Acts 8:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

NIV: But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

NASB: But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.

CSB: Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

NLT: But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.

KJV: As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

NKJV: As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Ever since the Holy Spirit came upon the Jesus followers at Pentecost (Acts 2), the church has grown and enjoyed a measure of support from the devout Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 5:12–16), although the apostles had been threatened by the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:17–40). After the deacon Stephen's murder (Acts 7:54–60), Saul feels free to persecute the rest of the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem.

Paul will later admit and add detail to what he does here. He says, "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women" (Acts 22:4). He enters synagogues where he knows Jesus-followers are worshiping and beats them, trying to force them to blaspheme Jesus. When the Sanhedrin votes as to how the Jesus-followers should be punished, Paul insists they should be put to death (Acts 22:19; 26:10–11).

"Ravaging" is from the Greek root word lumainomai. It means "to tear apart," like the lions did to Christians later in the Roman Colosseum. However, the term also means to shame and defile. The early Christian apologist Tertullian proposes that Paul is the fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy over his youngest son Benjamin. In Genesis 49:27, Jacob declares, "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil." Tertullian points out that in Paul's younger years he attacks the vulnerable Christians, but in his later years he spreads what he has taken from that prey: the gospel. And Paul is from the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1).

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.