Monthly Archives: April 2026

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ENTER SAUL – 17

Bible Study, ,

Samaria had now become the arena of new life. Jesus was building His church out of living stones…believers of every tribe and nation who were forming a new “race”…a “people” born of God…

…but…Stephen? His death caused an earthquake of hatred from the opposition, causing a tsunami of persecution that sent the believers fleeing in all directions. 

“…Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭

Now the persecution had a champion…a man with a cause. Not only did this young Pharisee…,Saul, fanatical in his religious fervour to do God’s work, to protect God’s law at all cost…approve of the “elimination” of Stephen, but he also set about systematically stamping out this fire…

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is what religion does!  So determined to stamp out opposition…to be right at all costs…to defend a god that was unable to defend himself…that killing those who stubbornly refuse to comply serves a “righteous” cause. We see this pattern in religious fervour worldwide. 

This young Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, blind to the truth of the Scriptures he had studied from his youth, could not stomach the intrusion of a village artisan called Jesus of Nazareth, into his theological framework, especially as this man was being worshipped as God. This, to him, was blasphemy of the highest order. To crown it all, Jesus’ followers insisted that He was alive!

Saul took it upon himself, with the approval of his religious overlords, to stamp out these defectors from the faith he followed with such fervour. Like the Moses he revered, who thought killing Egyptians was the way to freedom, he took to destroying these people of “the Way”, one by one. 

Saul’s challenge was that the movement had spread far beyond the borders of Israel. Damascus, capital of the neighbouring Syria, was full of believers. Well! If that was so, he would go after them.  

Jesus also had an agenda. Let Saul get close to his goal, far from his own protective shield…his supporters in this enterprise…and He had him! Bang! Right in the middle of his anticipated achievement, Saul met his worst enemy…his nemesis…this Jesus Himself, the one who was supposed to be dead…His body lying in a tomb outside Jerusalem. 

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ NIV

“I am Jesus…” Saul was shocked…so shocked that he fell off his horse…onto the ground…on his face before Jesus…the same Jesus he was determined to destroy! Shocked…humiliated…devastated! So devastated that every intention that drove him to Damascus evaporated. Gone! His entire life…all his training…all his ambitions…all his theology…all his past, his future plans, his entire life…imploded in an instant! Like Isaiah of old, Saul was “undone”.  

Who? Who was this whose light was so bright that Saul was blinded…permanently shut up into darkness with scales so impenetrable that they needed miraculous, divine intervention to remove. 

Saul’s finally humble, honest question received a simple but mind-blowing reply… “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!” What? Alive? Saul’s mission…to stamp out the ones who believed this myth! “But I am going after the defectors…the people who are believing in this Jesus.” 

“No, Saul, you are persecuting me. You see, Saul, these people are me, my body of which I am the head. You cannot touch any of them without touching me.” Saul learned his second brand-new lesson about this “Way”. First, Jesus was alive. Second, He was not alone. He had a body of people joined inseparably to Him. “Touch them and you have me to reckon with…Saul.”

“Lord!” That is all Saul needed to say…to confess with his mouth…to change sides forever. 

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In that instant, he  had met the criteria for salvation, for the radical, supernatural rescue from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. Jesus was alive…and He was indisputably Lord. 

In the years to come, Saul, later Paul, would hammer out, in his own experience, the truths of this “body of the faith” Jesus was entrusting to him. Through his written communications with churches and individuals, he would pass on to every succeeding generation what he was learning in these early days. As much as Paul’s writings were “theology”, they were also autobiography, prefaced by his repeated affirmation…”I have learned…” 

So, the newly converted Saul, now redirected by an encounter with the living Jesus he would never forget, went on to Damascus a changed man. Blind, weak, humbled and broken, he entered the city…to be found by the man whom Jesus had already detailed to “find” him. 

