the Second Week after Easter
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
Bahasa Indonesia Sehari-hari
Kisah Para Rasul 8:1
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Saulus juga setuju, bahwa Stefanus mati dibunuh. (8-1b) Pada waktu itu mulailah penganiayaan yang hebat terhadap jemaat di Yerusalem. Mereka semua, kecuali rasul-rasul, tersebar ke seluruh daerah Yudea dan Samaria.
Maka Saul pun berkenanlah akan hal Stepanus mati dibunuh itu. Maka pada hari itu datanglah aniaya yang besar ke atas sidang jemaat yang di Yeruzalem, lalu berpecah-belahlah mereka itu sekalian ke segenap tanah Yudea dan Samaria, kecuali rasul-rasul sahaja.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
And Saul: This clause evidently belongs to the conclusion of the previous chapter; there is scarcely a worse division of chapters than this. Acts 7:58, Acts 22:20
there: Acts 5:33, Acts 5:40, Acts 7:54, Matthew 10:25-28, Matthew 22:6, Matthew 23:34, Luke 11:49, Luke 11:50, John 15:20, John 16:2
the church: Acts 2:47, Acts 7:38, Acts 11:22, Acts 13:1
and they: Acts 8:4, Acts 11:19-21, Matthew 5:13, Philippians 1:12
Samaria: Acts 8:14, Acts 1:8, John 4:39-42
except: Acts 5:18, Acts 5:20, Acts 5:33, Acts 5:40, Exodus 10:28, Exodus 10:29, Nehemiah 6:3, Daniel 3:16-18, Daniel 6:10, Daniel 6:23, Hebrews 11:27
Reciprocal: Nehemiah 6:11 - Should such Hosea 2:23 - I will sow Zechariah 10:9 - sow Matthew 5:10 - are Matthew 10:5 - of the Samaritans Matthew 10:23 - when Matthew 16:18 - my Matthew 23:13 - for ye shut Mark 13:9 - take Luke 13:34 - killest John 16:32 - that Acts 6:5 - Stephen Acts 8:5 - Philip Acts 9:31 - the churches Acts 13:50 - and raised Acts 22:4 - I persecuted Acts 26:10 - I also Galatians 1:13 - how 1 Thessalonians 2:14 - even Hebrews 10:32 - ye endured James 1:1 - scattered
Cross-References
And he sent foorth a Rauen, whiche went out, goyng foorth, and returnyng, vntyll the waters were dryed vp vpon the earth.
And the Doue founde no rest for the sole of her foote, and she returned vnto him into the arke, for the waters [were] in the vpper face of the whole earth, Then he put foorth his hande, & tooke her, and pulled her to him into the arke.
And Noah builded an aulter vnto ye Lorde, and tooke of euery cleane beast, and of euery cleane foule, & offred burnt offering on the aulter
Yet therefore shall not sowyng tyme and haruest, colde and heate, sommer and wynter, day and nyght, ceasse all the dayes of the earth.
And it came to passe, that when God destroyed the cities of that region, he thought vpon Abraham, and sent Lot out from the middest of the ouerthrow, when he ouerthrewe the cities, in one of the whiche Lot dwelled.
And God remembred Rachel, & God hearde her, and made her fruitefull,
And their complaynt came vp vnto God from the bondage: and God heard their mone, and God remembred his couenaunt with Abraham, Isahac, and Iacob.
And Moyses stretched out his hande ouer the sea, & the Lorde caused the sea to go backe by a very strong east wynde all that nyght, and made the sea drye [lande] and the waters were deuided.
And the angell of the Lorde said vnto him: Wherfore hast thou smytten thine asse these three times? Beholde, I came out to withstande thee, because [thyne heart] hath declined out of the way before me.
And they rose vp early, & worshipped before the Lorde, and then returned, & came to their house to Ramath: And when Elkana knewe Hanna his wyfe, the Lorde remembred her.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Saul was consenting unto his death,.... This clause, in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic versions, stands at the close of the preceding chapter, and which seems to be its proper place; and so it does in the Alexandrian copy: that Saul consented to the death of Stephen, and approved of that barbarous action, is evident from his taking care of the clothes of the witnesses that stoned him; but the word here used signifies not a bare consent only, but a consent with pleasure and delight; he was well pleased with it, it rejoiced his very heart; he joined with others in it, with the utmost pleasure and satisfaction; this, and what is before said concerning his having the clothes of the witnesses laid at his feet, as well as what follows, about his persecuting the saints, are, the rather mentioned, because this violent persecutor was afterwards converted, and became an eminent preacher of the Gospel; and these accounts serve to set off and illustrate the grace of God, which was abundant towards him.
