Acts 8

Acts 8:1

II. THE CHURCH IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA (8:1-9:31) A. The Ministry of Philip in Samaria (8:1-25) 8:1 Again the Spirit of God introduces the name of Saul. Great strivings of soul were being born within him. Outwardly his reign of terror would continue, but his days as a foe of Christianity were numbered. Saul was consenting to Stephen’s death, but in so doing he was paving the way for his own undoing as an arch-persecutor. A new era begins with the words, At that time. Stephen’s death seemed to trigger a widespread assault against the church. Believers were scattered throughout … Judea and Samaria. The Lord had instructed His followers to begin their witness in Jerusalem, but then to branch out to Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth. Up to this time their witness had been confined entirely to Jerusalem. Perhaps they had been timid about branching out. Now they are forced to do it by persecution. The apostles themselves remained in the city. As Kelly dryly observed, Those who stayed would naturally be the most obnoxious of all.From the human standpoint, it was a dark day for the believers. The life of a member of their fellowship had been laid down. They themselves were being chased like rabbits. But from the divine standpoint, it was not dark at all. A grain of wheat had been planted in the ground, and much fruit would inevitably result. The winds of affliction were scattering the seeds of the gospel to distant places, and who could estimate the extent of the harvest? 8:2 The devout men who buried Stephen are not identified. Perhaps they were Christians who had not yet been driven out of Jerusalem. Or perhaps they were pious Jews who saw something in the martyr which made them esteem him worthy of a decent burial. 8:3 Again the name of Saul! With unbounded energy he is harassing the church, dragging his hapless victims from their homes, and committing them to prison. If only he could forget Stephensuch poisesuch unshakable convictionthe face of an angel! He must drown out the memory, and he seeks to do it by stepping up his attacks on Stephen’s fellow-believers. 8:4-8 The dispersal of the Christians did not silence their testimony. Everywhere they went they carried the good news of salvation. Philip, the deacon of chapter six, headed north to the city of Samaria. He not only proclaimed Christ but performed many miracles. Unclean spirits were driven out and the paralyzed and lame were healed. The people gave heed to the gospel, and, as might be expected, great joy resulted. The primitive church obeyed the explicit commands of Jesus Christ: It went out as Christ had gone (Joh_20:21; cf. Act_8:1-4). It sold its goods and gave to the poor (Luk_12:33; Luk_18:22; cf. Act_2:45; Act_4:34). It left father, mother, houses, and lands to go everywhere preaching the Word (Mat_10:37; cf. Act_8:1-4). It made disciples and taught them to work and obey (Mat_28:18-19; cf. 1Th_1:6). It took up its cross and followed Christ (Acts 4; 1 Thess. 2). It rejoiced in tribulation and persecution (Mat_5:11-12; cf. Acts 16; 1Th_1:6-8). It left the dead to bury their dead and went and preached the gospel (Luk_9:59-60). It shook the dust from off its feet and moved on when men refused to hear (Luk_9:5; cf. Act_13:51). It healed, exorcised, raised the dead, and bore lasting fruit (Mar_16:18; Acts 3-16). 8:9-11 Among the most notable of those who heard Philip was a sorcerer called Simon. He himself had previously made a big impression on Samaria by his amazing feats of sorcery. He pretended to be very important, and some of the people were actually convinced that he was the great power of God.8:12, 13 When many of the people believed the preaching of Philip and were baptized, Simon also professed to be a believer, was baptized, and followed Philip, fascinated by the miracles he performed. From what follows it seems that Simon had not been born again. He was a professor but not a possessor. Those who teach salvation by baptism are faced with a dilemma here. Simon had been baptized, but he was still in his sins. Notice that Philip preached good news concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is the sphere where the rule of God is acknowledged. At the present time, the King is absent. Instead of a literal, earthly kingdom, we have a spiritual, invisible kingdom in the lives of all who are loyal to Him. In the future the King will return to the earth to set up a literal kingdom with Jerusalem as His capital. In order to truly enter the kingdom, in any of its forms, a person must be born again. Faith in the name of Jesus Christ is the means of experiencing the new birth. This, then, was doubtless the gist of Philip’s preaching. 8:14-17 When news that Samaria had avidly received the word reached the apostles … at Jerusalem, they sent Peter and John to them. By the time they arrived, the believers had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but they had not received the Holy Spirit. Obviously acting in accordance with divine guidance, the apostles prayed that these believers might receive the Holy Spirit and laid their hands on them. As soon as this was done, they received the Holy Spirit. This immediately raises the question, Why the difference between the order of events here and on the day of Pentecost? At Pentecost the Jewish people:

1. Repented.
2. Were baptized.
3. Received the Holy Spirit. Here the Samaritans:
4. Believed.
5. Were baptized.
6. Had the apostles pray for them and lay their hands on them.
7. Received the Holy Spirit. Of one thing we can be sure: they were all saved in the same wayby faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Way of Salvation. However, during this transitional time, bridging Judaism and Christianity, God chose to act sovereignly in connection with various communities of believers. Jewish believers were asked to dissociate themselves from the nation of Israel by baptism before they received the Spirit. Now the Samaritans must have special prayer and the apostles’ hands laid on them. But why? Perhaps the best answer is that it was intended to give expression to the unity of the church, whether made up of Jews or Samaritans. There was a real danger that the church in Jerusalem might retain ideas of Jewish superiority, and that they might continue to have no dealings with their Samaritan brethren. To avoid the possibility of schism, or the thought of two churches (one Jewish and one Samaritan), God sent the apostles to lay their hands on the Samaritans. This expressed full fellowship with them as believers in the Lord Jesus. They were all members of one body, all one in Christ Jesus. When verse 16 says that they had only been baptized in (or into) the name of the Lord Jesus (see also Act_10:48 and Act_19:5), this does not mean that it was different from being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mat_28:19). Luke is not recording a formula used, writes W. E. Vine, but is simply stating an historical fact. Both expressions signify allegiance and identification, and all true believers gladly acknowledge their loyalty to a union with the Trinity and the Lord Jesus. 8:18-21 Simon the sorcerer was deeply impressed by the fact that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on the Samaritans. He had no deep sense of the spiritual implications of this, but rather looked on it as a supernatural power which would serve him well in his trade. So he offered money to the apostles in an effort to buy the power. Peter’s answer indicates that Simon was not a truly converted man:
8. Your money perish with you. No believer will ever perish (Joh_3:16).
9. You have neither part nor portion in this matter; in other words, he was not in the fellowship.
10. Your heart is not right in the sight of God. This is a fitting description of an unsaved person.
11. You are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. Could these words be true of a regenerate person? 8:22-24 Peter urged Simon to repent of his great sin, and pray that his wicked plan might be forgiven. Simon’s reply was to ask Peter to serve as a mediator between God and himself. He was the forerunner of those who would rather go to a human mediator than to the Lord Himself. That there was no true repentance on Simon’s part is indicated by the words, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of these things which you have spoken may come upon me. He was not sorry for his sin, but only for the consequences which it might bring on him. It is from this man, Simon, that we get the modern word, simonymaking a business out of that which is sacred. It includes the sale of indulgences and other supposed spiritual benefits, and all forms of commercialism in divine matters. 8:25 After Peter and John had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem. But now that a beachhead had been established, they continued to preach in many villages of the Samaritans.

