The Irony of Scattering as Spreading of the Word

“An ironic theme in Acts, which plays a major role in its plot structuring, is that persecuting attempts to suppress God’s word lead to the spread of that work. This theme is a major instance of the Lukan motif of reversal-God reverses or overrules human attempts to control history and if that the persecution associated with Saul occasions the spread of Christianity, eventually to Antioch, where the converted Paul is summoned (coming full circle) to minister to Christians. Acts structures this theme in three steps: Acts 8:1, 3-5; 11:19-20, and 11:25–26.”

William S. Kurz, Reading Luke-Acts: Dynamics of Biblical Narrative (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1993), 144.