Samaria and Judea

   I'm not going to take much time to write today but I'm so far behind, that I want to get a word in. We covered chapters 1-7, which according to common outlines of the book of Acts, are the "Jerusalem" section... as in, "You will be my witnesses first in Jerusalem, then in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."[1:8]
    Chapters 8-10 are "Judea and Samaria". In the persecution that followed Stephen's death, the Jewish Christians scattered to other Jewish communities near and far. Phillip is one who was scattered, but spread the word as he went. He is fascinating because of being just a common guy, not one of the Apostles. He was faithful and trustworthy as proven by his choice to be an overseer of the food distribution in chapter 6. Yet in Chapter 8 we find him using the same miraculous signs as Jesus used and as the Apostles are using to tell the story of the Kingdom of God. We see him begin in the place in Isaiah that the Ethiopian eunuch is reading and explain the Christ from that Old Testament scripture. We see him spirited away by the Spirit. And later in the book we will see that he has settled and raised a godly family in Caesarea where he is know as Philip the Evangelist. Obviously there is more to his story than is recorded in scripture.
    The important fact in Luke's story line is that the Samaritans came to Christ, a fact officially recognized by calling Peter and John to witness it. In fact, in their presence the the Holy Spirit came upon these formerly hated neighbors. Again, there is clearly much more to the story. Jesus himself in conversation with the woman at the well said there was a time coming when all who worship him, all clearly meaning Jews and Samaritans, would worship not in a certain place, but in Spirit and in truth. Remember these words from John 4. "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did,' So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers." That incident must have profoundly influenced the disciples. They had been raised not to talk to Samaritans... Jews even walked around the country of Samaria rather than going through it. One wonders if Jesus "had to go through a town in Samaria" [4:4] to break that cultural ice for his disciples.
    Today we are going to be studying Saul's conversion. That event had such a profound effect on the history of the church that we read in Acts 9:1 that Saul was breathing murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He wasn't content to wipe them out in Jerusalem: he obtained permission to follow them wherever they fled to bring them back as prisoners to Jerusalem. His effect was so powerful that we read in 9:31, after his conversion, "Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace." It must be quite a story.