Acts 8 begins with dark clouds. Due to a great manhunt on the church, the first Messianic Jews flee and disperse in Judea and also in Samaria. Only the apostles remain yet in Jerusalem. Supposedly their lives were not yet in immediate danger, and this first manhunt was temporarily and partial. Later, Peter must indeed flee from the city (Acts 12:17).
Because of the scattering of the believers (diaspora), God’s Word is also being spread (Acts 8:4; Acts 11:19). Everywhere they bring the good news that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah.
This way, regular church members are evangelizing
(euaggelizomenoi, ESV: preaching), a verb that is more often used in Acts for the spreading of the gospel (see also Acts 8:25, Acts 8:35). From this verb, the word evangelist
is derived, which is commonly used for those who proclaim the word (Ephesians 4:11) and also specifically for Philip (Acts 21:8) and for Timothy (2 Timothy 4:5).
1 Saul avait approuvé le meurtre d'Etienne. Il y eut, ce jour-là, une grande persécution contre l'Eglise de Jérusalem; et tous, excepté les apôtres, se dispersèrent dans les contrées de la Judée et de la Samarie.