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| Chapter 8 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church. Entering into every house and haling men and women, he committed them to prison. 4 ¶ Therefore those who were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed with them; and many taken with palsies and who were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who earlier in the same city had used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is great with the power of God." 11 And for him they had regard, because for a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip’s preaching of the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14 ¶ Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (For as yet, He had fallen upon none of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 But Peter said unto him, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money! 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God that perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. 23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." 24 Then Simon answered and said, "Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me." 25 And they, when they had testified and preached the Word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem and preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 26 ¶ And the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south unto the road that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza, which is desert." 27 And he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning; and sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, "Go near and join thyself to this chariot." 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" 31 And he said, "How can I, unless some man should guide me?" And he besought Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the Scripture from which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so opened He not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation, His judgment was taken away. And who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth." 34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man?" 35 Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What doth hinder me from being baptized?" 37 And Philip said, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they had come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. And the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he preached in all the cities until he came to Caesarea. |
This chapter is a turning point for the Christian church. Act Chapter 1-7 covers the start and growth of the church in Jerusalem. For two years the believers had been evangelizing Jerusalem. From Acts 8 the church is driven out of Jerusalem because of the persecution and moves in to Judea and Samaria. v1-4 The stoning of Stephen released a massive period of violence against the Jewish believers, leading this was a man named Saul. The believers were being put into prison by Saul, which made those left leave the area, preaching as they went. Let us remind ourselves of the Lord’s command Acts 1:8. Jerusalem had heard the message now God wanted the rest of the world to hear as well. It is worth noting that God may make the going difficult to fulfil His desires. The Jewish believers need a little push to leave Jerusalem with the message, God used the persecution of Saul and the Jewish leaders to achieve this. The Jewish believers may have at first not been willing to enter Samaria "For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." John 4:9. v5 Luke now picks up the story of one of these people, Philip. He was one of the seven Deacons chosen in Acts 6:1-6. v5-8 He is led by the Lord into Samaria preaching Christ and showing the power of God through miracles of healing. People believed the message, the miracle confirmed the Word of God, they accepted Christ with joy. Philip’s ministry revealed the false ministry of a man called Simon. What do we learn from this false ministry. 1) Simon claimed to be great, a false preacher glorifies himself not Christ. 2) Simon used human attractions to get his message over, he was a magician. 3) Fake power. Simon used ‘magic,’ possibly supernatural powers and illusions to impress the people, just like the magicians with Pharaoh in Moses’ day, who could perform supernatural acts with the power of Satan. So the people talk about him "This man is great with the power of God," but his power was small compared with the God driven power of Philip. v12-13 Simon recognizes the power of God and says that he believes, he is baptized and follows Philip round as he preaches. v14-17 God did not allow the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit, Why? He wanted the Jewish believers, the Apostle to see that the Jew was not different to the Samaritan. So the Holy Spirit came onto them in the presence of the Jewish believers, as they laid hands on them. All one in Christ. v18,19 We now see that Simon’s conversion was not real, he wanted the power of the Holy Spirit and thought he could get it with money. Another sign of false faith, going through the religious way of living, but for the wrong reason, material gain not spiritual. v20-23 Peter’s response, "You cannot buy salvation or God with money, only by giving your heart to Him. Repent Simon of your evil." v24 Simon’s reply asking them to pray for him at first seems to indicate that he is humbling himself, but there is no record of asking forgiveness of the Lord himself. v25 The disciples return to Jerusalem, preaching to the Samaritans as they went. v25-40 God’s way of evangelizing. v26 God now does what appears to be a strange action, Philip’s ministry and evangelization in Samaria was very successful, it could not have been better! Yet we see God has other priorities for He directs Philip away from the area to a road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert. Jerusalem is about 40 miles from Samaria, while Gaza is over 100 miles. This command meant a long journey for Philip. v27,28 Philip obeys the directing of God. He is led to meet a very important man, an Ethiopian on his way home after worshipping in Jerusalem. v29 God tells Philip to join with the man. The Man is reading from Isaiah 53:7-8. Philip does not force himself onto the man, he gently asked "Do you understand" "No I need help come and join me" is the Ethiopians reply. v34 Philip lets the man ask the questions, and God opens the chance for Philip to tell him about Jesus the person Isaiah was talking about. The man was seeking answers and God had supplied the answers. v36,37 The man has obviously recognized that he is a sinner and needs washing through the blood of Jesus. Philip knows that baptism does not save so he questions the man on his faith, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." was the mans excited reply. v38,39 The man is baptized there and then, showing his new faith, the soul has been saved and can now take the message on to his home land. Psalm 68:31. The Nation of Ethiopia has the Gospel of Salvation, because Stephen was open to the leading of God. This work now finished God also moves Philip on to Azotus, on the coast, and then further north to Caesarea, preaching as he went. |
Easy English Translation
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