The physician Luke wrote how Saul was consenting to Stephen's 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. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him”, and in chapter eight and verse three of the book of Acts Luke shared how Saul, “made havoc of the church” where we read:
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house,
and haling men and women committed them to prison.
The verse begins, “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, ...” Luke began with the words, “as for Saul” which means “moreover Saul whose name means desired and was the Jewish name of the apostle Paul”, “he made havoc” or “Saul dishonored, defiled, treated shamefully with injury, devastated and brought ruin” “of the church” which means “pertaining to the assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting”, “entering into every house” or “coming into each, all, the whole and everyone of the dwelling places, habitations and abodes of the believers”. Luke shared how “Saul” “dishonored and defiled” the gathering of believers in Jesus by going into their houses to find them.
The verse continues, “... and haling men and women committed them to prison.” Luke added the words, “and haling men and women” which means “and dragging human beings both male and female” “committed them to prison” or “delivered and condemned the believers in Jesus who were part of the church to be under watch and guard in jail where the captives were kept”. Luke shared how “Saul” dragged the believers in Jesus out of their homes and put them in jail to be watched over and guarded.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Saul” was very zealous in his disbelief in Jesus and His gospel. Rather than believe in Jesus, “Saul” began to torment the people within the church in Jerusalem, and he entered their homes to drag them out and “commit” them to “prison”. This persecution of the church was foretold by Jesus, and now His believers were experiencing what it meant to pay a price for following Him. God loves people, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with every one through His Son Jesus. However, many fight against Him and those who believe in Him, and persecution in the church of Jesus continues to this day. We shall see how God deals with “Saul” in our next chapter, but for now, let us be mindful of the fact that believing in Jesus has it's price, and only those who truly believe are able to continue being committed to Him.
Next time Luke shares how, “they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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