A BLESSED SCATTERING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

Acts 11:19-21

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Philip, Saul, and Peter. These three men, each used by Jesus in different ways but toward a common purpose, dominate the narrative in the Book of Acts between chapter 8 and the early part of chapter 11. But as we see later in Acts 11, starting at verse 19, there was lot more people engaged in the work of the Gospel.

We don’t know how many people but it had to be significant because thousands upon thousands of people had converted to Christianity because of the work of the apostles after receiving the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. These new believers were the ones who fled Jerusalem after Stephen’s stoning as widespread persecution broke out in Jerusalem, causing a blessed scattering to occur.

So where did these Christians go?

Well, you’ll remember Jesus predicting it well before it happened when He said this just before ascending into heaven to sit at God’s right hand:

“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

So after Jerusalem, the progression would have the Gospel go to Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. Peter and Philip had been working Judea and Samaria. Now we see where other believers were branching out even more. Let’s look closer at the places mentioned in our passage today.

1. Phoenicia.

We read about Tyre and Sidon a lot in the scriptures and both those cities were port cities in the region of Phoenicia. Known for its trade, the region was located largely to the north of Samaria and west of Galilee, ranging north to south along the Mediterranean coast. Today, we know this area as Lebanon.

2. Cyprus.

The home of Barnabas, Cyprus was a large island in the Eastern Mediterranean located about 50 miles to the south of Turkey and 60 miles west of Syria. Today it is owned by both Turkey (the north) and Greece (the south).

3. Antioch.

In New Testament times, Antioch was a city located in ancient Syria and today it is a part of south central Turkey. It played a prominent role in the growth of the early church and as we’ll see later in this chapter, the disciples were first called Christians in this city.

As you can see, the Gospel was well on its way outside of Judea and Samaria, and Paul had not even started his first missionary journey yet. The Jerusalem persecution had not stopped the Gospel. Rather, it served as the catalyst for a blessed scattering of Christian believers who not only shared the good news of Jesus with the Jews but also the Greeks. The scriptures tell us that this occurred because “the Lord’s hand was with them” and this resulted in “a great number of people” believing in and turning to the Lord Jesus for their salvation.

Tomorrow, we shift our attention to the aforementioned Antioch as Barnabas is dispatched from Jerusalem to pay the city a visit.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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