“In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 

Suspicious and afraid, Ananias protested… but Jesus reassured him…

“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 

Armed with a commission for Saul from the mouth of Jesus Himself, Ananias obeyed.  Imagine his mission…to inform this brand-new believer, this once-murderous persecutor of Ananias’ fellow-believers, that his, Saul’s, calling was to stand before kings with the very message that would condemn him. “Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord!” 

Saul would have to learn, through the very suffering Ananias predicted for him, that suffering was grace, not punishment. He would learn that God’s grace, channeling strength for his weakness, would be the greatest victory of his life. He would learn, through everything he was called to suffer, that nothing in heaven, earth, or under the earth, could ever separate him from God’s love demonstrated in Jesus’ obedience, even to death.  

So, Ananias obeyed…and Saul’s eyes were healed…and Saul saw, for the first time, his real purpose in life, to go to the world, to preach the good news to all nations, and to suffer for the name he had once hated. 

“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued

ACTS THE SEQUEL…INTO AFRICA – 16

Bible Study, ,

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him….The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭26‬-‭31‬, ‭34‬-‭36‬, ‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What an experience for Philip! One minute he was in Samaria and the next, he was on a road deep in the desert. In the distance, he saw a cloud of dust. A chariot was approaching at high speed. The Spirit whispered, “Go and join the chariot.” So, Philip stood in the middle of the road and flagged the chariot down. 

We know the story well but…what’s in it for us? 

As we watch the story of the church unfold in Luke’s carefully documented record, we see the plan of God coming to life in real time. First, Jerusalem…then Judea. The church must be rooted in the truth through the faithful ministry of the Apostles. Then, slowly, as opposition began to eat into the people’s favour and peace in the capital city, believers left their safe haven, moved away from their comfort zone, and took the message and the life of Jesus  them. 

 Samaria came alive with the gospel…together with the inevitable trouble in the form of a sorcerer who tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. There will always be someone in the company who gets it wrong!

Now, from Samaria, Philip, leader in the new move of the Spirit in that region, was spirited away to reach out to man from Africa…not  an area close to Jerusalem but a whole new continent to hear the good news. Just one man, alight with the fire of the Holy Spirit, was all it took to carry the torch of the gospel to Africa. 

This representative of the royal court of Ethiopia had a heart for God. He had been to Jerusalem to worship…imagine that! From Ethiopia, a land thousands of miles from Jerusalem…in a chariot…drawn by horses. Not a cushy journey by air…not even a comfortable bus ride on a tar road. 

The unnamed official was passing the time over the tedious miles…not playing games on his cellphone…but reading the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. He happened to have reached chapter 53…just when Philip appeared on the scene. How perfectly timed! God is sovereign in all things. 

To top it all, the eunuch didn’t wait for Philip to explain his presence at this most crucial moment. He jumped right in, in answer to Philip’s question, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  Not, “Hello, I’m Philip. How can I help you?”

The situation, at face value,  seems so ordinary…like this kind of thing happened every day…a man appearing out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, just when someone needed him! No! This was definitely God at work to get things going in Africa. It isn’t every day that a man comes all the way from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship. It isn’t every day that this man happened to be reading the best Scripture possible from which to tell him about Jesus. 

So, the  gospel message goes all the way to Africa in the heart of a man who was at the very top of authority…the guy who controlled the money for the queen of Ethiopia! Only God could do that, even if it meant picking Philip up  and supernaturally depositing him on a dusty road in the desert to get the job done!

To be continued 

ACTS THE SEQUEL…AND SAMARIA – 15

Bible Study, ,

“And Saul approved of their killing him…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.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The seed was buried…

The persecution began in earnest… not just with court cases…intimidation, threats, jail. These strategies didn’t work. This dangerous heresy was spreading like a forest fire. The “wood” of the  common people was tinder dry…ready for the fire of the Holy Spirit to set it ablaze with supernatural life. 

And the wind of the Spirit blew…scattering the burning fragments from Jerusalem everywhere. The believers fled the city…just as Jesus had predicted…into Judea and Samaria. Up to that point, the church was still contained and functioning within city and the borders of Israel but…give it time…

Meanwhile, a new branch of the church began to grow in Samaria…the place where Jesus Himself had started a blaze through a disreputable Samaritan woman…who had drunk from the “water of life.”

