In the previous chapter, we read Stephen repeating with his dying breath the words of his Master Jesus, ‘forgive them’ and ’Father receive my spirit,’ Luke 23:34 / Acts 7:59-60. And in this chapter, Luke is going to share with us one of the most difficult times in church history.
In the previous chapter, Luke introduced us to a young man named Saul, Acts 7:58, and here he tells us that he was the person who approved Stephen’s death, Acts 8:1 / Philippians 3:6. This same Saul, who would later become Paul and who would turn out to be one of the greatest apostles of Christ in the history of the church, 1 Corinthians 15:9.
Remember, Jesus had given specific instructions for the apostles to ‘go into all the world and preach the good news,’ Mark 16:15. Jesus also said that the apostles would be ‘His witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,’ Acts 1:8.
Immediately following Stephen’s death, an intense period of persecution followed, headed by a young Jewish Rabbi named Saul, Acts 8:1. Luke tells us that ‘godly’ men buried Stephen and greatly mourned his death, Acts 8:2 / Luke 23:50-53 / Acts 6:7.
To me, this is amazing because these God-fearing men from among the Jews still had enough faith in God to openly bury a Christian who had died such a violent death for preaching the Gospel, Acts 7:58.
We may ask what is amazing about this? The Sanhedrin didn’t do anything about these God-fearing men. Why? Because they must have recognised how wrong their actions were since their custom would not allow an individual grave and mourn for a person who had been judicially stoned, Leviticus 10:6 / Jeremiah 22:19. Yet again, the Jews kill another innocent man, and they know it.
It’s interesting to see the apostles remaining in Jerusalem, and the other disciples driven to every corner of Judea and Samaria, Acts 8:1. Why did the apostles stay behind?
Clement of Alexandria says that the Lord told them to stay in Jerusalem for twelve years. Others believe they thought they had to stay behind there, as that’s where everyone knew where they would be.
When the devil wants to destroy a church, he will usually use the form of divide and conquer, and clearly that’s what’s happening here, Acts 8:1. If Satan wants to destroy a church, he will also attack the leadership of that church because if he can destroy them, he usually ends up destroying the rest of the flock.
But what we can also see here is God’s divine intervention. We see God protecting and keeping His apostles safe, after all, in the mind of Saul, everyone else who opposed the church was trouble, but God’s will, will be done. God doesn’t do evil, but He can use the evilness of men to get His will done.
The Gospel was supposed to be preached beginning in Jerusalem, where it did, but it was also to be spread in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, Acts 8:1.
But that wasn’t happening; the church was quite happy to stay in Jerusalem, but God wasn’t happy. And so what we see happening here is God allowing the terrible acts of wicked men, who were persecuting the church, Acts 8:1.
Why was God allowing this to happen? Because the Gospel needed to be heard in other parts of the earth, and that wasn’t going to happen as long as the church stayed in its comfort zone, Acts 11:19-30.
The only persecution we’re really ever going to experience is rejection, but the faith of these Christians needs to be commended because even in the face of death, they shared their faith.
When Saul of Tarsus got wind of where Christians met, that sent fear throughout the whole church, and they were frightened. They were frightened, but they wouldn’t give up their faith.
Even though some were caught and thrown into vile prisons and then brought before the elders in the synagogue, who tried to force them to deny Jesus, they wouldn’t give up their faith in God, Acts 22:4 / Acts 26:10.
These Christians would rather die than deny their faith in Christ. Paul said that he had many Christians beaten and punished, but still they would not deny their faith in Christ, Acts 3:8 / Acts 26:11.
Stott, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Not only did he not spare the women, but he did not stop short of seeking and securing his victims’ death, Acts 9:1 / Acts 22:4 / Acts 26:10.’
It’s our faith in Christ that helps us through many difficult circumstances in life. God allowed the evil of wicked men to happen so that the Gospel could be spread, Acts 8:5.
