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The Church of Christ throughout Judea and Samaria, and in its transition to the Gentiles. Ch. 8–12
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SECTION I
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§ I. Persecution and Dispersion
Act_8:1-4
b. And at that time … persecution.—The expression ἐí ἐêåßíῃ ôῇ ἡìÝñᾳ , is usually understood in the widest sense, as equivalent to: “At that time” (Luther’s [and Engl.] version). There is, however, no reason for departing from the literal sense: “On that day.” We might rather infer a priori, from psychological considerations, as well as from others furnished by the natural sequence of events, that the stoning of Stephen would be immediately followed by an outbreak of fanaticism, of which the Christians generally would be the victims. Bengel accordingly remarks on ἐê . ô . ἡì .: non differebant adversarii. As a wild beast that has once tasted blood, is ever afterwards governed by a thirst for it, so the brutal passions of men, when they are once roused, and especially when they are combined with religious fanaticism, acquire additional ferocity after every successful outbreak. It is not probable that many days passed by, before the great persecution began; it is possible, that the mass of the Jews, on returning to the city, at once began a general attack on the Christians. And this persecution was, without doubt, not exclusively a measure adopted by the theocratical authorities, but rather the act of the people, who had previously been “stirred up,” according to Act_6:12, and had now participated in the act of stoning Stephen.
c. They were all scattered abroad.—The members of the church fled from the persecution to which they were exposed in the capital, in accordance with the direction and permission of the Redeemer (Mat_10:23). They retired at first to the surrounding regions of Judea, and sought places of refuge in other cities or in villages; many of them subsequently withdrew to the territory of Samaria. It is, however, questionable whether the term ðÜíôåò is to be literally understood, in the sense that every Christian left the city. Luke himself reports one exception, when he appends the words: ðëὴí ôῶí ἀðïóôüëùí , so that it is certain that at least the apostles remained in Jerusalem. They regard that city as the post to which the command of the Lord had assigned them, and which they do not feel at liberty to abandon, without an express declaration of his will. And, besides, the holy city, the central point of Israel, was still, in their view, the future central point of the kingdom of Christ. The apostles, therefore, supported by their faith, courageously maintained their position in the midst of the dangers which threatened them. But did not a single Christian, with the exception of the twelve apostles remain in Jerusalem? It is not probable that such was the fact, particularly when we consider the circumstance that, not long afterwards, Act_9:26, disciples are found present in Jerusalem, in addition to the apostles, who are themselves not mentioned until the facts stated in Act_8:27, are introduced. An additional argument against the literal meaning of ðÜíôåò is furnished by Act_8:3, of the present chapter, as some interpreters suppose, since even after the dispersion mentioned in Act_8:1, Saul was able to ravage the church, by dragging men and women to prison (Meyer). But we do not ascribe any importance to this argument, as Act_8:3 appears to us not to describe subsequent events, but rather to present, more in detail, one aspect precisely of that äéùãìüò which had been mentioned only in general terms in Act_8:1. Still we cannot be convinced that ðÜíôåò is to be here understood in its strict and literal sense; the term is rather to be regarded as employed in a hyperbolical manner [Meyer; de Wette; as in Act_3:18; Mat_3:5; Mar_1:37; Mar_6:33; Joh_3:26; the word here “need not be pressed so as to include every individual.” (Hackett).—Tr.]. But this view does not authorize us to take ðÜíôåò at once in the sense of multi (Kuinoel), nor to restrict it to the doctores (Bengel), nor to assume that ἐêêëçóßáí designates exclusively the Hellenistic part of the church (Baur). Baumgarten’s conjecture (I. 158 ff.) is equally as little capable of being sustained, when closely examined. He supposes that precisely at the hour in which Stephen was stoned, the church, in its deep sympathy, was gathered together, offering prayer in his behalf, and that the first assault in this persecution was directed against that congregational meeting, the members being instantly dispersed. If this was the case, the words ðÜíôåò äéåóðÜñçóáí êáôὰ ôὰò ÷þñáò ; would state nothing more than that all those members who were accidentally gathered together, were scattered. Now, in the first place, it is an unaccountable circumstance that the apostles, who were certainly present, if such a meeting had been held, should not also have been scattered abroad, as well as others. In the second place, Baumgarten rends portions of the text asunder which are intimately connected, namely: äéåóðÜñçóáí ; for he represents the dispersion of the meeting as the immediate result of the persecution, and the flight to regions beyond the city, as an indirect result, which is offering violence to the text.
Act_8:2. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial.—The particle äÝ after óõíåêüìéóáí undoubtedly indicates a contrast, namely, that between the tender affections of certain individuals and the madly excited passions of the mass of the people. These ἄíäñåòἐõëáâåῖò are, without doubt, Jews, as in Act_2:5, and not Christians, (as Heinrichs and da Costa imagine); the latter are always designated in the Acts by other terms. [But Ananias, mentioned in Act_22:12, was a Christian, and yet is so designated, according to the reading preferred by Lechler to that of the textus receptus.—Tr.]. They were Jews who rendered the last honors to Stephen, and even engaged in a solemn mourning for him [de Wette refers here to Gen_50:10.—Tr.]. But they were åὐëáâåῖò , that is, they were men who feared God more than they feared man, or than they regarded the temper of the populace at the time. They did not hesitate to give an honorable burial to a man of whose innocence and godliness they were convinced, although he had been accused of blasphemy (of which he had not been proved to be guilty), and had suffered the ignominious death of a criminal. An analogous case may be found in the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea, who also had, previously, not been a disciple of Jesus (at least according to Luke and Mark). [Termed a “disciple” in Mat_27:57 ff; a “disciple—secretly,” in Joh_19:38, but not so designated in Mar_15:43 ff., and Luk_23:50 ff.—Tr.]
