Big Ideas
In Acts 1, Jesus promised his disciples that they would be his witnesses in Judea and Samaria (Acts 1:8). Up until this point, the Gospel was exclusively located in Jerusalem. But after the death of Stephen, a great persecution broke out which caused Christians to move to Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). And where Christians went, the Gospel went with them, to the very places Jesus had promised it would go (Acts 8:4).
Many people tend to ignore the reality of demons and dark spiritual forces. Conversely, some overemphasize this spiritual reality. Luke, however, makes it clear that demons do exist and that they do torment people. Just as Jesus delivered people from demonic torment during his earthly ministry, so this work continued in the early Church as people were delivered from demonic influence and torment.
As we saw earlier in Acts, miracles served to confirm the Gospel message. This was also the case as the Gospel entered into the new region of Samaria. Luke, a trained doctor, reports that people were healed of physical sickness, including those who were paralyzed and lame, which demonstrated the immediate and miraculous nature of the healings. The result of these healings was joy in the city.
Study Questions
The stoning of Stephen and the following persecution was the vehicle that moved the Gospel out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding regions. What does this teach us about God’s sovereignty as it relates to the mission of the Church? How might this affect the way we view suffering, persecution, and “failure”?
Do you tend to neglect or overemphasize dark spiritual realities? How should this text shape the way we think about spiritual oppression?
What was the purpose and effect of supernatural healings in this text? How does this text affect the way you think about praying for miraculous healings?