Acts 8:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

NIV: Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

NASB: Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him.

CSB: Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

NLT: (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.)

KJV: And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

NKJV: And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew: one who grew up in a Greek or Roman culture outside of the Jewish homeland of Judea and Galilee. His reputation in the church was such that he was chosen as one of the first deacons, charged with collecting the donations believers made to the church and distributing that charity to the needy (Acts 6:1–6).

Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit's grace and power and performed miracles as he spread the gospel in Jerusalem. He was such a good apologist that other Hellenistic Jews could not refute his arguments that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Jewish Messiah. In response, the Jews lied and accused him of threatening to destroy the temple—a crime which demanded execution according to the Roman law (Acts 6:8–15).

Stephen was allowed to give his defense before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council (Acts 7:1–53). His words were true but extremely provocative, and his accusers dragged him outside the city gates and stoned him (Acts 7:54–60). This heralds the persecution of the young Christian church in Jerusalem. Saul—later Paul (Acts 13:9)—leads the attack, and the Jesus-followers either flee Jerusalem or risk arrest (Acts 8:1, 3).

Meanwhile, Stephen's friends mourn. People who died via capital punishment under traditional Jewish law were allowed to be buried but not publicly mourned. Not everyone feels Stephen's death was just.

Acts 8:1–3 explains how the message of salvation through Jesus spread from Jerusalem to the rest of the world. Stephen, a powerful preacher, has been martyred—the first Jesus-follower to have been killed for his faith (Acts 7:54–60). While he died, a young Pharisee named Saul watched over the cloaks of Stephen's attackers. Now Saul is leading a full-scale persecution of this new church. His plans backfire, however. The more he tightens his grip, the more Jesus-followers slip out of Jerusalem, taking the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.

Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the book of Acts; Acts 1—7 describes the spread of the gospel through Jerusalem; Acts 8:1—11:18 shows the gospel spreading in Judea and Samaria; Acts 11:19—28:31 sees the gospel spread to the ''end of the earth,'' finalizing in Rome. Ironically, although Paul is the central figure in spreading Jesus' good news to the ends of the earth, his early persecution of the church in Jerusalem is instrumental in spreading the gospel through Judea and Samaria.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.