Sundav School Lesson
(Continued trot* Pace 3)
er of suffering. Stephen laid
down his life; but watching the
?toning was the young man Paul.
(Acts 8:1) Paul bitterly opposed
the Christians' claim that Jesus
was the Messiah, and he began
to work earnestly to wipe out
the new faith. But the memory
of Stephen's prayer of forgive
ness and of the radiance on his
face stayed with him until he
himself met the Christ.
We naturally shrink from pain
and danger. We want to stay out |
of trouble. But history teaches
us that the persons who suffer
in behalf of a right cause are
the ones who help shape the
future.
The Gospel Crosses a Barrier
The second incident in our
Scripture material has to do
with the work of Philip. (Acts
8:4-40) As we have seen, the
unexpected result of persecution
was the spread of the gospel.
We are told that the Christians
were "scattered" like seed into
the surrounding areas of Judea
and Samaria. Wherever they
went, they preached. They turn
ed adversity into new oppor
tunity.
Every reader of the New Tes
tament knows that the "Jews
have no dealings with Samari
tans." (John 4:9) The hostility
had its roots in the eighth cen
tury B.C., when the northern
tribes were defeated by Assyria.
The conquerors took many of
the people and resettled them
elsewhere, replacing them with
people -'from other conquered
countries. The children of the
Israelites still living in the area
married some of the newcom
ers. The Samaritans of the New
Testament were their descend
ants.
The Samaritans not only had
I some Jewish blood, but they also
j worshiped the God of Israel and
shared the Jewish hope for a
Messiah. However, they believed
that Mount Gerizim, not Jeru
salem, was the place where God
wanted his Temple. (John 4:20)
Because of their mixed blood
and their unorthodox ideas, the
Jews regarded the Samaritans
with contempt.
With this background we can
recognize how amazing it was
that Philip would preach to tht
Samaritans. This action began
the process of moving the church
1 evond the limitations of a sect
within Judaism.
We learn a number of lessons
from this chapter. One is that
the gospel is able to overcome
centuries of animosity. Ordi
narily these fugitives from Jeru
salem would have been refused
shelter. However, Philip and his
companions were received and
found listeners and converts.
When leaders of the Jerusalem
church came to Samaria, they
too were received. They were so
impressed by what they saw
that on their way home they
preached in other Samaritan
villages. Thus the gospel early
(Continued on Page 8)
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