There is a saying amongst some missiologists, evangelists, and apostolic-type of people that goes something like this:

If you don’t do Acts 1:8, you may get Acts 8:1.

What in the world does that mean?

In Acts 1:8, just before ascending to heaven, Jesus had told his disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and then they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

And so, what actually happens?

Jesus ascends to heaven, the Holy Spirit comes, Peter preaches, 3000 are baptized, and we see an amazing start to the church there in Jerusalem.

Yet, at least for a period of time, that is about as far as we see the church go. We don’t see that the people of the church went, nor were sent very far as they started the process of becoming the people of God that Jesus had told them that they would be. Depending on the timeline that you ascribe to, Acts 1 to Acts 8 may have happened over a period as little as one year to as much as three or four years. It is hard to say exactly, but the main point is that Jesus didn’t intend, and didn’t tell the disciples to go to Jerusalem to stay there. No, instead, he told them to stay there until they receive the Holy Spirit and then they would be his witnesses to the end of the earth.

When persecution comes for the disciples, we should see what happened as a result. What was the outcome of Stephen being killed and the persecution that broke out in Jerusalem?

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

Acts 8:1-5

We see that there was great grief and mourning in the death and burial of Stephen, but his death was only the beginning. Saul came and began going from one house to the next, putting the believers in prison. He was working to destroy the church.

So, to avoid being thrown in prison, the believers were scattered and moved out of Jerusalem. Forcibly. They weren’t necessarily sent by the church, but they were sent out. They were sent out by the force of persecution. And how did God use this persecution?

Those who were scattered began to preach the word everywhere.

That which Jesus had told the disciples he wanted them to do began to happen. Even if it wasn’t under nice circumstances, or even if it wasn’t within the way that the church had planned it, the people of the church were scattered, they were sent, and thus God’s word was proclaimed everywhere.

We can even see with Philip, who was one of the 12 disciples, that Christ was preached in Samaria, just as Jesus had told his disciples to do. These were no longer the “pure” Jews that were hearing the word of God and following Christ. These were the hated Samaritans, the “half-breeds”, as they might have said, who had intermarried with the Assyrians as a result of colonization process by the Assyrian empire from centuries prior. And God is showing that the good news of Christ is for them as well as they hear the Gospel, believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and even receive Holy Spirit. Wonderful!

God is using these terrible circumstances for his glory. He is using the persecution of the believers to spread the word of God everywhere. God has, from the beginning, said that his image should fill the earth. Then Jesus told the disciples to make disciples amongst all nations, and he told his disciples that they would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.

God has never intended that his people should stay in one place. His plan is not localized. His plan is that his people should make and execute a plan to fill the earth, reaching all people, going everywhere. No place should be excluded.

But to the extent that we do not do that, God will use any other means at his disposal…and what we see here in Acts 8 is that God can, and will, even use the evil of persecution for his purposes. Even in the midst of violence, God will turn the situation for his glory.

We should learn a lesson from what the first church in Jerusalem had experienced! We should join God in his plan. He does not intend that we stay in one place, but that we join him in doing what he is doing, to spread his image across the face of the earth, making disciples of all nations, as we go and become part of the fulfillment of his plan.