Act_8:3. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church.—Luke proceeds to relate the share which Saul took in the persecution of the Christians; his conduct contrasts strikingly with that of the devout men mentioned in Act_8:2, and also illustrates the general statement made in Act_8:1. Saul ravaged ( ἐëõìáßíåôï ) the church [comp. the same word in Psa_80:14, Sept. with ðïï ͅ èÝù in Act_9:21; Gal_1:13; Gal_1:23; and see Act_22:19-20; Act_26:9-11; 1Ti_1:13.—Tr.]. The word implies that, as far as it lay in his power, he injured and destroyed the church; he entered into houses, êáôὰ ïἴêïõò , literally, from house to house; the expression, however, can, naturally, refer to those houses only, in which he expected to find Christians. When these were discovered, he dragged them forth, (doubtless with the aid of the officers of the Sanhedrin), and transferred them to the prison. It is obvious that he was sustained by the hierarchical authorities, as he could not have otherwise ventured to enter by force into private dwellings, neither would he have found the doors of the prison open to receive his victims. Still, the general tenor of this verse leads us to conjecture that these results depended in a great measure on the personal character of Saul, and that it was specially his wildly excited fanaticism which inflicted great injuries on the church. The novel and revolting features of his course were the systematic manner in which he sought out the confessors of Jesus, and his rude intrusion into domestic circles—a Jewish prelude of the later Romish Inquisition.
Act_8:4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad, went every where.—These words are connected with äéåóðÜñçóáí in Act_8:1, and are explanatory of that term; they inform us that the fugitive Christians did not quietly establish themselves in any places of refuge which they may have found, but travelled onward from place to place [ äéῆëèïí , they went through, i.e., the country; comp. Act_8:40, below.—Tr.]. But the most important fact is stated in the next words: preaching the word, i.e., the Gospel. It consequently appears that the persecution which they had endured in Jerusalem, could not so intimidate them, that they henceforth concealed their faith in Jesus from public view; on the contrary, wherever they appeared, they proclaimed their faith, and the joyful tidings concerning the Redeemer and his redeeming work.—The very closest chronological connection exists between this historical statement and Act_11:19 ff.: ïἱ ìὲí ïὖí äéáóðáñÝíôåò … äéῆëèïí ἕùò Öïéíßêìò ; the intervening portions, from Act_8:5 to Act_11:18, accordingly assume the character of an episode.
2. As the apostles remained in Jerusalem, the dispersed Christians were church members only: at most, several of them, Philip, for instance, Act_8:5, may have belonged to the company of the “seven men”, who had been previously elected, Act_6:3 ff. But even to these the ministry of the word had not been primarily intrusted; hence, these scattered Christians, in the great majority of cases, were invested with no ecclesiastical office whatever. And yet they labored as evangelists, wherever they came, without any official obligation, or any express authority. They were moved by the inward power of that faith which cannot but speak of the truth of which the heart is full; they were influenced by the Spirit, with whom they had been anointed; they were controlled by their love of the Saviour, to whom they owed the remission of their sins and all their blessed hopes. This propagation of the Gospel beyond the limits of the holy city—this establishment of the church of Christ in other districts of Palestine, and even beyond its boundaries (see Act_11:19), was, consequently, not the work of the apostles themselves, but mainly of other Christians, who held no office, but were invested with the general priesthood of believers [1Pe_2:5; 1Pe_2:9]. According to human conceptions of church government and the ecclesiastical office, such a course should not have been adopted. But the Lord of the church did not restrict himself to the apostolic office which he had instituted, in such a manner that no work could be legitimate, acceptable to God, or rich in blessings and in promise, unless it were performed exclusively by the apostles. Here, too, Christ teaches us that no human being and no finite ordinance can be regarded as necessary, and absolutely indispensable; He alone is at all times and in all places, indispensable.
See below, § 2. Act_8:5-13.
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Act_8:1. ðÜíôåò äὲ . The particle ôå [of the text. rec.] is attested only by the Alexandrian MS. [A.], and the Syriac, as well as the two [Reuss: Gesch. d. h. Sch. N. T. § 431.] Ethiopic versions; whereas, all the other minuscule mss. and ancient versions read äὲ , which is, accordingly, to be preferred. [ äὲ is found in B. C. D. E. H. and adopted by Lach., Tisch. and Alf. Neither particle is found in Cod. Sin., but a later hand (C) prefixed êáé to ðáíô .—Tr.]
Act_8:2. [Lachm., with whom de Wette agrees, reads ἐðïßçóáí before êïðåôὸí , with A. B. C. D., but Tisch. and Alf., following E. H. read with text. rec. ἐðïéÞóáíôï , the former being, according to Alf., very probably a later correction.—Cod. Sin. ἐðïßçóáí .—Tr.]