascension did not leave the work to be completed by the apostles and disciples alone. Jesus was actively involved in all that transpired in the growth of the church and Luke’s record bears that out with clarity.
Among those at Samaria who were watching Philip closely was a man named Simon.
Luke’s account of Simon functions as one of two examples of different responses to the gospel in this chapter. Simon was a man known by the people of Samaria who had practiced magic. He had captivated their attention with his magic and self-promotion. From “the least to the greatest,” the people of Samaria believed that, “This man is the power of God called Great.” But when the people heard Philip preach the gospel, they believed and were baptized—even Simon himself. Simon then followed Philip and was amazed by him.
When word of these events reached the apostles in Jerusalem, Peter and John were sent to Samaria. They prayed for the believers there, and when they laid their hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he was amazed and wanted to gain access to this power.
Peter strongly rebuked Simon for thinking he could purchase the gift of God.
Peter strongly rebuked Simon for thinking he could purchase the gift of God. He called him to repent of his wickedness and to pray that the Lord might forgive him, warning him that he was “in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” Simon responded by asking Peter to pray for him as he was afraid of what might come upon him.
After this, Luke tells us that Peter and John made their way back to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans as they went. The gospel was continuing to move through Samaria, just as Jesus had said.
Before Luke turns our attention away from Samaria, Simon’s response leaves us with an important contrast. In it, we see the difference between receiving the word of God as a gift and wanting to use the gift of God to gain power. Before Philip’s arrival, Simon’s identity and self-exaltation were directly tied to his influence and power. Even after hearing Philip and being baptized, he remained captivated by the desire for power—not power for service, but power he could possess and distribute. Whatever we think about Simon’s faith, Luke uses his initial response to expose the danger of treating the gift of God as something to possess, manage, or control. In the previous article in this series we saw Luke contrast different leadership styles, and here he shows us different personal responses to the gospel.
Luke’s next account shows us a very different kind of response.
A Divine Appointment and Obedient Disciples (Acts 8:26-40)
After showing us a man who wanted to possess the power of God, Luke turns our attention to a man sitting with the word of God open in his lap. But before we meet him, Luke tells us about God’s intervention, which brings Philip to him in the first place.
In Acts 8:26 Luke tells us that an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” The angel did not tell Philip why or what he was to do, only to go. Luke writes, “and he rose and went.” There is no account of Philip inquiring about the goals of the mission. Only that he obeyed immediately.
Luke writes, “And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship.” Here again we see Luke providing details that are verifiably rooted in history.
God had prepared this encounter even before Philip arrived. As this man was seated in his chariot on his way home from Jerusalem he was reading from the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit spoke to Philip saying, “Go over and join this chariot.” Luke’s description of Philip’s obedience is one of my favorites. He writes, “So Philip ran to him…” Again, Philip does not question or hesitate; he runs to obey. Luke goes on, “…and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’”
Philip’s eagerness to obey matches the eagerness of the Ethiopian to learn. “‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him” (Acts 8:31). Together, these two men pored over the words of Isaiah. The Ethiopian asked Philip who the prophet was writing about, and Philip shared the truth of Jesus with him, and he received the gospel with great joy. The Ethiopian was baptized then and there, and when he came out of the water, the Spirit took Philip away. The Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing and carrying the gospel message with him back to Ethiopia.
This was not a random encounter, nor was it one Philip could have orchestrated in an attempt to “fulfill the mission.” This was a divine appointment with a man whose heart was prepared by Scripture to receive the gospel with humility and joy. Unlike Simon, who was captivated by visible power and wanted to possess it for himself, the Ethiopian was captivated by the word of God and wanted to identify himself with the Christ it proclaimed.
Luke tells us that Philip “found himself at Azotus.” Carried along by the Spirit in the mission of God, Philip preached the gospel from town to town until arriving at Caesarea. It is here that we leave Philip as Luke turns our attention back to Saul.
God’s Sovereign Calling of Saul (Acts 9)
Acts 8 began with Saul approving of the murder of Stephen as persecution scattered believers outside Jerusalem. Now, in Acts 9, Luke picks up Saul’s story with details of his pursuit of Christ-followers. Saul was no longer merely a bystander giving approval of murder. Luke shows us he escalated to full participation: “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).
Saul was pursuing God’s people, not God Himself. Yet as he approached Damascus, it was God the Son who interrupted his life with sovereign authority: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” The words that follow are the last words Luke records from Saul until he begins proclaiming Christ in the synagogues: “Who are you, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” With those words, Jesus revealed that Saul’s persecution of the church was, in fact, persecution of Himself. Luke records no further response from Saul. The one who started on this road with authority to bind others was now bound by blindness. Rather than entering Damascus with power, he entered helpless and led by the hand.
Luke leaves Saul to tell us about a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord appeared to Ananias in a vision and told him to go to a street called Straight, to the house of a man named Judas, and to look for Saul of Tarsus. Again, Luke provides the kind of details that root the event in history and geography. The Lord told Ananias that Saul, in vision, had seen him come and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.
Up until this point, Luke records every disciple who received instruction from the Lord or an angel obeying immediately. Yet here, for the first time in Acts, Ananias responds to his risen Lord with concern: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
In kindness, the Lord responded, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16). Ananias obeyed. He departed, entered the house where Saul was, laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Ananias did not merely obey the Lord externally by going to Saul; he also displayed internal trust in the Lord’s words when he called Saul “brother.”
