What does Acts 8:4 mean?
After enjoying relative peace (Acts 5:12–16), the church in Jerusalem is now under attack. One of their greatest preachers, Stephen, has been murdered by a mob with the approval of the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:54–60). The Jewish leadership is commissioning people to arrest Jesus-followers and bring them to trial—or try to get them to deny their faith in Jesus (Acts 8:1–3; 22:19; 26:10–11). In fear, the Jesus-followers flee Jerusalem, but take the gospel with them. Jesus' mandate in Acts 1:8, that His followers would take His story to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, is coming to fruition.It's unclear who remains in Jerusalem. The apostles are still there but it's unclear to whom the "all" of Acts 8:1 refers. Possible interpretations are that "all" refers to all Stephen's group—possibly the deacons of Acts 6:1–6 of which Philip is included. Another theory is that the Hellenistic Jewish Christians received the brunt of the wrath of the Hellenistic Freedmen and the Hellenistic Saul (Acts 6:9; 9:11). Or it could mean that every Jesus-follower who could escaped Jerusalem except the apostles.
Stephen's trial and death were the catalyst for the flight from Jerusalem, but his deathbed message provides hope and assurance. In Acts 7:2–16, he proved that God works for His people without a temple. Jesus promised this in John 4:21–24. "Heaven is [God's] throne" (Acts 7:49; Psalm 11:4). The church doesn't need the temple to worship Jesus. Later, Paul will explain that God often uses persecution to make sure the message of forgiveness through Jesus' sacrifice gets to those who need it (Colossians 1:24–25).
Acts 8:4–8 describes Jesus' second stage of spreading the gospel coming to fruition (Acts 1:8). As Saul's persecution of the church in Jerusalem grows more violent, Jesus-followers flee to Judea and Samaria. Philip, a fellow deacon of the martyred Stephen (Acts 6:1–6), goes north to Samaria. He expels demons, heals, and preaches the gospel to a people that the Jews traditionally revile. When Philip's ministry takes hold, the church will send Peter and John to formally establish the Samaritans as legitimate believers. (Acts 8:14–25).
Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.
