Where You Going?

Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. [Acts 8.1]

We were first introduced to Stephen as one of the first deacons in the Church. The deacons became necessary as the Church grew rapidly. Along with the rapid growth came predictable problems:

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. [Acts 6.1]

So, to understand what actually took place here, first let's consider the opening scripture above. What we need to recognize is that the persecution that ignited concurrent with Stephen's death caused the believers to disperse.

What piqued my interest about this was the geographical reference in Acts 8.1: all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 

Let's take this information then as back up to something Jesus said:

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” [Acts 1.6-8]

See any similarities in the two preceding scripture references? Hint: both mention Judea and Samaria.

In Acts 1.6-8, Jesus commanded His followers to disperse to spread the Gospel. It appears however they did not. Instead, they began to develop a large congregation, had subsequent problems relative to their large congregation (requiring them to appoint deacons), then, they got dispersed anyway... See the progression?

My question is this, how much more effective might the Church have been had they "kept it small" and dispersed throughout Judea and Samaria in obedience to Jesus instead of as a result of intense persecution? We just don't know, but it's worth considering, isn't it?

Here's the deal. Jesus' command to reach the world has not changed... Where are you going?

Father, forgive us for not obeying Jesus' command to take the Good News to the entire world.