Luke then tells us that something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he regained his sight. He rose, was baptized, and after taking food was strengthened. Saul stayed for several days with the disciples in Damascus. Then Luke finally records Saul’s first words since he had asked Jesus who He was. As he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, he confessed, “He is the Son of God.”
Luke chose not to detail all of the conversations that occurred between Saul’s encounter with Jesus and his preaching Jesus in the synagogues. Instead, the details spotlight the sovereignty of Jesus who claimed Saul even while Saul was still opposing Him. The man who once refused to see the One who lived and died before the eyes of Jerusalem, now would see nothing at all until he submitted to Him as Lord.
This was the first time in Acts after the ascension that the risen Christ appeared directly to someone on earth.
This was the first time in Acts after the ascension that the risen Christ appeared directly to someone on earth. While Stephen, as he was dying, had seen Jesus standing in Heaven, here the risen Lord appears directly to Saul on the road to Damascus. He came not only to give Saul life, but to make him a witness of His resurrection and to call him to suffer for His name as His apostle to the Gentiles.
All who heard Saul were amazed. They knew whom he had been. Saul was completely transformed by his encounter with the risen Lord. Luke writes, “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 9:22). Saul was upsetting the Jewish world in Damascus, and as a result the Jews there began plotting to kill him. His disciples heard word of it and took him by night to let him down through an opening in the city wall, lowering him in a basket.
As Luke follows Saul’s escape to Jerusalem, he brings back into focus a man who had previously been mentioned only briefly. In Acts 4:36, Barnabas was introduced to us. His name was Joseph, but the apostles called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” He was a Levite of Cyprus who sold a field that belonged to him and laid the proceeds at the apostles’ feet. Luke’s earlier description of Barnabas helps us understand why his affirmation of Saul carried weight among the disciples. He was known personally to the apostles as a trusted encourager and had been a sacrificial participant in meeting the needs of the church.
When Saul appeared in Jerusalem, now born again and seeking fellowship with Christ-followers, Barnabas stood as a witness for him before the brothers. The disciples were afraid of Saul and did not believe he was a disciple. Luke writes, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27). Barnabas’ words satisfied their fears: “So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:28).
From this account of Saul’s initial reception among the disciples we see that the unfolding of God’s purposes was not according to the strategies of men. The disciples consistently found themselves surprised by the works of God in the expansion of the church.
In the verses that follow, we read that Saul’s ministry began with disputes among the Hellenists who were seeking to kill him. This led to another escape, facilitated by the brothers, who brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Luke ends this portion of Saul’s story with words that bookend where we started in chapter 8. There we saw Saul approving of Stephen’s murder and participating in the persecution of the believers. Now, in Acts 9:31, after Saul has been sent out, we read, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up and walking the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
The Gospel Spreads Through All Judea (Acts 9:32-43)
After detailing Saul’s transformation from persecutor to preacher, Luke brings us back to Peter, whose ministry continues to spread throughout the regions beyond Jerusalem. We join Peter in Lydda, where we see him encounter a man named Aeneas who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. With no details surrounding how Peter encountered him or what Aeneas may have known about Jesus before being healed, Luke writes, “And Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.’ And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord” (Acts 9:34-35).
Sharon was not a city; it was a fertile coastal region that stretched along the Mediterranean coast and included the area around cities such as Joppa and Caesarea. This suggests that the effect of Aeneas’ healing extended beyond Lydda into the surrounding region, where many turned to the Lord.
Joppa was northwest of Lydda, a seaside city just south of Caesarea. There in Joppa was a disciple named Tabitha, who was also called Dorcas. Luke tells us that she was full of good works and acts of charity. She had become ill and died. After being washed and placed in an upper room, the disciples sent two men to Peter in Lydda, urging him to go back with them to Joppa.
When Peter arrived at Joppa, he was met with many mourners who showed him the garments Tabitha had made. Luke writes, “But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive” (Acts 9:40-41). Tabitha’s resurrection became known throughout all of Joppa, and Luke tells us that many believed in the Lord.
Luke concludes this section by telling us that Peter remained in Joppa for many days with a man named Simon, a tanner who lived by the sea. It is here that we will leave Peter until our next article, when God will use this seaside home to prepare Peter to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
Christ Directs His Mission
In Acts 8–9 we did not witness the apostles acting on their own to move the gospel beyond Jerusalem. Instead, we see the words of Christ in Acts 1:8 unfolding under His sovereign direction. The Lord had ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father, but Luke makes clear that Jesus remained involved as the gospel spread beyond Jerusalem.
In Luke’s first volume to Theophilus, he stated that he wrote an orderly account so that Theophilus would have certainty concerning the things he had been taught. In Acts, Luke continues that stated goal with an orderly record of the risen Lord’s work through His apostles and witnesses.
As we have walked with Luke through Acts 1–9, we have seen this pattern with unmistakable clarity. The servants of God responded to their circumstances and the direct commands of God with faithful obedience and trust in His power to accomplish His will. They could not have created the environments into which they carried the gospel, nor could they have accomplished the miracles they did by their own power.
What we have witnessed in Luke’s record is not the picture of mass hysteria or belief perseverance. We have witnessed lives interrupted and transformed by truth they could not escape. We have seen Jesus prepare the roads, the hearts, the witnesses, and even His enemies. The church obeyed, but Jesus directed.
Wherever you find yourself in your own journey of faith, I pray that you will respond like Philip and run to obey the call of God. Join me next time as we read Luke’s account of the gospel spreading to the Gentiles in Acts 10-12. †
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- Acts Chapters 1 and 2 - February 26, 2026