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The Book of Acts
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BIBLE STUDY ACTS 8:1-40 REVIEW: Chapter 7 was an extended speech that Stephen made to the Sanhedrin Council after he had been accused by false witnesses of “saying things against (the temple) and the law” and also saying that “Jesus of Nazareth will destroy (the temple) and change the customs that Moses handed on to (the people).” Instead of answering his accusers directly, Stephen in his speech relates the salvation history of Israel in broad strokes – beginning from God’s calling of Abraham. A common theme emerges – that down through the ages God’s prophets continually met rejection from their own people. For example, Joseph was persecuted by his brothers; and Moses’ leadership was often rejected by the Israelites. Regarding the temple (which Stephen’s accusers claimed to regard so highly), Stephen reminds them that ultimately “the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands.” (Acts 7:48) Finally, Stephen concludes his speech with a direct denunciation of the Jewish leadership – accusing them of the same crimes that their forbearers committed – especially as was shown by their rejection of and killing of the Righteous One (Jesus). In response, the members of the Council become enraged and stone Stephen to death. As Pastor Josh noted, this was a self-fulfilled prophesy. All along Stephen has been portrayed by Luke, as a prophet himself. As soon as he accuses the Sanhedrin of killing the prophets, this is precisely what they do. CHAPTER 8:1-3 “The Persecution against the Jerusalem Church” “And Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.” Luke’s purpose in this short section is two-fold: 1) to bring the Jerusalem story of the early church to a close – from now on his interest will be focused on ministry that takes place beyond Jerusalem; and 2) to introduce Saul (who later would become the apostle Paul). Saul is described in completely negative terms. Luke Timothy Johnson in his book The Gospel of Luke speculates that his role in Stephen’s death was greater than the text itself explicitly tells us. He was from Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 6:9 identifies Stephen’s accusers as being from that region) – and perhaps Saul was one of the leading instigators of Stephen’s death. Saul is then described as “ravaging” the church – not just opposing it but trying to destroy it in every way possible. But Stephen’s death may have also been the first thing that eventually turned Saul into “Paul”. Somehow, the way Stephen died – with faith and a prayer of forgiveness for his enemies – must have touched Saul – that eventually led to his conversion on the road to Damascus in chapter 9. CHAPTER 8:4-13 “Philip’s Mission to Samaria” “Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did, for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured. So there was great joy in that city.” “Now a certain man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.” Luke now begins to show us how the second part of Jesus’ prophecy in Acts 1:8 begins to be fulfilled – beyond Jerusalem to now including Judea and Samaria. It is worth noting that this would not have happened on its own. As Luke portrays it, the very reason WHY the message about Jesus began spreading beyond Jerusalem was because the believers were scattered by the persecution. We know that forest fires – as terrible and destructive as they are – are actually necessary to provide for new growth in forests… and in a similar fashion, so it was for the early church. The persecution and scattering of the Jerusalem Christians actually was the cause of the church’s expansion! The Samaritans are not “Gentiles”, but they as a people were looked down upon by most Jews. Philip’s ministry to them shows that the church – like Jesus himself in his ministry – is reaching out to people “at the margins” – whom most “righteous” people of the day did not want to deal with. Philip is one of the seven “deacons” mentioned in Acts 6:5. Although appointed to “serve tables” he, like Stephen, is never shown as doing that. Instead, he is “proclaiming the word” and performing “signs and great miracles.” In this sense, Luke shows that he is continuing the prophetic ministry of Jesus, the apostles, and Stephen. The “signs” Philip performs are the driving out of unclean spirits and the healing of the sick. They are called “signs” because they show what is happening on a deeper level – that the realm of God’s kingdom is attacking and overcoming the dominion of Satan. Simon the magician is an interesting character. This is the only mention of him in the scriptures, but in later Christian writings there are many legendary accounts about him. He is portrayed as a “false prophet” in contrast to true Christian prophets such as Philip and then Peter. The picture reminds Biblical readers of Moses’ encounters with the magicians of Egypt (Ex. 7:22; 8:7; 8:18-19; 9:11). Only Luke in this passage portrays Simon as becoming a Christian. CHAPTER 8:14-25 “Simon Seeks to Buy the Power of the Holy Spirit” “Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.” Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.” Before dealing further with Simon, let us first consider two other interesting points that Luke is showing us in this narrative:
The point for us to remember today is that for baptism to be fully effective, the baptized person must also be a part of the apostolic community – the church. Back to the story of Simon the magician, when he saw that the Spirit was bestowed upon people through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he desired to purchase that power by paying money for it. (It is from this request that the term “simony” - “buying church offices for money” – comes from.). This shows the essential difference between “magic” and “miracles”. Magic is man’s attempt to control and alter the natural course of events for one’s own benefit – this was what Simon was trying to do. He wanted the power of the Spirit for his own benefit. Miracles are of God to accomplish God’s purposes – specifically, freeing people from Satan’s control both spiritually and physically. When Philip was doing miracles, he was not doing them for his own benefit but was simply being an instrument of God to do God’s work. This in essence was what Peter was pointing out to Simon – that his sole reason for desiring the power to bestow the Spirit through the laying on of hands should be for God’s glory – not him! CHAPTER 8:26-40 “Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch” “Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” (vs. 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”) He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.” This is another interesting story which shows how the gospel about Jesus was spreading throughout the world. Philip, under God’s direction, encounters a Ethiopian eunuch who is returning home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to Ethiopian legends, they (like the Samaritans in the section immediately before this) have long had links to Judaism. Supposedly, when the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13) visited King Solomon, he gave her “every desire that she expressed…” (1 Kgs. 10:13) - which they believe included an heir, who later became king of Ethiopia, thus establishing the true dynasty of David for that country. The title for their emperors was “The Lion of Judah”. So although the “orthodox” Jews may have looked down on them, the Ethiopians – like the Samaritans – saw themselves as being God’s people and not Gentiles. After he introduces himself to the eunuch, Philip begins to expound upon the scripture from Isaiah about Jesus – reminiscent of how Jesus “beginning with Moses and all the prophets interpreted to (the Emmaus disciples) the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Lk. 24:27) The eunuch then asks to be baptized. The verse 37 in parentheses is not accepted as part of the original text by all Biblical scholars, but it certainly seems to be in accord with the theme that Christian baptism involves confessing Jesus to be the Son of God. According to Ethiopian legend, the eunuch returned home to Ethiopia and began sharing the gospel. We do know that the Ethiopian church is one of the oldest branches in the world. Finally, there is the strange phrase about “the Spirit of the Lord” snatching Philip away. This seems reminiscent of the prophet Elisha (see 2 Kgs. 2:16). To me (Pastor George) it seems more likely that as some alternative texts put it, “The Holy Spirit fell on the eunuch (after his baptism), but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip.” This reading seems to make sense that baptism and the Holy Spirit are connected, as shown previously. -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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