Spurgeon, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In every church where there is really the power of the Spirit of God, the Lord will cause it to be spread abroad, more or less. He never means that a church should be like a nut shut up in a shell; nor like ointment enclosed in a box. The precious perfume of the gospel must be poured forth to sweeten the air.’
This is not the apostle Philip, Acts 8:40 / Acts 21:8, this is the Philip who is mentioned in Acts 6:5, as one of the seven. This Philip was an evangelist, he was a servant, and now he is an evangelist, and he is now in Samaria, Acts 4:8.
The city of Samaria was built by Omri, who was a wicked king in Israel, and it eventually became the capital city for the ten tribes of the northern kingdom, 1 Kings 16:23-26.
The Samaritans were of mixed descent, coming from the intermarriage of Jews and Gentiles. The Jews saw the Samaritans as unclean and therefore wouldn’t associate with them, John 4:9. In other words, they were half Jew and half Gentile. Others saw them as being more Jew than Gentile.
If a Jew was walking down the street and he saw a Samaritan coming toward him, the Jew would cross over to the other side to avoid being contaminated, Luke 10:25-37.
James and John wanted to bring fire to the Samaritans in order to destroy them, Luke 9:51-56. It was in Samaria that Jesus met the woman at the well, and she was amazed that He actually spoke to her, never mind asking her to give him a drink, John 4:9 / John 4:19-26.
This Samaritan woman had no problems believing who Jesus claimed to be. In fact, when she went back to Samaria and told everyone what happened when she met Jesus, John 4:39-41.
Despite previous grievances against the Samaritans, Philip went to Samaria and watered the seed which Christ had already sown when he spoke to the woman at the well and the other Samaritans who believed in Him, Acts 8:5 / Ephesians 2:14.
What exactly did Philip preach? He preached Christ, Philip preached Jesus as the promised Messiah, Acts 8:5. As we have already seen with the words of the Samaritan women, the Samaritans would already be very familiar with the Messiah, Deuteronomy 18:15-18.
The message that Philip was preaching hit home for multitudes of the Samaritans, and that message was confirmed as being true because God confirmed it came from Him by enabling Philip to work miracles, Acts 8:6.
People who were sick were made well, those paralysed and lame were able to walk again, and those possessed by demons had the demons driven out of them, Acts 8:7.
And the message and the miracles which confirmed the message caused the city to be filled with joy, Acts 8:8 / Acts 2:46-47. Remember, Philip had the ability to perform these miracles because the apostles had earlier laid their hands upon him and bestowed him with this gift, Acts 6:6.
Luke introduces us to a man named Simon who was a sorcerer. Simon uses magic and trickery to convince people that he was a spokesman for God, Acts 8:9.
He must have been doing this for some time because Luke tells us that both high and low classes of people were paying attention to him and thought he was from God. Hence why they called him, the Great Power of God, Acts 8:10.
Simon had amazed many people for a long period of time because of his magic, Acts 8:11, but his ‘power’ came from the devil, not God. I believe there is a lot of that happening in the religious world around us today. People are being drawn into believing anything they are being taught because of something they think they see happening.
But when we put our trust in the teachings of God and His Word as we find it revealed in His Word, that eliminates any fears of being misled by false prophets and false miracle workers, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.
Some people say that we need some sort of supernatural gift to prove we’re a Christian and we have the Spirit, but Jesus doesn’t teach that. He doesn’t mention anything about recognising people by their gifts, but what He does say is that you can recognise those who claim to be Christians by their fruit, Matthew 7:15-17 / Galatians 5:22-23.
People who claim they have some revelation from God need to ask themselves if God has revealed once for all the ‘faith’ or not, Jude 3. God has either given us ‘everything’ we need for life and godliness through our knowledge revealed in His word, or He hasn’t, 2 Peter 1:1-3.
