8:1
“And Saul approved of their killing.” We will, of course, encounter Saul before long (the next chapter in fact), and he becomes a very different person. Acts makes clear the nature of the man before his Damascus Road encounter, and it is as someone utterly opposed to Christ, the church and the gospel.
The stoning of Stephen ushered in a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. All the believers, with the exception of the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. No reason is given as to why the apostles remained in Jerusalem. Maybe they considered it necessary to remain in Jerusalem as this was the capital, and as they were clearly dedicated to the temple, maybe they were considered too hot to persecute. Anyway, we now enter the next phase of “Jerusalem, Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
8:2,3
Stephen was buried by “godly men”, and he was deeply mourned for. Saul, however, zealously persecuted the church. He went from house to house, and dragged people, both men and women, off to prison. Again, Saul’s character is clearly portrayed. He was an inveterate persecutor of the church.
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