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The leadership of God’s people had new blood. The “deacons” of Acts 6 became spiritual leaders outside Jerusalem while the apostles remained in the city to care for the remnants of the flock left behind. 

Stephen was gone…but Philip, possibly one of the seven deacons, stepped up to fill the gap. The city of Samaria, in the province of Samaria, came alive with the power of the Holy Spirit. The same miracles that sparked the fierce opposition in Jerusalem now spread to Samaria. The powers of hell were shaken. The comfortable demonic presence was stirred up to resist and fight. The kingdom of God had come… and the demons didn’t like it. 

Luke included a story about an individual, Simon the sorcerer, who had duped the people into believing that he doing miracles for God. His deception was unhindered until the Spirit came. The people of Samaria were ripe for the gospel. 

“Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Peter and John, on a fact-finding mission from Jerusalem, passed on the Holy Spirit’s baptism to the new believers in this Samaritan hybrid group… and Simon was impressed!

“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria…

“…When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭14-‭17‬ ‭NIV

Simon also “ believed” but his cover was blown. When the true Spirit of God fell on people in Samaria, Simon decided to change sides. He still craved power…but now…he saw genuine power at work and tried to buy it!

Wrong!

“When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Peter was incensed. How dare this man try to buy God’s power! 

Peter stared right into Simon’s soul. No words were harsh enough to expose this man’s true intention. Money! Peter saw a heart full of money, dark and sinister because the love of money drove his life…colouring his every thought and deed…killing love, compassion, and kindness…caring about nothing or no one except to deceive for the sake of money. He was even ready to use some of his money to buy the Holy Spirit, as if he could, to gain more power over people, to manipulate and deceive…so he thought!

…“May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

The judgment was harsh but real…and Simon was shocked and afraid. 

“Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭20‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The next phase of God’s strategy, painful as it had been…through death and persecution…had opened the door to a hybrid nation.  The once-hated Samaritans had become part of God’s forever family. Grace had come to graft them into God’s “olive tree”! 

To be continued 

ACTS THE SEQUEL…EXIT STEPHEN – 14b

Bible Study, ,

Something unexpected happened. Stephen’s face changed…

“All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”

Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV

That should have stopped them in their tracks…but it didn’t…

They pressed on with their evil scheme, oblivious to the fact that, behind the scenes, Jesus was watching…and working. Through their wickedness, He was doing something that nothing could stop. In the words of Tertullian, a second century Christian theologian, “The more they mow us down, the more we grow. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”, this violent act of hatred let loose a wave of new life.  It lit a fire outside of Jerusalem that was destined to spread throughout the Roman empire and beyond. 

“Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Stephen opened his mouth and began to speak…

Carefully, deliberately, he reminded his accusers of their history…Abraham…the patriarchs…Moses and the burning bush…Moses and the exodus…Moses and the miracles in the wilderness…Moses and the rebellion… Moses and the covenant, the tabernacle, the glory of God…Joshua…David…Solomon and the temple…

And so the story of redemption and disobedience unfolded…until…Stephen turned the spotlight on his accusers.

Stephen was on a roll…oblivious to the danger, he was sharpening his weapon! Like a skilful archer, he chose a polished arrow and took aim at his accusers. 

Then he fired…but not in his own defence.

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭51‬-‭53‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That set the cat among the pigeons! The entire religious hierarchy was in an uproar. 

Oh, Stephen! What have you done?

The reaction was instantaneous and vicious, like pulling the pin in a hand grenade. 

Bullseye! The arrow found its mark with unerring accuracy but…instead of piercing their hearts, the arrow found their conscience. Instead of producing repentance, the arrow’s wound poured pure venom…rage so terrible that all reason fled. 

Did this mean that Stephen, in this crisis, would expect to be immune to the hatred of his enemies? Would he be supernaturally protected from harm? Would he walk away unscathed from this skirmish between himself and the powers of darkness? What about God’s promise, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper”?