His word is useful for the teaching, rebuking, correcting and training, and we are ‘thoroughly equipped for everything’ He wants us to know and do, or it isn’t, 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
In other words, God’s Word is all we need, or it isn’t. All in all, it seems clear to me that God’s Word is all we need to know God, live like He wants us to live, and if we follow His plan of salvation, we will be with Him forever in heaven.
Rackham, in his commentary, says the following.
‘As the counterfeit of the true, these false prophets were among the most dangerous enemies of Christianity; and the distinction between the true and the false, between religion and spiritualism, had to be sharply drawn once for all.’
When Philip preached the good news about Christ and His kingdom, with the accompanying signs, people were set free from these false prophets. This is one of those passages where common sense needs to come into play. Philip preached the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ, Acts 8:12. The text doesn’t mention anything about Philip preaching baptism.
But common sense tells us that this verse makes it clear that preaching belief in Jesus and burial in His Name is a crucial part of preaching about the kingdom, Acts 1:3 / Acts 1:6 / Acts 8:12 / Acts 14:22 / Acts 19:8 / Acts 20:25 / Acts 28:23 / Acts 28:31.
Why would both men and women be baptised if Philip didn’t preach it? Acts 8:12. Why would Simon, having been amazed by what he saw and heard, believe and be baptised? Acts 8:13.
Because baptism for the forgiveness of our sins is part of the good news, Mark 16:15-16. We’ve already established that baptism is for the forgiveness of our sins when we looked at Acts 2:38.
Baptism is part of the good news because it’s through baptism for the forgiveness of our sins that unites us with Christ and His baptism and His death, Romans 6:3-5. The Samaritans had no trouble understanding what Philip was preaching to them concerning Jesus and what Jesus wanted everyone to do.
Simon believed and was baptised, Acts 8:13, and there’s no reason to believe he was actually genuine in his faith at this point. Notice also that Simon followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw, Acts 8:13.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Having practised Satan’s magic, Simon could not believe the difference between Philip’s God-given miracles and his own magic.’
When the good news about what was happening in Samaria got to the ears of the apostles who were still in Jerusalem, Luke tells us they sent Peter and John to the city, Acts 8:14. Peter is about to open the door to heaven for the Gentiles, using one of the keys Jesus gave him, Matthew 16:18-19.
Peter and John prayed that these new believers would receive the Holy Spirit because they had only been baptised into the Lord’s Name, Acts 8:15-16. Remember at our baptism we receive the ‘gift’ of the Holy Spirit Himself to dwell within us, Acts 2:38 / Romans 8:9.
These new believers would have the ‘gift’, but now they are going to receive the ‘gifts’ of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the apostle’s hands, Acts 8:17 / Acts 9:17 / Acts 19:6 / 1 Timothy 4:14 / 2 Timothy 1:6.
What we see happening here is the power of Jesus changing lives and people’s attitudes towards others. It wasn’t all that long ago when John and his brother, James, asked Jesus to destroy Samaria. It wasn’t that long ago that the Jewish John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy this Samaritan city that refused to receive Jesus, Luke 9:51-56.
But now the new Christian John is praying for them, and not only did he pray for them, but he and Peter laid their hands on them so that they might receive the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 8:17 / Luke 11:13 / 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. And it’s here that we discover the real reason why Simon wanted to become a Christian.
Before we look at Simon’s sin, let me point out a couple of important truths revealed here in this text. Clear evidence of a person receiving the miraculous gifts must have been present because Simon was able to ‘see’ this being accomplished through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, Acts 8:18.
Remember that Philip was numbered among the seven in Acts 6:5-6, and he was one of the men whom the apostles had laid their hands upon to bestow miraculous gifts of the Spirit.
Ask yourself this question: why didn’t Philip pass on the miraculous gifts to those who were baptised in Samaria? The simple answer is that he couldn’t because he could not bestow miraculous gifts onto anyone. That’s why he sent for Peter and John to do it because he couldn’t.
My point is this: it was only the apostles who could pass on these miraculous gifts. And if we were around then and they bestowed these gifts upon us, then we, like Philip, could perform miracles, but we could not pass those abilities on to someone else.
