Acts 8: 4-8

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

Taking just this passage without reading the first part of the chapter really doesn't allow you to understand the true miracle of verse 8. Acts 8:1-3 reads:

And Saul approved of their killing him [Stephen]. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

Now after reading the first part of the chapter I became amazed at today's reading. Stephen had just been stoned because of proclaiming the Gospel. He was killed for speaking the truth because the members of the Sanhedrin (aka the elders) refused to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And so there was a great persecution against the church and Saul who had been a murderer of Christians went throughout the cities to condemn the Christians. However, verse 4 states that EVEN THOUGH the Christians had been scattered, they continued to preach the word WHEREVER they went. That is sooooo fearless!!! Think about it, someone who is the same religion as you was just murdered for believing and speaking out about the faith; and now there are people throwing other Christians in jail, yet you still have the courage to preach the Gospel. Honestly, I don't know if I could do that. I don't think I have that same courage. The good news is that through Christ we have this assurance that no matter what we go through, God is on our side. God will give us the courage and the words to speak, we need only to obey and say yes to Him. Verse 8 gives just a glimpse of how worth it God is. Through the Christians' obedience to God, regardless of their fear of persecution, many people found joy through hearing the good news that is Jesus Christ.