This paper is concerned with the relationship between the Christian mission to Judea, Samaria, and other communities (Acts 8:1-12:23); and the mission of Paul "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 12:24-28:31).
The basic purpose of The Acts of the Apostles is to describe how the early Christian Church leaders went on to preach, assert, and proclaim the salvation Jesus Christ had given to the world. In order to spread the good news, it was essential for the apostles to perform missionary work. Certain Christian concepts and theological issues were in need of resolution; and the early Christian movement was slowly on its way to become a world-wide religion.
Although the first Christian believers were tolerated for the Most Dart by the Roman establishment, this would not be true in later years. Merrill C. Tenney states:
The sudden persecution which burst like a storm at the death of Stephen marked a sharp change in the affairs of the church. Up to this time the believers had been tolerated, or else the arrests, interrogations, and imprisonments had been sporadic . . . . Stephen's arraignment of the nation for the rejection of Christ, however, so enraged them that they did not wait for legal action but stoned him on the spot (241).
Missionary work could be a risky and dangerous endeavor; nevertheless, for the purpose of preaching the message of Christ, is was a very necessary obligation. Jesus had told his disciples, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Since the apostles were commissioned by Jesus to go forth and preach his message of salvation, they undertook this duty regardless of its problems and perils. The only way to bring Christianity to the world was to take on the role of missionaries and preachers of Christ's teachings--not an...