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem: it began "on that day", as the words may be rendered, on which Stephen was stoned. As soon as they had put him to death, these bloodthirsty wretches were the more greedy after the blood of others; and being now in great numbers, and filled with rage and fury, fell upon the members of the church wherever they met them, and killed them; for that more, besides Stephen, were put to death, seems plain from Acts 26:10 and, according to some accounts, though they cannot be depended on, two thousand persons suffered at this time: and if this was the case, it might be called a great persecution:
and they were all scattered abroad; not all the members of the church, nor perhaps any of the private ones; for we afterwards read of devout then that carried Stephen to his grave; and of the church being made havoc of by Saul; and of men and women being haled out of their houses, and committed to prison by him; but all the preachers of the word, except the apostles; for they that were scattered, went about preaching the word, Acts 8:4 They seem to be the seventy disciples, and other ministers of the word, on whom the Holy Ghost fell at the day of Pentecost, or was since bestowed; among who were Philip, who went to Samaria; and Ananias, who was at Damascus; and others that went as far as Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch: and particularly they are said to be dispersed
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria; where their ministry was so greatly blessed, to the conversion of souls, that there were quickly many churches planted and formed in these parts, as appears from Acts 9:31 so that this persecution was for the furtherance and spread of the Gospel: that upon this dispersion any of them came into France and England, or into any other parts of Europe, is not probable; since the particular places they went to are mentioned; and since they preached to Jew only: and this scattering by reason of the persecution, was of all the preachers,
except the apostles; the twelve apostles, who stayed at Jerusalem to take care of the church; to encourage the members of it to suffer cheerfully for the sake of Christ and his Gospel; and to animate them to abide by him: and this was not only an instance of courage and constancy in them, and of the divine protection and preservation of them, in the midst of their enemies; but also of the timidity of their adversaries, who might be afraid to meddle with them; remembering what miraculous works were performed by them, and how they had been delivered out of prison, and especially the case of Ananias and Sapphira, who were struck dead by Peter. Beza's ancient copy adds, "who remained in Jerusalem".
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And Saul was consenting ... - Was pleased with his being put to death and approved it. Compare Acts 22:20. This part of the verse should have been connected with the previous chapter.
And at that time. - That is, immediately following the death of Stephen. The persecution arose on account of Stephen, Acts 11:19. The tumult did not subside when Stephen was killed. The anger of his persecutors continued to be excited against all Christians. They had become so embittered by the zeal and success of the apostles, and by their frequent charges of murder in putting the Son of God to death, that they resolved at once to put a period to their progress and success. This was the first persecution against Christians; the first in a series that terminated only when the religion which they wished to destroy was fully established on the ruins of both Judaism and paganism.
The church - The collection of Christians which were now organized into a church. The church at Jerusalem was the first that was collected.
All scattered - That is, the great mass of Christians.
The regions of Judea ... - See the notes on Matthew 2:22.
Except the apostles - Probably the other Christians fled from fear. Why the apostles, who were particularly in danger, did not flee also, is not stated by the historian. Having been, however, more fully instructed than the others, and having been taught their duty by the example and teaching of the Saviour, they resolved, it seems, to remain and brave the fury of the persecutors. For them to have fled then would have exposed them, as leaders and founders of the new religion, to the charge of timidity and weakness. They therefore resolved to remain in the midst of their persecutors; and a merciful Providence watched over them, and defended them from harm. The dispersion extended not only to Judea and Samaria, but those who fled carried the gospel also to Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, Acts 11:19. There was a reason why this was permitted. The early converts were Jews. They had strong feelings of attachment to the city of Jerusalem, to the temple, and to the land of their fathers. Yet it was the design of the Lord Jesus that the gospel should be preached everywhere. To accomplish this, he suffered a persecution to rage; and they were scattered abroad, and bore his gospel to other cities and lands. Good thus came out of evil; and the first persecution resulted, as all others have done, in advancing the cause which was intended to be destroyed.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER VIII.
