In the aftermath of Stephen's martyrdom, the church faced increased and intensified persecution, which resulted in the scattering or dispersion of many of those who had come to faith since Pentecost. Some of these people fled from Jerusalem and returned to their native lands, taking the seed of the gospel with them. And the term, "seed" will play an important role in this section of Luke's record of the church. He tells us that those who were scattered "went about preaching the word." They took what they had discovered about Jesus and the gospel and carried it wherever they went. And if Acts 8:4-13, we have the story of Philip heading to, of all places, Samaria, in order to tell them about salvation made possible by Jesus' death and resurrection. What we have here is the first phase of a God-ordained and orchestrated dissemination of the gospel message beyond the walls of Jerusalem and borders of Judea. This is just the beginning of a growing movement of God to take the gospel to the nations, just as Jesus had commanded. And what we are going to see is God, like the divine sower in the sky, was the one who was scattering His children like seeds, allowing them to fall into the fertile soil He had already prepared beforehand. Watch closely for glimpses of God's sovereign hand at work, prompting His people to go and tell while, at the same time, preparing hearts to hear.
