“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.

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 8:2-8

–

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Can we take a second to be real about what is happening in this week’s passage? Jesus’ early followers were peasants and fishermen lacking social collateral—but they were pretty gutsy risk-takers.

The Temple officials and Roman overseers didn’t agree on many things, but they agreed on one thing: Jesus was a dangerous teacher who needed to be killed. Yet after He was publicly humiliated and executed, hundreds of His disciples continued to publicly follow Him. Not only so, but they loudly declared (to the Temple leaders) that God had raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to God’s own right hand and (to the Empire leaders) that Jesus was the King of King, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace—all names given in worship to the Emperor.

No surprise those holding power were enraged, threatened, and wanted to kill them all.

But gutsy or not, it would be terrifying to live through this. Can you imagine watching a close friend, known for his wisdom and Spirit-filled service, be stoned to death in the public square? Can you imagine religious leaders coming to your house, dragging you and your spouse to prison?

How do you live like that? How do you stay the course? How do you make the choice to remain faithful?

When we’re threated, they say we respond by “fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.” Fawning means submitting to dangerous people so they will like you and keep you safe. Freezing means doing nothing. Fighting means responding with violence.

This community chose “flight.” As they ran to protect themselves, they also ran to protect the good news of Jesus. They weren’t so afraid that they stopped declaring that God never sides with those wielding human power.

No, they continued to preach and heal wherever they ran.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Have you ever experienced this level of threat?
  • How do you respond when your discipleship in Christ-love is threatened by those who worship power and violence?

 

Church Reading Plan: Amos 1; Psalm 144