A general persecution is raised against the Church, 1.
Stephen's burial, 2.
Saul greatly oppresses the followers of Christ, 3, 4.
Philip the deacon goes to Samaria, preaches, works many
miracles, converts many persons, and baptizes Simon the
sorcerer, 5-13.
Peter and John are sent by the apostles to Samaria; they
confirm the disciples, and by prayer and imposition of hands
they confer the Holy Spirit, 14-17.
Simon the sorcerer, seeing this, offers them money, to enable
him to confer the Holy Spirit, 18, 19.
He is sharply reproved by Peter, and exhorted to repent, 20-23.
He appears to be convinced of his sin, and implores an interest
in the apostle's prayers, 24.
Peter and John, having preached the Gospel in the villages of
Samaria, return to Jerusalem, 25.
An angel of the Lord commands Philip to go towards Gaza, to meet
an Ethiopian eunuch, 26.
He goes, meets, and converses with the eunuch, preaches the
Gospel to him, and baptizes him, 27-38.
The Spirit of God carries Philip to Azotus, passing through
which, he preaches in all the cities till he comes to Caesarea,
39, 40.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII.
Verse Acts 8:1. Saul was consenting unto his death. — So inveterate was the hatred that this man bore to Christ and his followers that he delighted in their destruction. So blind was his heart with superstitious zeal that he thought he did God service by offering him the blood of a fellow creature, whose creed he supposed to be erroneous. The word συνευδοκων signifies gladly consenting, being pleased with his murderous work! How dangerous is a party spirit; and how destructive may zeal even for the true worship of God prove, if not inspired and regulated by the spirit of Christ!
It has already been remarked that this clause belongs to the conclusion of the preceding chapter; so it stands in the Vulgate, and so it should stand in every version.
There was a great persecution — The Jews could not bear the doctrine of Christ's resurrection; for this point being proved demonstrated his innocence and their enormous guilt in his crucifixion; as therefore the apostles continued to insist strongly on the resurrection of Christ, the persecution against them became hot and general.
They were all scattered abroad - except the apostles. — Their Lord had commanded them, when persecuted in one city, to flee to another: this they did, but, wherever they went, they proclaimed the same doctrines, though at the risk and hazard of their lives. It is evident, therefore, that they did not flee from persecution, or the death it threatened; but merely in obedience to their Lord's command. Had they fled through the fear of death, they would have taken care not to provoke persecution to follow them, by continuing to proclaim the same truths that provoked it in the first instance.
That the apostles were not also exiled is a very remarkable fact: they continued in Jerusalem, to found and organize the infant Church; and it is marvellous that the hand of persecution was not permitted to touch them. Why this should be we cannot tell; but so it pleased the great Head of the Church. Bp. Pearce justly suspects those accounts, in Eusebius and others, that state that the apostles went very shortly after Christ's ascension into different countries, preaching and founding Churches. He thinks this is inconsistent with the various intimations we have of the continuance of the apostles in Jerusalem; and refers particularly to the following texts: Acts 8:1, Acts 8:14, Acts 8:25; Acts 9:26, Acts 9:27; Acts 11:1, Acts 11:2; Acts 12:1-4; Acts 15:2, Acts 15:4, Acts 15:6, Acts 15:22, Acts 15:23; Acts 21:17, Acts 21:18; Galatians 1:17-19; Galatians 2:1, Galatians 2:9. The Church at Jerusalem was the first CHRISTIAN Church; and consequently, the boast of the Church of Rome is vain and unfounded. From this time a new aera of the Church arose. Hitherto the apostles and disciples confined their labours among their countrymen in Jerusalem. Now persecution drove the latter into different parts of Judea, and through Samaria; and those who had received the doctrine of Christ at the pentecost, who had come up to Jerusalem from different countries to be present at the feast, would naturally return, especially at the commencement of the persecution, to their respective countries, and proclaim to their countrymen the Gospel of the grace of God. To effect this grand purpose, the Spirit was poured out at the day of pentecost; that the multitudes from different quarters, partaking of the word of life, might carry it back to the different nations among whom they had their residence. One of the fathers has well observed, that "these holy fugitives were like so many lamps, lighted by the fire of the Holy Spirit, spreading every where the sacred flame by which they themselves had been illuminated."