Acts 8:26

B. Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (8:26-40) 8:26 It was during this great spiritual awakening in Samaria that an angel of the Lord directed Philip to a new field of labor. He was to leave the place where many were being blessed, and minister to one man. An angel could direct Philip but could not do Philip’s work of preaching the gospel. That privilege was given to men, not to angels. In unquestioning obedience, Philip journeyed south from Samaria to Jerusalem, and then to one of the routes that led to Gaza. It is not clear whether the words, This is desert refer to the route or to Gaza itself. However, the effect is the same: Philip left a place of habitation and spiritual fertility for a barren area. 8:27-29 Somewhere along the route he caught up with a caravan. In the main chariot was the treasurer of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, a eunuch of great authority. (Ethiopia was the southern part of Egypt and the Sudan.) This man had apparently become a convert to Judaism, since he had been to Jerusalem to worship and was now returning home. As the chariot rolled along, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. With split-second timing, the Spirit directed Philip to overtake this chariot. 8:30, 31 Philip opens the conversation with a friendly question, Do you understand what you are reading? The eunuch readily admits his need of someone to guide him, and invites Philip to sit with him in the chariot. The utter lack of racial prejudice here is refreshing. 8:32, 33 How wonderful it was that the eunuch happened to be reading Isaiah 53, with its unsurpassed description of the suffering Messiah! Why did Philip approach at that particular time in his reading? The passage in Isaiah pictures One who was meek and silent before His enemies; One who was hurried away from justice and a fair trial; and One who had no hope of posterity because He was killed in the prime of manhood and while unmarried. 8:34, 35 The eunuch wondered whether Isaiah was speaking of himself or of some other man. This, of course, gave Philip the desired opportunity to tell how these Scriptures were perfectly fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. No doubt while he was in Jerusalem the Ethiopian had heard reports about a man named Jesus, but these reports would, of course, have cast Him in an unfavorable light. Now the eunuch learns that Jesus of Nazareth is the suffering Servant of Jehovah, of whom Isaiah wrote. 8:36 It seems probable that Philip had explained to the Ethiopian the privilege of Christian baptism, identifying oneself with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Now as they near a body of water, the eunuch signifies his desire to be baptized.8:37 Verse 37 of the KJV and NKJV is omitted from most Greek manuscripts of the NT. Not that its teaching is at all inconsistent with the rest of Scripture; belief in Jesus Christ is certainly prerequisite to baptism. But the verse is simply not supported by the major NT documents. 8:38 The chariot is stopped, and Philip baptizes the eunuch. That the baptism was by immersion is evident by the expressions, they went down into the water and they came up out of the water. One is impressed by the simplicity of the ceremony. Out on a desert route a believer baptized a new convert. The church was not present. None of the apostles was there. Doubtless only the retinue of servants in the caravan witnessed the baptism of their master; they would understand that he was now a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. 8:39 As soon as the baptism was over, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away. This suggests more than mere guidance to another location. Rather, it speaks of miraculous and sudden removal. Its purpose was that the eunuch would not become occupied with the human instrument of his conversion, but with the Lord Himself. May His beauty rest upon me, As I seek the lost to win, And may they forget the channel, Seeing only Him. Kate B. Wilkinson The eunuch went on his way rejoicing. There is a joy that comes from obedience to the Lord that surpasses all other pleasurable emotions. 8:40 Philip, in the meantime, resumes his evangelistic ministry at Azotus (OT Ashdod), north of Gaza and west of Jerusalem, near the coast. From there he works his way north along the coast to Caesarea. And what of the eunuch? There was no opportunity for what we call follow-up work by Philip. All the evangelist could do was to commit him to God and to the OT Scriptures. Yet with the power of the Holy Spirit this new disciple doubtless returned to Ethiopia witnessing to all of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

EXCURSUS ON BELIEVER’S BAPTISM The baptism of the eunuch which we have just considered is one of many indications that Christian baptism was taught and practiced by the early church (Act_2:38; Act_22:16). It was not the same as John’s baptism, which was a baptism indicating repentance (Act_13:24; Act_19:4). Rather, it was a public confession of identification with Christ. It invariably followed conversion (Act_2:41; Act_8:12; Act_18:8) and was for women as well as men (Act_8:12) and Gentiles as well as Jews (Act_10:48). Households are said to have been baptized (Act_10:47-48; Act_16:15; Act_16:33), but in at least two of these cases it is implied that all the members of the household had believed. It is never stated that infants were baptized. Believers were baptized very soon after their conversion (Act_8:36; Act_9:18; Act_16:33). Apparently it was on the basis of their profession of faith in Christ. No probationary period was required to manifest the reality of their profession. Of course, the threat of persecution probably restrained people from making professions lightly. That baptism did not have saving value is seen in the case of Simon (Act_8:13). Even after professing faith and being baptized, he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity (Act_8:23). His heart was not right in the sight of God (Act_8:21). As has been mentioned, the mode of baptism was immersion (Act_8:38-39)both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water … when they came up out of the water. Even many present-day advocates of sprinkling and pouring admit that immersion was the practice of the first century disciples. Twice baptism seems to be linked with the forgiveness of sins. On the day of Pentecost Peter said, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins … (Act_2:38). And later Ananias said to Saul, Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord … (Act_22:16). In both instances the instructions were given to Jews; no Gentile was ever told to be baptized for the remission of sins. In believer’s baptism a Jew publicly repudiated his connection with the nation that rejected and crucified its Messiah. The basis of his forgiveness was faith in the Lord Jesus.

The purchase price of his forgiveness was the precious blood of the Lord. The way in which his forgiveness was administered was through water baptism, because his baptism publicly removed him from Jewish ground and put him on Christian ground. The baptismal formula, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mat_28:19), does not appear in the Book of Acts. The Samaritans were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Act_8:16), and the same was true of John’s disciples (Act_19:5). However, this does not necessarily mean that the triune formula was not used. The phrase, in the name of the Lord Jesus, may mean by the authority of the Lord Jesus.John’s disciples were baptized twicefirst with John’s baptism unto repentance, then at the time of their conversion, with believer’s baptism (Act_19:3, Act_19:5). This provides a precedent for the rebaptism of those who were christened or baptized before they were saved.