Acts 11: diaspeirō - scattered and sown

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Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

(Acts 11:19-21)

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ...Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

(Acts 8:1,4)

Acts 11 gives me a chance to go back to a theme that started earlier in Acts that I didn't cover - the persecution that started with the martyrdom of Stephen.  What is so amazing is that this persecution was exactly the least effective thing the powers of this world could have done to stop the spread of the Gospel.

When the persecution in Jerusalem broke out, the disciples spread out into different areas possibly feeling that Jerusalem was no longer safe and maybe feeling that as a whole they would be safer if they were spread out.  Phillip went to Samaria (Acts 8:5) and others went to Phonecia, Cyprus and Antioch - these were places far from even Israel itself - different cultures and different lands.   But they preached the word wherever they went (Acts 8:4). 

The word 'scattered' (Greek: diaspeirō) appears three times in Acts, and it's definition is: to sow throughout, i.e. (figuratively) distribute in foreign lands:—scatter abroad (Strong's Dictionary).  This is clearly deliberate imagery on Luke's (the writer's) part.  Here we have the image, not of church that has been made weaker by being scattered like an army breaking formation, but of a farmer sowing seeds, scattering them far and wide so that they can find good soil and produce a crop.  We see God's sovereign hand behind these events, sending his people out to preach the gospel - not just to their own people (the Jews) but to others - in this instance the Greeks, a powerful cultural force at the time.

And what of us?  Are we prepared to be scattered, or would we rather just stay in our comfort zone, our Christian bubble of what we know?  Do we pray that nothing would upset the status quo of our churches, or that God would be constantly scattering us to new places - sometimes through difficult or unpleasant situations, like the early disciples in Jerusalem faced?  This scattering does not have to mean a large movement geographically (although that was fundamentally necessary for the early church) - there are many borders and barriers to cross just in our own neighbourhoods.  

The thought of being very physically uprooted for God's call seems scary - I won't deny it.  I am no braver or better at leaving everything behind than anyone else, but looking at these stories there is a strong, comforting element.  The disciples may have been uprooted from their earthly homes and scattered geographically, but there is a connecting unity between them.  Acts 11 goes on to talk about how news of the new church at Antioch reached those in Jerusalem, and how they sent Barnabas to strengthen and encourage the new church, and how Barnabas went on to look for Saul and bring him there too (Acts 11:22-26).  The pioneering missionaries are not isolated, but are connected through encouragement and prayer.  However scattered and uprooted we may feel, we are rooted into the global worldwide church, a united body with Christ at it's head, and held together by the Holy Spirit.

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