distinguished by his zeal, fell a victim to their
intolerance.

The martyrdom of Stephen appears to have occurred about three years and
a half after the death of our Lord. [55:3] Daniel had foretold that the
Messiah would "confirm the covenant with many _for one week_" [55:4]--an
announcement which has been understood to indicate that, at the time of
his manifestation, the gospel would be preached with much success among
his countrymen _for seven years_--and if the prophetic week commenced
with the ministry of John the Baptist, it probably terminated with this
bloody tragedy. [56:1] The Christian cause had hitherto prospered in
Jerusalem, and there are good grounds for believing that, mean while, it
had also made considerable progress throughout all Palestine; but, at
this date, it is suddenly arrested in its career of advancement. The
Jewish multitude begin to regard it with aversion; and the Roman
governor discovers that he may, at any time, obtain the tribute of their
applause by oppressing its ablest and most fearless advocates.

After His resurrection our Lord commanded the apostles to go and "teach
_all nations_" [56:2] and yet years rolled away before they turned their
thoughts towards the evangelisation of the Gentiles. The Jewish mind was
slow to apprehend such an idea, for the posterity of Abraham had been
long accustomed to regard themselves as the exclusive heirs of divine
privileges; but the remarkable development of the kingdom of God
gradually led them to entertain more enlarged and more liberal
sentiments. The progress of the gospel in Samaria, immediately after the
death of Stephen, demonstrated that the blessings of the new
dispensation were not to be confined to God's ancient people. Though
many of the Samaritans acknowledged the divine authority of the writings
of Moses, they did not belong to the Church of Israel; and between them
and the Jews a bitter antipathy had hitherto existed. When Philip
appeared among them, and preached Jesus as the promised Messiah, they
listened most attentively to his appeals, and not a few of them gladly
received Christian baptism. [57:1] It could now no longer be said that
the Jews had "no dealings with the Samaritans," [57:2] for the gospel
gathered both into the fold of a common Saviour, and taught them to keep
"the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

When the disciples were scattered abroad by the persecution which arose
after the martyrdom of Stephen, th