Where should the Jerusalem believers have been if they were embracing the Great Commission?
Had they been embracing the Great Commission, they should have been throughout the whole Roman Empire rather than remaining in Jerusalem. Instead, they stayed in Jerusalem and would not leave even under intense persecution. Their refusal showed they knew they had no God-given right to leave.
Les explains that the persecution following Stephen’s death scattered the Jerusalem assembly throughout Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. He asks his audience to think: if these Jewish believers were truly embracing the Great Commission, they should have been throughout the whole Roman Empire six or seven years earlier. Yet they were still in Jerusalem. Not only were they there, but they would not leave even under intense persecution. Les says this tells us something: they knew they had no God-given right to leave.