Where does faith fit into a situation like this? How does the will of God feature in this drama? 

Jesus had His own plan. Stephen already knew the outcome. He saw the welcome that awaited him. He saw heaven joining earth in a standing ovation. He heard the accolades that his faithfulness and courage had earned him…

“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭55‬-‭56‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Like his Master, he was chosen to be seed, the harvest of which would be many millions of seeds in every generation througout the centuries. 

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,

dragged him out of the city and began to stone him…”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭57-58a NIV‬‬

Stones flew…and Stephen’s ministry of miracles of mercy and compassion came to an abrupt end, snuffed out, just like that!Gone the favour God’s people had enjoyed. Gone the peace that had reigned in the city. Hatred flowed like a river… and God’s people fled…scattered like a flock of sheep invaded by wolves. 

Someone stood on the sidelines…watching…approving…cheering the stone-throwers on…guarding their clothing as they hurled their missiles at an innocent man.  

“…Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.”

Acts 7: 58b NIV

Luke mysteriously, masterfully, sort of “ by the way”, introduced the player who would soon take centre stage in the story of the early church. Who was this man? Why was he mentioned? Why was he important? 

Meanwhile, in the heavenly court, the onlookers watched with baited breath as the scene unfolded on earth. Heaven and earth became one for a moment as Stephen, Jesus’ first “witness” (Greek – martus…martyr), left the earth behind to gain his eternal reward. 

“…Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭55‬-‭56‬, ‭59‬-‭60‬ ‭NIV‬‬

With the words of Jesus on his lips and his blood soaking into the dust, Stephen “fell asleep” on earth and “woke up” in heaven. 

…and the believers fled…everywhere…carrying with them the precious Word hidden in their hearts and spilling from their lips like seed in the wind. God was at work again, spreading the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth. 

To be continued

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ENTER STEPHEN – 14a

Bible Study, ,

“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people…”

Stephen, one of the men selected to serve, rose to prominence among the Seven. Not only did he serve faithfully but he also served powerfully as the Holy Spirit worked through him to demonstrate the works of the kingdom of God among them. Signs and wonders…the very things Jesus promised would  happen through those who believe…

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…were multiplying through Stephen…

…and some didn’t like it. 

Well…that set the cat among the pigeons! Persecution! Some fanatical Jews from out of town…Hellenistic Jews who would feature big in this story…faced off with Stephen. Problem was…they had no answer for the powerful works of the Holy Spirit. 

“Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Some people didn’t like what Stephen was doing…so they told him, in no uncertain terms! 

Argue…yes, but even arguing with Stephen didn’t work. You see, Stephen had the weapon of truth in his heart, and it came out of his mouth…and truth in the Spirit’s power cannot be defeated!

The arguments were hot and fierce. The trouble was that arguing would never solve the problem. You see, the issue was not about who could win by a better argument. The real issue was a matter of the heart. Those who opposed Stephen had no intention of believing in the one who was doing the miracles through Stephen, or the message to which the signs were pointing. Like their leaders, their hearts were as hard as granite. 

So…they did what they did best to discredit Stephen…they lied. They did the devil’s work. Character assassination! If you can’t win the argument fairly, throw stones at your opponent! Of course, they had allies…friends in high places.  They falsely accused him of blasphemy…just like those who accused Jesus. They lined up and briefed false witnesses to testify against him. They did everything by the book! Two or three witnesses. They played to the gallery…the religious leaders who were only too willing to fall in with their scheme. 

“So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Hearsay is not evidence so, to conform to the law, these hypocrites produced their “witnesses”.  This sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it?  Only a short while before, Stephen’s Lord had suffered the same treatment…and the same fate…but, his Lord’s promise was to be with him. 

As Stephen stood before his accusers, something strange, unusual, unearthly, even scary began to happen…

To be continued

“Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Stephen was arrested and hauled before the Sanhedrin…

To be continued