Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Beyond What You Can See
Have you ever started Monday morning and thought to yourself, “What have I done this weekend? I am a failure. Nothing of worth has been accomplished.” Suppose you are a preacher and on Sunday you preached your heart out, but it feels like nothing happened. Perhaps, at work on Friday, you were trying to be a witness, yet you feel like you were not successful. Well, God is at work beyond what we can see.
In Acts 7, Stephen died for his faith. Acts 7:60 says, “He [Stephen] fell asleep.” The important thing to note is that though Stephen did not see it, so much happened because of and beyond his death.
Verse 58 says, “And they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” In chapters 8 and 9 we find that God seems to almost gradually introduce this character Saul. We don’t even know who he is at first. All we know is that he was a young man and those who killed Stephen laid their garments at his feet.
Then Acts 8:1 says, “And Saul was consenting unto his death.” That was an understatement! He was all for Stephen’s death, and he actively persecuted Christians in the days after. Acts chapter 9 begins by telling us that Saul was “yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.”
The question is, “Are these chapters the story of the end of Stephen or the beginning of Saul?” The answer is “Yes, no, both.” The truth is that this story goes far beyond any one person. This is the story of the spread of God’s Good News. Here we read about the ending of Stephen’s earthly ministry and the beginning of Saul’s earthly ministry.
God is at work beyond what you can see. Stephen never lived to see the day when Saul was a brother, companion, and faithful preacher, but that is what Saul became because of Stephen’s testimony.
God is working beyond what you can see in time. Stephen died, and the Bible then introduces Saul and tells us what God did in Saul and through Saul. None of us knows completely what God may be doing through others because of our faithfulness to Him today. That requires faith.