In other words, when the apostles died, no one was left to pass on these miraculous gifts. And when those who had these gifts bestowed upon them, who were still living after the apostles died, when they died, all miraculous gifts died with them. Why? Because just like Philip, they could not pass these gifts on, that’s why.
This is also one of many texts that support the fact that not all Christians were given miraculous gifts. Simon had believed and had been baptised, Mark 16:16, so there is no doubt he had been saved from his former sins, Acts 2:38.
Harrison, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It appears that Simon was really converted, but that the habits of the old life had not been broken.’
Yet, when Simon was confronted with a power potentially so useful for dominating the city of Samaria, he reverted to a materialistic approach and tried to purchase the power from Peter and John, Acts 8:18-19 / Isaiah 55:1. Not all Christians received miraculous gifts, and Simon is one of those people.
Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The sin was a desire to possess spiritual power for personal ends.’
Simon’s attempt to purchase this power with money led Peter to tell Simon that he and his money would perish together if his heart was not changed, Acts 8:20-21. He could have no part in matters eternal so long as his heart was not right with God.
Some people become Christians for the wrong reasons, and some become Christians for the right reasons. But every single Christian is tempted in many different ways, 1 Corinthians 10:13. Simon’s temptation to be even more popular was so great that he was even willing to pay for it.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be great in God’s kingdom, provided we’re willing to start from the bottom up, Matthew 20:25-28 / John 13:8. We don’t become great in God’s kingdom by becoming a dictator; we become great by serving.
When we serve and become a slave for Christ and our brothers and sisters in Christ first, then we become great. Christianity is not a popularity contest; Christianity is a group of slaves who are willing to serve from the bottom up, Philippians 2:5-11.
And if we find ourselves wanting to become great by any means other than serving, then we must do what Peter instructed Simon to do, repent and pray that God would forgive us, Acts 8:22-23.
Simon became a Christian and was freed from sin, but the power of sin allowed his heart to be bound by sin once again. And so Simon acknowledged to the apostles that he had sin in his heart and asked the apostles to pray for him, Acts 8:24 / James 5:16.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Simon was to the Samaritan church what Ananias and Sapphira were to the Jerusalem church: an early instance of self-seeking, Acts 5:1-11. Peter may have wondered if God would judge Simon as He had Ananias and Sapphira, if Simon was about to fall dead at his feet.’
No one knows what happened to Simon after this event. We don’t know if he remained faithful to the Lord or went back to his old ways. Tradition says he departed from the Lord and became a false teacher among the early Christians.
Luke tells us that after Simon’s request, Peter and John had finished preaching the Word of God in Samaria, and then they returned to Jerusalem, preaching in all the cities of Samaria along the way, Acts 8:25.
Notice how often the ‘angel of the Lord’ appears in Luke’s Gospel and Acts, Luke 1:11 / Luke 2:9 / Acts 12:7 / Acts 12:23 / Acts 7:30 / Acts 7:35 / Acts 7:38 / Acts 10:3 / Acts 10:7 / Acts 10:22 / Acts 11:13 / Acts 12:11 / Acts 27:23. Luke is reminding us of God’s presence and activity among His people.
Luke tells Theophilus, Acts 1:1, that Philip was directed by the angel of the Lord to go south to a place along the Jerusalem to Gaza road where no people lived, Acts 8:26.
He was told to go south to the desert road, which was a road by the sea. It was a coastal road that linked Egypt to Palestine. The desert road could also mean an unpopulated place, a place where there were no people, Matthew 14:15.
The word Eunuch means palace official and Luke tells us that he served under the great Queen Candace of the Ethiopians and his job was treasurer for her, Acts 8:27.
He was going to Jerusalem to worship, Acts 8:27. The Eunuch was obviously a converted Jew because not only did he have a copy of Isaiah’s prophecy, but he was on his way home after worship in Jerusalem, Acts 8:28.
