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| The Samaritan believers were baptized |
Acts 8
Acts 8:1-3
An introduction to Saul of Tarsus
1. Now Saul was consenting to
his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was
at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and
Samaria, except the apostles.
2. And devout men carried
Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and
dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
I mentioned in chapter 6, the
presence of Jewish Hellenists in Jerusalem, who spoke Greek, along with Hebrew
and their various native languages. For that reason, I want to explain briefly,
how Greek became so prominent throughout the Middle East and even into Africa. Ancient
Greece consisted of city-states that warred among themselves and not until
modern times did it develop a central government. Philip II of Macedon was a
great conqueror and did much to conquer other areas of Greece. He was murdered,
when he was 46, so his ambitions were not totally realized. His son, Alexander
the Great, conquered a great part of the known world, but died at 30 years of
age. He also did not establish a central Greek government, as Rome did after
they became a great empire.
However Rome, a great
military power, was not strong culturally, but borrowed from Greek culture and
religion and spread it throughout their many colonies. Alexander´s four
generals took over the territories that he conquered and warred against each
other so, for this reason also, Greece never formed a strong central
government. Greek citizens colonized throughout the Middle East and through
these colonies, through Roman influence, and because of the wide conquests of
Alexander the Great, Greek culture, religion and language flourished
everywhere. Of course, Greece had great philosophers, such as Plato, Socrates
and Aristotle, who continue to have great influence throughout the modern
world.
I mention these facts mainly,
because they form a background for the man we learn about in chapter 8… Saul of
Tarsus, a Hellenistic Jew. The author of the book of Acts, Luke, was a Greek
and an educated medical physician, who, experts tell us, wrote quality Greek,
He had a carefully designed plan, as he followed the development of Jesus’
Great Commission, beginning in Jerusalem.
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