In the ancient world, there are many horrible forms of torture with death as the objective.
We are familiar with the crucifixion, and that was what Jesus went through.
It was horrible in that the condemned person was nailed to the cross and hung there to die slowly.
Another form was stoning a person to death. It was another horrible way to die slowly.
As we heard in the 1st reading, Paul was stoned and then dragged outside the town and his enemies thought he was dead.
The disciples came crowding round him, but as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town, as if nothing had happened to him.
We may be surprised, we may be amused, but we will surely be amazed at what had happened.
But such were the signs and wonders that God worked in the early Church, and that strengthened their faith to continue proclaiming the Good News of salvation with courage.
In spite of opposition and persecution, the early disciples had the peace that Jesus bequeathed to them, a peace that the world cannot give nor take away.
Let us pray for that peace of Jesus to be always in our hearts so that we will see the signs and wonders that God will work for us.