Eunuchs couldn’t worship in the inner part of the temple; they were banned from entering there, Deuteronomy 23:1. They couldn’t go any further than the court of the Gentiles.
We also need to understand that the Jews didn’t have copies of the Old Testament as readily available as we do today. There were scribes whose job it was to copy the Old Testament Scriptures for Synagogues and for those who could afford to have one copied.
Because he had a copy of a scroll, this tells us that the Ethiopian Eunuch certainly had an important job with good pay. Philip, with the Spirit’s prompting, ran alongside the chariot, and asked the Eunuch, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Acts 8:29-30.
Now, unlike the Jews who were listening to Stephen’s sermon, the Eunuch had an open heart, and I know he had an open heart because of his response to Philip.
He replies to Philip, ‘How can I unless someone explains it to me?’ Acts 8:31. An open heart is a searching heart, and a searching heart is always going to strive to understand better. He was struggling to understand what Isaiah meant when he wrote, Isaiah 53:7-8 / Acts 8:32-33.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘While travelling, he was reading the Septuagint translation of Isaiah’s prophecy, i.e., Isaiah 53:7-9 / Isaiah 56:3-8. Perhaps he had purchased this roll of Isaiah in Jerusalem.’
When Philip accepted his invitation to sit with him in the chariot, the Eunuch asked the most important question of all, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Acts 8:34. When we’re studying with anyone, it’s always useful to start where that person is in their understanding of the Scriptures.
Most of the Jews regarded Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12 as referring to their nation or to the Gentile nations. Jesus quoted Isaiah 53 as finding fulfilment in His passion, Luke 22:37. Philip followed Jesus’ interpretation and from this passage proceeded to preach Jesus to the eunuch, Acts 8:35 / Acts 8:5 / Mark 10:45.
This is another good example of the Gospel being preached, but notice the text doesn’t say anything about Philip preaching baptism to the Eunuch. Common sense again tells us that when a person is preaching about Jesus, they have to include baptism in that preaching, Matthew 28:19-20 / Mark 16:15-16.
Philip must have preached baptism; why else would the Ethiopian nobleman ask Philip, ‘Look, here is water. What’s stopping me from being baptised?’ And Philip replied, ‘If you believe with all your heart. The Eunuch answered I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,’ Acts 8:36-37.
Although Acts 8:37 is omitted from some translations, like the NIV, it is obvious from other Scriptures that one desiring the Lord, to confess His Name before the Father, will confess Jesus before men, Matthew 10:32-33 / Romans 10:9-10.
And so the Eunuch confessed Jesus as the Son of God in front of Philip and then ordered the chariot to stand still. It’s then that Luke tells us that both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptised him for the forgiveness of his sins, Acts 8:38.
And so the Eunuch became a Christian in the same way that all others became Christians in the first-century church. And indeed in the same way that we all became Christians, by being baptised into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.
And the outcome of such obedience is always the same, rejoicing in the Lord for what He has done for us, Acts 8:39 / Psalm 13:5-6 / Acts 2:46-47 / Acts 8:8 / Acts 16:34.
And so immediately following their coming up out of the water, the Spirit caused Philip to be gone from the presence of the eunuch. And on his journey back to Caesarea, Acts 21:8, Philip preached in the coastal cities like Azotus along the way, Acts 8:39-40 / Acts 1:8.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The Holy Spirit directed Philip to the eunuch, Acts 8:29, and He led him away from him, Acts 8:39. Luke stressed the Spirit’s leadership in this evangelism of the first Gentile convert in Acts, Matthew 12:18. God had prepared both Philip, Acts 8:29, and the eunuch, Acts 8:30, for their especially important conversation.’
It’s interesting that Philip is the only one in the New Testament specifically named as ‘the evangelist’, Acts 21:8. I understand that the Bible doesn’t tell us about what happened to the Eunuch when he got back home, and I, for one, find that frustrating. I also understand the reason we are not told because it’s not that important for us to know.